Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 325 The Fastest Way to Advance Three Levels

“Iron Peak County gets flour, the Venetian Army gets warhorses, and the Palatines get money and weapons.” With Antonia’s final answer in hand, Winters directly questioned Leo: “As the middleman, what does your side want in return?”

“A stable supply of raw materials,” Leo added calmly, having already prepared his answer. “And stable trade channels.”

Winters frowned; Leo's diplomatic rhetoric had already annoyed him.

No matter what question he asked, the portly partner of Navarre Trading Company could always deflect it with flawless platitudes. Every punch he threw seemed to land on nothing.

Staring at Leo's submissive smile, Winters realized with annoyance that he wasn't good at these kinds of situations.

A restrained politician might have the patience to slowly figure out Leo's hand, but Winters at this moment wanted to overturn the table and punch the smiling face in front of him.

That familiar rage surged from the deepest part of his chest, only to be quickly suppressed.

After taking a deep breath, Winters spoke again: "Mr. Leo."

Leo nodded slightly.

“If this were a year ago, you would already be in a dungeon being tortured,” Winters said with a touch of sadness and sincerity. “That would have been a good time.”

"Yes," Leo said with his usual respectful smile, "the past is always the best."

"Do you think I'm threatening you?" Winters continued to ask.

“What I think is not important,” Leo replied humbly. “What you think is important.”

“This is the far frontier of Palatour, a corner of the Alliance, even the edge of the civilized world. In Aquamarine, speaking indirectly is considered an art of language. But in Iron Peak County, that art of language is meaningless.” Winters’ gaze shifted from the window back to Leo: “I just wanted to tell you this.”

Leo turned his head slightly, waiting for the young man with a complicated background to continue.

“Just tell me what you want and what you can offer, and I will give you a direct answer.” Winters’ mood gradually turned cold: “There’s no need to waste time on meaningless things.”

Leo maintained his smile, inwardly shaking his head. In negotiations, the more rushed you are, the more you lose. Setting a final deadline is a strategy, but it's not suitable for the current situation.

However, Leo also felt that there was some truth to what the other party said—this was not Hailan, this was not a negotiation, and besides, he was not there to make things difficult for the other party.

"Please believe that we are on your side." Leo leaned forward, spread his palms, and explained, "Iron Peak County urgently needs food, and the army urgently needs warhorses. To resolve the problem as soon as possible, we need a third party to provide logistical support."

Leo's strategy was simple in some ways.

He viewed the local government of Palatour as a "reservoir".

One end of the pool connects to Iron Peak County, and the other end connects to Veneta. Water enters from one end and exits from the other simultaneously.

Iron Peak County handed over warhorses and funds to the Paratus, while the Venettas also handed over weapons and food to the Paratus.

Palatour, on the other hand, allocated food supplies to the Iron Peak County and warhorses to the Veneta Army.

“Very bold.” After listening to Leo’s [grand plan], Winters commented expressionlessly, “And very imaginative.”

“Very bold, but it involves enormous risks.” Leo immediately understood Winters’s implied meaning and laughed, “Very imaginative, but impossible to achieve.”

Winters's idea was confirmed, and he gave a soft hum.

Leo's plan sounds simple, but it's actually like a fantasy.

The journey from Tiefeng County to Weneta involves crossing three provinces and passing through countless counties and towns.

A caravan might be able to disguise itself as the Plato caravan and operate discreetly. However, how many military and political personnel would be involved in such a large-scale operation as Leo suggests?
“I believe you can bribe one Paratul, and I believe you can bribe ten Paratul.” Winters asked, somewhat puzzled, “But can you bribe all the Paratul?”

Mr. Leo smiled and shrugged: "You don't need to worry about that."

Winters' brow furrowed slightly, his expression turning serious. He looked scrutinizingly into Leo's eyes and asked in a deep voice, "You didn't... really bribe all the Paratians, did you?"

“If you trust me,” Leo stood up and bowed slightly, “I am willing to represent you and speak with the Paratists involved in the plan.”

“What do I need to offer?” Winters asked.

“Warhorses, funds,” Leo replied, “and sincerity.”

"Sincerity?"

Leo calmly explained, "Palatu needs some time to confirm the supplies and smooth things over."

"You mean," Winters was no longer asking, but sneering, "that if I hand over the goods first, whether or not food is brought in afterward depends on the Palatine's whims?"

"No, no, no, once Palatul receives the supplies from the army, he will deliver them to you immediately. It just requires confirmation from both sides, and the messenger's journey will also take time."

“That’s still a different matter!” Winters also jumped to his feet. “How do I know they won’t renege on their debt?”

“If you are still worried,” Mr. Leo’s plump face shone with utmost sincerity, “our firm is willing to provide a guarantee.”

Winters wanted to retort, but he vaguely sensed something was amiss. He slowly sat up, and Mr. Leo's gaze followed him.

After a moment of contemplation, Winters looked up: "No, that's not right."

“What…” Leo asked with interest, “Wrong?”

“You’re not here to persuade the Paratians,” Winters said, looking at Leo. “You’re here to persuade me!”

Mr. Leo remained smiling, neither confirming nor denying.

Winters gathered his thoughts and slowly said, "Although I don't know where you get such power, I have a vague feeling that you've already bribed the Parat people. I just don't understand, if that's the case, why do you need to persuade me? Is it so difficult to get the caravan to detour through Iron Peak County? And what exactly do you want?"

Leo deftly evaded the trap and replied earnestly, "Actually, things aren't as complicated as you think. Our company—or rather, all the members of the Venetta Wool Textile Association—ultimately just want wool."

“You still haven’t answered my question.” Winters pressed on to the crucial point: “Why me?”

Mr. Leo was about to use his usual diplomatic language again, but after a pause, he smiled again: "Because it is you, it is you."

Winters' first reaction was that Leo was making excuses for him, but Leo's expression was incredibly sincere, and his intuition told him that the other man was not lying.

Further questioning will likely yield no results, unless torture is used. Continuing to press the issue is pointless.

“I cannot answer you about this matter right now.” Winters stood up and took his leave of Leo. “I need to consult with others first before I can give you an answer.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Winters saw a fleeting look on Leo's face... strange, surprised, and interested.

And it was only for a moment, so brief that Winters couldn't help but wonder if it was an illusion. Throughout the entire conversation, Winters hadn't seen Leo show any signs of being "unguarded."

"No problem." Leo smiled and gave a slight bow. "I await your good news."

Winters had intended to talk to Leo about Anna, but the atmosphere had changed, and he lost interest in discussing personal matters. So he nodded and left.

Winters brought a reply later.

The interim resolution—Winters, Bard, and Mason—passed the following by a vote of two to one: "The warhorses can be delivered in one phase, which is two squadrons. But currency is out of the question; the Iron Peak County treasury is currently not available at all."

“No problem, with the supplies provided by Veneta, that’s enough to get the water flowing.” Leo readily agreed, then suddenly smiled broadly: “As for the money… perhaps there’s still a way.”

……

……

We won't go into Leo's proposed method here.

The clock hands move forward, returning us to the farewell party.

Winters and Leo gave Andre a general explanation of the "exchange trade" between Iron Peak County, Palatour, and Veneta.

Andrei was very unhappy when he heard that the warhorse was to be handed over to the Paratians.

"Then... how much should we give away?" Andrei asked Winters with a mournful face.

Winters didn't want to mention the secrets to Leo, so he reassured Lieutenant Cellini: "We'll talk about it when we get back. Let Senior Mason explain it to you in detail."

Andrei wanted to ask further, but seeing Leo present, he understood Winters' meaning.

Feeling aggrieved, Andrei turned his attention to Leo: "What's it to you?" "Me?" Mr. Leo pointed to himself, looking surprised.

“Even if it’s business,” Andrei asked fiercely, “why should you represent us in these negotiations?”

Before Winters could speak, Leo had already answered, explaining obediently, "Please rest assured, I absolutely did not betray the interests of you gentlemen. I went to negotiate because only my presence could create room for de-escalation."

"Oh?" Andrei said dismissively.

“If Your Excellency were to go and negotiate,” Leo said, turning to Winters with a smile, “or perhaps Lord Montagne would go. Once the negotiations break down, there will be no more chances. But if I, an insignificant person, step in first, even if the negotiations fail, the gentlemen can still salvage the situation. What do you say?”

Andrei clicked his tongue: "That makes some sense."

Winters took a sip of the fermented water—the occasion wasn't right, so he'd try to gloss over it for now and explain to Andrei later.

Mr. Leo understood Andrei's hostility and, not intending to talk any further, made an excuse and left.

The small circle of conversation was reduced to just Winters and Andrei.

After drinking a small bucket of fermented water, Andrei loosened his red silk belt embroidered with gold and said seriously, "No, I need to go to the toilet."

After that, he turned around and left.

"Wait, are you going to desert your post?" Winters grabbed Andrei.

"How could I be that kind of person?" Andrei suddenly became anxious: "I really need to go to the toilet!"

Winters suspiciously released his hand, and Andrei strode away, leaving Winters alone in the banquet hall.

The two drank and chatted, and nothing seemed amiss yet.

When Winters became the only Venetian left in the ocean of Paratvian dialects, a sense of loneliness welled up in his heart.

Looking around, officers from Palatine were laughing, singing, and drinking heartily, while gentlemen from Gevordan were gathered in small groups, each forming a circle.

"Is Anna still waiting for me?" Winters thought to himself. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't.

Someone was approaching, and Winters instinctively looked toward the source of the sound: a bald, scarred man and a somewhat thin man were leading another well-mannered, tall, thin soldier over.

The first two are Colonel Gaisa, the military commander of White Mountain County, and Major Ronald, the former military commander of Iron Peak County.

Winters didn't recognize the people who came with him, but they were clearly of high status.

Both Gaisa and Ronald were field officers, and as a captain, Winters, very respectfully, saluted first.

Gaisa was taken aback, but returned the greeting.

Since Winters offered to return a thousand horses, Gaisa's attitude towards him has softened considerably.

The bald colonel was pleased and readily agreed to Winters' request to return the prisoners—Winters still had three arrows imprisoned in Gaza.

As the unfamiliar soldier sized up Winters, Winters was also observing the other man.

The newcomer was tall and thin, with deep-set eyes and a somewhat gloomy expression.

“This is Colonel Skul, the garrison commander of Thundercrow County,” Gaisa introduced to Winters. As if worried that Winters might not understand, Gaisa added, “Most of the hussars I brought are from Thundercrow County.”

After hearing this, Winters gave Colonel Skull a separate salute.

Colonel Skull did not return the greeting. He looked at Winters with a complicated expression: "Which class are you in?"

“Issue 21,” Winters replied.

“We’ve reached the 21st term already,” Colonel Skull remarked, then suddenly cut to the chase and asked Winters, “Did you kill Zipper?”

Zippert? Winters felt a sharp pain, but he couldn't remember who it was. He searched his memory and soon realized it was the name of the garrison commander of Vaughan.

As expected, it happened; these kinds of things are inevitable.

"Although I did not kill Colonel Zipper with my own hands, as the highest-ranking commander of the other side in the war, Colonel Zipper did indeed die at my hands."

Hurry up, if you want to insult or seek revenge, then do it all!

……

Meanwhile, on the balcony on the second floor of the banquet hall, Lieutenant Colonel Moritz was passing a bottle of spirits to a drinking buddy he had unexpectedly met.

"When we meet on the battlefield, we're enemies, clear and unambiguous." Moritz leaned against the corner of the wall, propped his legs up, and said slowly, "Now that we're cousins, things are complicated, tangled, and hard to separate..."

Captain Morrow stood leaning against the wall, saying nothing.

……

Colonel Skull's nostrils flared, and he was about to speak, but he held back.

The two stood facing each other, neither of them speaking.

“Don’t make things difficult for the child.” Ronald put his hand on Skoll’s shoulder. “If Zipper had the chance… it would be the same.”

Ronald was speaking up for Winters, but his words stung Winters like a branding iron.

“There’s no need to exonerate me in this way, and please don’t.” Winters straightened his back. He had a lot to say, but in the end, he only filtered out a short sentence: “Killing Colonel Zipper was my own will, not something I was forced by circumstances.”

Colonel Skull's body suddenly tensed, and his cheeks twitched.

If Skull were a reckless, simple-minded guy, he would yell, shout, and even raise his fist to teach this ignorant brat a lesson.

But Skul was not like that. On the contrary, from the moment he entered the Army Academy, he was known for his deep thinking and outstanding debating skills.

In just a brief conversation, Skul had already realized that interrogation, accusation, and questioning could not sway the person in front of him.

In the end, all the words I wanted to say boiled down to one powerless question: "Is it worth it? Do you really think it's all worth it?"

Winters also fell silent.

Winters didn't know which way to go. He didn't know what the end would look like. Even what he initially wanted was somewhat blurry to him.

However, just by groping his way forward, blood filled the footprints beneath his feet.

The battlefield strewn with corpses in the dawn light was a horrific sight that could make anyone doubt themselves.

“Whether it’s worth it or not, I don’t know… I’ll probably only know many years from now.” Winters replied in a low voice, “I’m not saying this to justify my actions, nor for the sake of my pride. I’m just certain of one thing: if we let the status quo continue, sooner or later a greater disaster will occur.”

Colonel Gaisa and Major Ronald didn't quite understand Winters's "outrageous remarks," but Colonel Skoll did.

"Let's not talk about these metaphysical things." Skull's gaze was intense. "I want to ask you a more practical question—do you want to continue fighting?"

Skull pressed on aggressively, "Can you continue fighting?"

Winters suddenly realized that he could skip a lot of the intermediate parts of his conversation with Colonel Skool and get straight to the point.

Skull was definitely not trying to test his resolve.

"So what?" Winters countered.

……

……

Two hours later.

"So?" Andrei asked impatiently.

Bud and Mason were also waiting intently. Apart from Mr. A and Mr. B, all the decision-makers in Iron Peak County were already seated around the small table.

“They want to recruit us,” Winters said.

[I'm late... Orz]
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(End of this chapter)