Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 284 Testing
As the sun rose to the height of the tree branches, two riders galloped along the riverbank.

Tamas, who was leading the way, suddenly slowed down, and Winters, who was behind, also abruptly reined in his warhorse.

“There, the centurion,” Tamas said, pointing to a bend in the Great Horn River. “That’s where the barbarians anchored.”

The warhorse reared up restlessly, as if it could smell the lingering scent of blood in the air.

Winters gently tugged on the reins, examining and assessing the embankment, slope, gully, and river before him.

After a moment of contemplation, he took out a map book with a blackened cover, sketched a few lines, and put it back in his saddlebag: "Let's go, let's go down and take a look!"

Winters only needed to exert a little force with his legs, and the intelligent warhorse immediately understood.

A mixed-breed horse, with a dark tan hue, white markings on its forehead, and a tall, slender body, leaped off the earthen embankment and galloped joyfully toward the riverbank, raising a cloud of dust.

Tamas, lacking such horsemanship, carefully rode his horse diagonally downhill, hurrying to catch up.

The battlefield has been cleared away, birds are singing, and the river is flowing calmly northward.

If you don't look closely at the red and black bloodstains between the rocks, you would never guess that a fierce battle had taken place here just a few hours ago.

Q: In a close-quarters duel between an arrow and a stone, who would win?
A: The one with more people wins.

It's likely that none of the Teldun people were killed on the spot, but many were injured. Seeing the unfavorable situation, they didn't hesitate to cut the anchor ropes and drift back to the west bank.

After the battle, during the inventory, three bodies were pulled out, all of whom had drowned. One of the bodies was wearing a red-feathered helmet. The Second Company downstream reported six floating corpses.

A total of nine enemy soldiers were killed, and the number of wounded is unknown. Two horn bows were captured, and eighty-two arrows were recovered. Three of our own soldiers were seriously wounded, and several others were slightly wounded.

Judging by the numbers alone, this battle seems like child's play.

However, for the participants, they were risking their lives to kill each other—something only those who had truly faced arrows and stones, their knees trembling, and their teeth clenched in battle could understand.

So this was a victory, albeit a small one, but it was undeniable.

Winters only learned of the series of small-scale skirmishes after daybreak.

It wasn't because he wanted to sleep in, but because when the messenger from the First Company returned to Niu Ti Valley, he had already rushed to another battlefield.

Last night, it wasn't just one bloody battle; three battles broke out in quick succession. The other two skirmishes took place within the 12th Company's defense zone, and were larger and more intense.

The three groups of Teldun crossed the river at less than two hours apart, covering a distance of nearly forty kilometers.

Winters changed horses five times on the round trip alone, riding more than 60 kilometers.

So at this moment, neither Charles nor Heinrich, who were always by Winters' side, were there—the two of them could barely walk when they left the saddle and were ordered by Winters to rest.

Winters dismounted upon reaching the riverbank and strolled along the riverbank. His gaze swept across the water, the hillside, and all the way to the horizon of the valley.

Seeing the centurion surveying the terrain, Tamas dared not disturb him. He followed the centurion's example and looked around, but all he saw was water, grass, stones, and earth.

Suddenly, Winters stopped. Tamas saw the centurion bend down, seemingly picking something up.

After glancing at it briefly, Winters handed the item to the company commander and said casually, "Bone arrow."

Tamas looked closely—it was a polished bone arrowhead, but the tip had broken off.

As a veteran of the Great Wilderness War, Tamas knew some of the enemy's secrets. Although the Herd tribes still widely used stone and bone arrows, at least the Teldun tribe had iron arrowheads.

Therefore, Tamas was somewhat puzzled: "Do the Teldun barbarians also use bone arrows and stone arrows? Don't they have iron arrows? Is it to prevent us from using their arrowheads?"

"How many arrowheads were recovered?" Winters asked.

"Only about eighty arrowheads are intact, along with some shafts," Tamas said with a sigh. "The stone and bone arrowheads that hit the rocks are all damaged."

"No iron?"

After thinking carefully, Tamas answered seriously, "There is no iron."

“Others don’t know.” Winters paced back and forth in thought: “The men personally led by the fire-bringer should have iron arrowheads.”

"You mean... those who came last night weren't the barbarian elites?"

"Why not send the elite troops?" Winters retorted. "Why didn't you send the elite troops for the vanguard crossing?"

"I...I don't know." Tamas's forehead began to sweat.

“You’re already the acting battalion commander; you need to think about the next step.”

Tamas hesitated before speaking, "Perhaps it's to test us, or to wear us down."

“Yes.” Winters nodded. “On the surface, that seems to be the case.”

"And...what's inside?"

“I don’t know either.” A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Winters’ eyes. “War is the art of deception.”

Tamas was completely bewildered.

Winters changed the subject: "Did the barbarians anchor here last night?"

Yes, right here.

Winters is located at the bend of the river, where the water flows clockwise.

The water flow is rapid and the riverbed is deep on the west bank outside the bend, while the water flow is slow and the riverbed is shallow on the east bank inside the bend.

“The Teldens have good taste; this is a good crossing point,” Winters commented. “You don’t even need to take people to the shore; just get them into the shallows. They can walk the rest of the way. What else did the Teldens do last night besides anchoring?”

“I’m not sure.” Tamas said, feeling ashamed. “My horse was hit by two arrows and ran like a madman for several kilometers. Last night’s battle was commanded by Sergeant Bunir, who said that the barbarians seemed to be dragging something out of the water.”

"Dragging something out?" Winters shook his head. "I think they lowered it in first and then pulled it up—they must be measuring the water depth."

"Measure the water depth?" Tamas exclaimed in surprise, asking incredulously, "Are those barbarians trying to learn on the spot and build a bridge across the Great Horn River too?"

“Monkey Butt Face shouldn’t be that stupid.” Winters smiled. “If the Teldenans were to drive piles across the river to build a bridge, it would be like putting a noose around their own necks.”

"Why?" Tamas's feelings were in turmoil.

“Time,” Winters said calmly. “The weather is getting colder every day, and the supplies are dwindling. They don’t have much time left. But this is indeed a good crossing point.”

"I'll have people keep a close watch on this place!" Tamas immediately perked up.

Winters asked slowly, "How did you know they were going to cross the river here?" "I... this..." Tamas was speechless.

“Given the terrain alone, there are more than forty suitable locations for a forced crossing in Zhongtiefeng County.” Winters patiently explained to the company commander and acting battalion commander: “If we do our best, we may be able to control these forty-plus locations, but this mentality may also be used against us by the Telden people.”

"Then... what do we do?"

Winters' tone gradually became more formal: "We try every means to deceive and mislead the Teldonians, and the Teldonians try their best to deceive us. I ask you, are the fire-warmers still on the other side?"

"Are you there?" Tamas dared not answer.

"why?"

"That flag is still there..."

"I'm in Bullshoe Valley. Has my flag been raised in Bullshoe Valley?" Winters' tone was so calm it was devoid of any emotion.
"The fire-bringers may no longer be on the other side, and the elite Teldun troops may have already quietly broken camp; these raids may have been a smokescreen, or they may have indeed been preparations for a forced crossing; as for the enemy that came last night, they may have been elite troops who deliberately switched to using bone arrows, or they may have just been a group of slave soldiers. Even the intelligence we've swallowed may be poisoned meatballs."

Tamas tried his best to keep up with the centurion's train of thought: "Then... what should we do?"

“There’s nothing we can do.” Winters’ tone was as if he were talking about the weather: “Intelligence is always incomplete, a mix of truth and falsehood, and incredibly complex. As the old marshal said, the commander’s duty is to make the right judgments from limited, often conflicting, information.”

"Thank goodness you're here." Tamas licked his lips and said sincerely, "I don't need to worry about these things, otherwise I would definitely go crazy."

In the past, Winters would have scolded him for such blatant flattery.

But this time, he said nothing, only sighed and casually kicked a small pebble from the edge of his boot into the river.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you.” Winters said rather listlessly, “I don’t have that ability either. For example, I can’t tell what’s going on on the other side of the river, and I can’t figure out what the people warming themselves by the fire are up to.”

Hearing the omnipotent centurion utter such discouraging words, Tamas was suddenly filled with fear. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and back, his heart pounded, and his mouth went dry and his palms went cold.

But when the unease exceeded the threshold, Tamas became numb. Only one thought remained in his mind, a thought as solid as a foundation.

“Wherever you point, I’ll shoot.” Tamas said with unwavering conviction, “You tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

"A tool mentality is unacceptable."

"I'm willing to be your tool. Just tell me what we should do."

"What to do? Since we can't guess, let's not even try." Winters laughed loudly: "Let the wind and rain blow, I will remain unmoved."

Tamas pondered those words.

Winters looked directly into the company commander's eyes and asked, "What is the first phase of Operation Storm?"

Tamas responded reflexively: "Block the river! Don't let a single person cross!"

“Time is not on the enemy’s side.” Winters’ words were clear and unambiguous: “No matter the cost, no matter what tricks Monkey Buttface has up his sleeve, we just need to hold the riverbank of Zhongtiefeng County. Not only should we not be led by him, but we should also force him to follow the path we have drawn. It’s that simple.”

Tamas raised his hand in salute.

He earnestly requested: "In last night's battle, the First Company suffered some losses because they couldn't reach the barbarians. Please issue some muskets and bows and arrows. Even if more barbarians come, I will hold out until reinforcements arrive."

“Your loss was my oversight.” Winters chuckled softly. “The old marshal’s notes say that if swordsmen lack the cover of crossbows and muskets, they should be issued javelins. The notes also say that ‘swordsmen should carry six stones.’ I used to not understand what the stones were for and thought it was a typo, but now I understand.”

“If you don’t have bows and arrows or muskets, you can give us some ropes,” Tamas said eagerly. “I’ve already had a company of men practice slingshotting.”

“Good, keep training. The other companies should train too.” Winters patted Tamas on the shoulder. “Also, I’ve prepared eighty archers for you—eighty for each of your companies. Whether you can manage them depends on your abilities.”

……

With the assistance of Father Carmen and the priests of the Bullshoe Valley Church, the men, women, and children in the town of Bullshoe Valley were successfully divided into men's and women's camps.

Winters designated a separate area within the town for women and children to live in, and even went so far as to build a small inner city for this purpose, strictly prohibiting adult men from entering.

On the one hand, it was to protect the safety of women and children, and on the other hand, it was to physically separate the women's camp from the men's camp.

"The barbarians are on the other side. With the enemy at our doorstep, anyone who dares to act recklessly or violate public order and morality will be hanged as a traitor." Winters publicly told the people of Bullhoof Valley: "Gentlemen, muster your courage. Your children, wives, and mothers are counting on you. To defend Bullhoof Valley is to defend them! Anyone who is cowardly or afraid to fight is betraying everyone."

If Hailan is warm and open, forcibly separating men and women will definitely cause a lot of trouble.

However, Tiefeng County is located on the border of Palathu, and its environment is isolated and its people are conservative.

Winters' policy of separating men and women was actually praised—especially among women and older men.

Shortly after the influx of refugees into Oxhoof Valley, a shocking gang rape occurred in the temporary shelters where the refugees lived.

The criminal went through the entire trial process quickly and was publicly hanged.

According to local customary law in Palatine, the victim's father would first insert a dagger into the chest of each prisoner on behalf of the victim—since they wouldn't die immediately, it wouldn't be considered murder.

Next, the Montagne tribunal himself pulled down the lever, breaking the criminal's neck.

Although the trial was swift, the shock of this heinous crime to the people of Niuti Valley lingered for a long time.

For a time, the original residents of Niutigu Town viewed the refugees as a monstrous flood—the small town was suddenly crammed with thousands of people, and not only did serious crimes increase, but petty theft also became more frequent.

The indigenous people were even unwilling to let refugees into the church to pray.

The refugees were equally indignant; they were all farmers from nearby villages with homes and businesses who had no choice but to leave their homes and flee to the town.

They now live in low shacks, eat coarse food, and are subjected to the cold stares of the townspeople.

The conflict escalated overnight.

It started with a few words of argument, then four or five teenagers started fighting. Soon after, the young people from the town and the farm went back to call their friends, and more and more people gathered in the square.

Both sides brandished weapons and were on the verge of a fight, which even the town mayor and village chiefs could not stop.

At the time, Winters was inspecting the river defenses, and in the end, it was Samukin who stepped in to resolve the matter.

Samukin has accumulated considerable experience in dealing with rabble.

He first sent out his cavalry, and the thirty riders separated the two groups in a single charge. The riders wielded their rattan whips like sabers, causing both sides in the square to cry out in agony.

Then Samukin fired a volley of shots—without lead bullets—completely dispersing the crowd.

After the Montagne tribunal returned to the city, the dispersed crowd was searched and arrested by the gendarmerie from house to house.

"Don't you like fighting?" Facing hundreds of bruised, listless fighters, Winters coldly delivered his verdict: "I'll show you what a real battlefield is like."

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(End of this chapter)