Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 202 You come and I go
After the fire swept through Bridgewood, Winters found it much easier to cut wood.

The once lush woodland is now charred black.

Only a few bare tree trunks, like broken walls, remain, standing alone on the peat.

Winters led his men to cut down and haul away the large trees whose surface was charred, and took the unusable burnt wood back to use as firewood.

In the following days, the Hud people repeated their old tricks, setting fires time and again in an attempt to burn down the remaining woodland.

There is a saying: “To fool me once is your shame; to fool me twice is my shame; to fool me three times is our shared shame.” The Harts clearly did not know this saying.

The Paratites had learned their lesson and were now more cautious.

The logging teams no longer blindly cut down trees wherever they could, but instead first cleared several crisscrossing firebreaks in the forest.

In this way, the remaining parts of Qiaolin were divided into small areas by firebreaks.

Even if the Huds set fire to the forest, the amount of forest they could burn down at once would be limited.

Firebreaks also serve as roads, allowing cavalry to quickly provide support through the forest.

At the same time, because Qiaolin has less than a third of its area left—and it is shrinking day by day—the area that needs to be defended is also shrinking.

The Heds not only failed to start another fire, but were ambushed by Lieutenant Colonel Robert outside the forest, suffering heavy casualties among the light cavalrymen from various tribes who were carrying tinder and fuel.

All in all, these past few days have been a rare period of relaxation for Winters.

He doesn't need to participate in combat; he just needs to lead people out to cut down trees every day.

Charles retrieved his blanket. The blanket was burned beyond recognition, which saddened Winters.

That was a fine, thick woolen blanket that Mrs. Mitchell gave him when he left Wolftown.

To avoid freezing to death, Winters requested a new blanket from the logistics department.

As a result, the logistics department issued him a down comforter specially provided for officers, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Because the bridge forest has been divided into small areas, the range of activity for the animals in the forest has become increasingly restricted.

During a break from logging, Winters led his militia in a "grand reunion" of the rabbits, pheasants, and roe deer in the bridge forest.

Simply put, some people form a circle and drive the others outwards, while the others form a pocket formation and wait, somewhat like a hunt.

Although the amount of meat distributed to each person was not much, Winters was still very happy with it.

In addition, as the first to issue a warning, the Legion granted Strongyun a special allowance of four eggs per day.

The eggs were laid by hens that accompanied the army, making them extremely precious; even Winters didn't receive this treatment.

Old Lalo, who proposed the "fight fire with fire" strategy, received a fantastic warhorse in return.

The young men of Dussac were green with envy, but old Lalo was not very happy.

Winters noticed that Lalo's smile seemed forced, so he went to ask him why.

After repeated questioning, old Lalo finally revealed his true feelings: "Sir, it's not that I'm ungrateful. I'm just a peasant. What use would I have for a warhorse? It needs feed and care, and I can't afford to raise it."

Winters was speechless for a moment, realizing that he had acted rashly and had indeed misjudged the situation.

Old Lalo asked hesitantly, "Or... how about you give me a different mule?"

"Your warhorse is more than enough to replace five mules!" Winters clapped his hands and laughed. "I originally wanted to replace it with two heavy draft horses that could pull plows. But then I thought, draft horses also need feed. So let's replace it with two mules, and the extra value can be converted into ducats."

Anglu then went to the caravan and picked out a sturdy, handsome, dark blue mule for Lalo.

The mule that Anglu chose was strong and robust, with a powerful lip and a glossy, smooth coat like silk. Its thighs and rump felt solid to the touch.

Lalo's fellow villagers were full of praise for the beautiful livestock, and old Lalo himself treasured it dearly.

However, there was only one, because the transport capacity of the caravan was also tight, and there were not many spare draft animals.

The remaining money, Winters converted into Ducati gold coins, and secretly gave them to old Lalo.

This time he thought it through carefully: a mule is still in the realm of "envy," but if you add money to it, then it will enter the realm of "jealousy."

“The gold coins are all sewn into the belt.” There were only two people in the military tent. Winters handed the belt to Lalo: “Apart from the difference in weight, you can’t tell from the appearance.”

Lalo thanked him repeatedly and carefully put away his belt.

Old Lalo was at least twice the age of Winters, his hands were covered in calluses, and he was a very mature and steady person.

Winters shouldn't have said much, but thinking of the Wolf Town people who squandered their hard-earned money in Thevordan, he couldn't help but admonish them: "Don't gamble... and don't spend it on women. Take it back, take it to your family, even if it's just to buy some new clothes."

The sight of a young man in his early twenties giving advice to a middle-aged man nearing fifty is utterly comical and absurd.

But Winters' words were earnest and heartfelt, and old Lalo nodded heavily: "Rest assured, Centurion."

……

Winters has had a relatively easy time these past few days, but Sackler and Alpard haven't been having such a peaceful one.

The Heds stopped trying to use fire, but their harassment of Platu's army did not stop; on the contrary, it intensified.

Scattered cavalrymen from Hed would sneak up near the Palattu camp in the dead of night, firing guns, blowing horns, and shooting arrows, much to the annoyance of the Palattu people.

The sentry rang the bell to warn them, and the Huds turned and ran. If the sentry didn't ring the bell, the Huds would keep bothering them.

Sackler set up an ambush outside the camp and arranged for his cavalry to keep watch at night, but the results were not ideal.

The White Lion was happy to engage in small-scale battles with the Parat people, and even more so to wear down their morale in this way.

We'll have a good fight tonight, then tomorrow the White Lion will switch to another tribe and continue.

In the end, Sackler angrily realized that the best way was to ignore it.

So the Palatine garrison on the northern and southern highlands focused on fortifying their camps and ignored the harassing light cavalry of Hart.

The Paratul refused to fight, so the Hed became even more aggressive.

On one of the most outrageous occasions, several Hud people lit a bonfire outside the range of their muskets, and then roasted meat while singing and dancing.

Upon hearing this, Brother Reid chuckled and asked Winters, "Next time, are you going to send over a few women's clothes?"

Winters didn't understand the mystery and honestly replied, "The Hed people's clothes are not differentiated by gender, and the styles are all similar."

The old charlatan, having been rebuffed, sighed and walked away.

Faced with the repeated provocations from the Hed people, the soldiers and junior officers were furious.

General Sackler, however, was resolute. He ordered the garrison troops of each village to dig three trenches, enclosing the area between the southern and northern highlands and the riverbank, clearly demonstrating his intention to act like a hedgehog.

Knowing that the Paratul people would not attack, the White Lion still sent men to harass and provoke them every day.

In this way, the confidence of the Hart tribes is gradually recovering from the crushing defeat at the Battle of Nameless Valley.

The Heds rode their horses outside the range of their muskets, while the Palatines watched helplessly.

The Hed urinated outside the range of their muskets, while the Paratians continued to watch.

The Hed wrestled outside the range of their muskets, and the Paratians watched—though they seemed to enjoy it.

So the Hud people stopped the wrestling matches and replaced them with other, more insulting activities.

Lieutenant Mason sighed every day, regretting not bringing the cannon, "otherwise I wouldn't have to put up with this."

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica proposed a plan: build a fort fifty meters away from the camp and select soldiers from hunter families to garrison it; and concentrate all the rifled guns of the army and give them to the hunters to use.

Within fifty meters, which is within the effective killing range of a standard matchlock musket, musketeers on the fortress wall can provide support to the watchtower.

Lieutenant Colonel Jaschka also recognized the potential of rifled guns.

However, due to the high cost of these guns, they are currently used as hunting toys by military officers and wealthy families.

Apart from that, only hunters who are forced by circumstances would spend a lot of money to buy a rod.

It's better to try than to stand idly by, so Sackler agreed to Lieutenant Colonel Jessica's plan.

The general gave the order, and the other officers had no choice but to hand over their prized hunting rifles; even Winters' double-barreled pistol was confiscated.

The Paratites have a widespread competitive mentality, and their firearms are naturally exquisite. Officers' rifled guns are meticulously crafted, with decorations on the gun body costing more than the gun itself.

The officers at all levels were very reluctant to hand it over to the common soldiers.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica had unwittingly offended many of his colleagues, but his methods were immediately effective.

Rifled gunners can already pose an effective threat to targets within 100 meters—although they can't kill them with one shot.

If one shot misses, then two, three...

After being killed and wounded more than a dozen people, the Hed people no longer dared to act recklessly.

Prior to this, the Hud people even went to a place less than fifty meters from the camp wall to provoke and demonstrate.

Since the rifle musket shooters came into play, the Heds all retreated to a distance of two hundred meters.

However, the situation at night remains frustrating.

Because the watchtowers had limited defensive capabilities and were easily destroyed, the rifle musketeers would retreat to their camp at night.

The Hed people dared not act recklessly during the day, but they intensified their fighting after sunset. The two sides continued their back-and-forth, low-intensity battles without ceasing.

During these difficult times, only one thing brought comfort to the Parat people: thanks to the stable supply of timber from the Bridge Forest Camp, the progress of the bridge construction was very satisfactory.

The bridge piers are extending towards the opposite bank at a rate of at least ten meters per day, and have already crossed the center of the river.

The Hud people on the other side of the river were also racking their brains to destroy the bridge.

The Hed people's way of thinking was extremely straightforward: If heavy arrows can't reach the target, then I'll switch to light arrows.

So they quickly made a batch of light arrows with bone arrowheads and thin wooden shafts, and fired them at the Paratists.

The arrows are lighter and have a longer range, but they are also less powerful and more susceptible to the effects of wind.

The Heds fired hundreds of light arrows against the wind, with an outrageous hit rate.

Even arrows that managed to hit the Parat people caused them no pain or discomfort.

Not powerful enough? Then I'll use a stronger bow.

So they used three heavy bows to make a crossbow, carried it to the riverbank, and fired at the pile-driving boat.

If a specially made heavy bow is used, it might even pose a threat to the pile-driving ship.

The Hud people used only ordinary horn bows for their ballistae, and the Paratul piling boats were extremely heavy, so arrows hitting them were like tickling.

The Hed people on the opposite bank coated their arrows with resin and tried to set the pile-driving boat ablaze.

It was still a failure; the fire was extinguished even faster than the Paratians could start it.

After shooting for a long time, the boat and the bridge were fine, but the Hed's ballistae broke, injuring several people.

In desperation, the Hed people launched another trebuchet, with forty-odd men pulling on the poles and hurling head-sized stones at the bridge and rafts on the water.

This time, the Paratians are truly threatened.

A rock the size of a human head cannot sink a raft, but it can kill people.

However, when the Hud people launched their catapults, the bridge was less than 100 meters from the opposite bank of the river.

Sackler directly sent musketeers and riflemen onto the bridge to exchange fire with the Heds on the opposite bank of the river.

However, the Hed's equipment still suffered from the same old problem—it was crudely made and unusable for long periods of time.

The raft didn't sink, the bridge piers weren't damaged, and the catapult disintegrated on its own...

The Huds, who were operating the catapults, dispersed in embarrassment, and the two sides thus ended another day of fighting.

Winters watched the entire match from the riverbank.

Watching the battle is considered one of the traditional recreational activities of the military, and many officers who are not on duty come to the riverbank to watch the battle.

During their discussions, most of the officers agreed on the following point: the closer they got to the other side, the greater the resistance they would encounter; if the Harts could deploy one catapult today, they could deploy five or ten tomorrow; the final beachhead breakthrough would probably not be easy.

Everyone present was a senior from Paratum, and Winters didn't want to interrupt, so he hid in the back and pretended to listen attentively—he was actually quite shy around strangers.

On the way back to Camp Bridge, Lieutenant Colonel Robert casually asked, "Winters, do you have other ideas?"

Winters was less reserved in front of familiar superiors.

He stroked Qiangyun's mane and replied, "I think everyone overestimates the Hed people on the other side. If the bridge were moved forward another fifty meters, the Hed people on the other side would probably run away."

"How so?" Lieutenant Colonel Robert asked, intrigued.

The other officers accompanying them also perked up their ears, knowing that their junior had fought with the Hed people on the other side of the river.

Winters nodded sheepishly and explained, "The Hed people on the other side are actually a ragtag army cobbled together from many small tribes. Their fighting strength is far inferior to the direct forces of large tribes like the Red River Tribe, the Teldun Tribe, and the Suz Tribe, and they are easily disintegrated."

The quick-thinking colleagues already understood what Winters was trying to say, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert slapped his thigh lightly.

"They made a killing in Palatour. I was already surprised that the White Lion let them stay on the other side of the river. It shows that the White Lion has a lot of authority in their eyes, but..." Winters braided a small braid for Strong Fortune and laughed, "That's about it."

When Winters went to Bianli, Alaric [Storm Eagle] almost drove him to the brink of despair.

But if the current Jaska battalion were to hold the Styx camp, Winters was confident he could rout Alaric's Thousand Men until they were crying for their mothers.

Even the slowest-witted colleague realized it at this moment:
The troops on the west bank were determined to fight their way home;
Meanwhile, the Hed people on the opposite bank had already plundered enough, and their fighting spirit was far weaker than when they went to Palatul.

Once the bridge reaches the other side, the rest shouldn't be too difficult.

Back at the Bridge Forest camp, Winters, as usual, ate dinner, inspected the camp, and wrote letters—he had actually come to regard writing letters as writing a diary.

By using Disintegrate to blast trees every day, spellcaster training can be skipped.

After doing all this, he crawled into the down comforter.

“Down comforters are great in every way,” Winters thought regretfully, “but they’re still not as comfortable as my old blanket.”

……

The thunderous sound of hooves echoed like lightning.

There was also the urgent tolling of bells.

Winters jumped down from the cot and reached for his sword.

"Am I dreaming?" He slowly turned his head, trying to pinpoint the direction of the sound of hooves.

It's not a dream! It really is the sound of hooves!

Winters cursed and stormed out of the tent, yelling, "Enemy attack!"

The power of the roar was close to that of a sonic boom, making him dizzy.

The soldiers scrambled out of the tents and began to arm themselves.

Charles and Heinrich rushed over and helped Winters put on his armor.

"[Indistinct profanities]!" Winters was furious. "Can't you just get a good night's sleep?!"

"It's inside out! It's inside out!" Charles shouted anxiously, "You're wearing your armor backwards!"

Winters, who was still angry, suddenly laughed until his stomach hurt: "I was wondering why it felt like I was being choked..."

The usually taciturn Heinrich suddenly spoke up: "Sir, the sound of horses' hooves seems to be coming from the main camp."

Winters was horrified, his hair standing on end: "That's right... they came from the main camp..."

Winters quickly donned his armor and strode toward his camp.

Charles went to fetch the horse, while Heinrich raised the military flag and followed closely behind the centurion.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed around the camp.

The messenger cavalry with green plumes charged into the Qiaolin camp, galloping wildly along the main road, shouting: "General Alpad has ordered! All those who can ride, follow! Alpad..."

Winters breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the messenger's words.

For a brief moment, he thought the main camp had been breached.

The braziers were lit one after another, and the Shuangqiao camp was awakening.

After assembling his troops, Winters led them to the training ground.

When the Montagne 100 entered the training ground, there were only a few people there, which gave Winters a little bit of pride.

Upon seeing the familiar Lieutenant Varga, Winters quickly went over and asked, "Sergeant, what happened?"

"I don't know either." Lieutenant Varga saluted, a wry smile on his face.

One horse charged into the training ground; it was Lieutenant Colonel Robert.

"Centurions present!" Lieutenant Colonel Robert shouted, "Follow me!"

After saying this, the lieutenant colonel sped away.

Winters and Varga exchanged a glance, then spurred their horses to follow.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert remained silent and led his men out of the Bridge Forest camp.

Unable to discern directions at night, Winters could vaguely sense that he was heading towards the riverbank.

Winters was worried about losing his momentum, so he slowed down a bit and ended up at the back.

Before he even reached the riverbank, by the silvery moonlight and through the sparse shadows of the trees, he saw something churning in the river.

"A fire ship! No, it's not a ship! What is it then?!"

If the Jesca Battalion from Chapter 89 were to defend the Riverside Camp from Chapter 48, they could really rout the Alaric Thousand Men's Army until they were crying for their mothers.

Not only did the troop strength double, but the soldiers' experience was also far greater than it had been at that time.

Thank you to all the readers for reading, subscribing, recommending, voting, donating, and commenting. Thank you everyone.

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(End of this chapter)