Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 330 Reformed Order
Zhevodan, the stables of the officers' quarters.

“I’m a little confused,” Andrei said, hanging up his brush and leaning against the stable fence. “Who is that old man? What religious order does he belong to?”

“Kaman didn’t say it explicitly, but I have a feeling that the old man is some kind of long-term undercover spy.”

Winters shoveled away the dung from the two miniature horses, one shovelful at a time. Despite their tiny size, the miniature horses were formidable manure-producing machines, and Winters was working up a sweat.

"Long-term? How long-term?"

“Kaman once said that the old man was about our age when he entered the wasteland, in his early twenties, when Palatour was still a duchy.” Winters wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve: “At least thirty or forty years ago.”

"Thirty or forty years?" Andrei chuckled. "What secret is worth lying low for thirty or forty years? Staying in the wasteland for thirty or forty years? Wouldn't that make you a complete Hed person?"

"What else could it be? The secret of the Shaman Hed! In my opinion, the old man probably harbors the idea of ​​becoming the Shaman Hed by sending priests to infiltrate for a long time."

"Can an outsider become a shaman?"

"You said it yourself, that he's spent thirty or forty years in the wasteland. Do you think he's an Imperial or a Hed?"

"Put church matters aside for now, I have more important things to do." Mason walked over carrying two bundles of straw and asked angrily, "When did I become the stable manager again?"

Andrei's attention was easily distracted: "Anyway, haven't you always been in charge of the horse farm?"

"no the same!"

Bader coordinated the return of refugees to their hometowns in Lower Iron Peak County, Don Juan, who was in high spirits, returned to Veneta with Antonio, and Lieutenant Colonel Moritz spent most of his time sleeping.

The extremely flat structure of the military decision-making committee has effectively paralyzed the administrative system of Tiefeng County, which has degenerated into a model where "everyone is responsible for their own affairs".

On such a cold day, Winters and Andre really didn't want to make a special trip to the garrison just to use the meeting room. The two tacitly agreed to ambush Mason, their senior, at the stables every morning as a meeting—and brush their horses along the way.

Incidentally, because of Mason's diligent handling of both big and small matters, Winters rarely even goes to work, making him arguably the number one absentee in the Iron Peak County military.

"Actually, the fact that you came to ask us already shows what you're thinking," Andrei said casually. "Does this even need thinking? The Catholic Church wants the spies back, so let's just give them back. We'll get a lot of money for free, isn't that great?"

“That’s the logic,” Winters said, pushing a cart full of horse manure out of the stable, his expression troubled. “But I can’t bear to part with it. A priest, a living priest! If I weren’t so embarrassed to ask, I would have asked that old man, ‘Excuse me… would you be willing to donate your body after your death, by the grace of God?’”

“Then let it stay.” Andrei slapped the fence. “No matter how powerful the Catholic Church is, it’s still in the Empire, where they have oathbreakers backing them up. In the Alliance, they can’t turn the world upside down.”

Mason leaned out: "That's not the case. Palatine isn't Venetia, nor is it the United Province. The vast majority of Palatine residents are Catholics, especially the native-born ones. The Catholic Church has a deep influence in Palatine; in many places, a priest's word carries more weight than a mayor's order."

Andrei grunted and turned to Winters, asking, "You really want to protect that old man?"

After much deliberation, Winters drew a line: "If conditions allow, I would like to save Brother Saul as much as possible. But it will be difficult; the Catholic Church cannot tolerate a priest's defection—not to mention that the old man has no intention of defecting at all."

“I have an idea.” Andrei narrowed his eyes, revealing that fierce look that Winters was familiar with: “It can save the old man and prevent the Catholic Church from causing us trouble in the future.”

Winters covered his face: "No, please stop talking."

“Set the Zhevodan Cathedral on fire. It’s winter anyway, fires are common.” Andrei gritted his teeth. “The old man is safe, and all the insiders have been killed. Maybe we can even get the money.”

Mason looked at Winters, and Winters looked at Mason.

Andrei continued to refine the plan: "...It's best to leave a few survivors to interrogate them and find out if they've already sent the message out. If they have, we'll have to send someone to kill the messenger as well..."

"Is he a heretic?" Mason asked doubtfully.

"I do not know either."

Andrei hammered in the final nail: "If we're going to make a move, it's best to seal off Iron Peak County and Theodore Cathedral as soon as possible. No, we can hold off on the cathedral for now, so as not to alert them. But we need to send people to block off the roads out of the city and county now, the sooner the better."

After hearing the entire plan, Mason walked over to Andre and Winters, looking intently at Winters: "In some ways... it might actually be a good plan. What do you think?"

“Kaman didn’t come to me directly, so by the time I got the news, it was already too late.” Winters didn’t directly deny Andrei’s plan, but instead analyzed its flaws: “I estimate that the letter from the Church of Gervodan has already reached the Bishop of Maplestone. We can’t just wipe out the entire Maplestone diocese.”

Andrei grinned, "Why not?"

“Following this logic,” Winters sighed, “we’ll have to keep fighting all the way up to the Pope.”

"Then what do we do?" Andrei clicked his tongue. "Fake death? Get Edmund a death row inmate's corpse?"

“He came to me yesterday asking for the person back, and today the person is dead,” Winters said helplessly. “It’s too much of a coincidence.”

"Then I can't help you." Andrei shrugged, walked into the miniature horse stable, and patted the miniature horse's round belly: "Hey, these bald guys know how to raise horses. Are you going to use these two miniature horses recently?"

“No need. Anna can ride horses, and Catherine said she'd rather die than ride those two dwarfs.” Winters asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

Andrei was overjoyed: "Then I can borrow it for a few days."

"Sure, but didn't you say you wouldn't ride ponies?"

“I won’t ride,” Andrei said, already mounting the pony. “But the riding team has just recruited a group of newbies, so it’s good to let them practice on the ponies first… Hmm, they’re quite stable.”

Mason also came over: "Didn't he have a solution to the problem Father Kaman brought up?"

“He has a plan, but he won’t tell me. He just asked me to buy him some time.” Winters sighed again. “After thinking it over, I realized that Kaman’s plan is simply to send the person away and hide them. What else can he do?”

Mason paused for a moment, then slowly leaned forward toward Winters, asking thoughtfully, "Do you think... the Magic Operations Bureau would be interested in a living, accessible priest?"

……

Tiefeng County, Manyun Valley.

The alarm bell rang quickly and urgently. The bell ringer saw a large cloud of dust rising in the west, indicating that a huge, unidentified cavalry was approaching.

The shadow cast by the barbarians of Hed had not yet dissipated, and the entire town was on high alert. Men with tense faces grabbed their weapons and rushed towards the walls, while women carrying children hid in the basement and the church.

The residents of Manyun Valley only breathed a sigh of relief when several light cavalrymen arrived carrying green flags to report the news.

The cavalry came from Revodan, and according to the messenger, they were there to build a bridge for Manyun Valley.

Ever since the Manyun Bridge was destroyed by the Blood Wolf, communication between the two sides of the strait has been limited to boats, which is very inconvenient.

Upon learning that the visitors wanted to build a bridge for Manyun Valley, the town mayor was extremely enthusiastic, not only offering to provide manpower but also taking the initiative to arrange food and lodging for the horse team. "Then?" The nominal leader of the horse team, [Tamas], looked behind him inquiringly.

The man standing behind Tamas wore a mask and spoke impatiently: "You're the appointed commander, what are you looking at me for?"

“Alright then,” Tamas decided, replying to the mayor, “Thank you for the food and drink, but we’ll skip the lodging and camp outside town.”

The town mayor hurriedly said "good" several times, secretly relieved—letting a bunch of soldiers into the town could cause who knows how much trouble they would cause.

With his tense nerves relaxed slightly, the town mayor couldn't help but feel a little smug about his tactic of feigning retreat. After all, if the soldier really wanted to enter Manyun Valley, he couldn't stop him, so he might as well do him a favor.

The masked man seemed to have seen through the mayor's little scheme and snorted disdainfully.

“By the way, Mayor,” Tamas called out to the departing Mayor of Manyun Valley, “Lord Montagne asked me to give you a few words of advice.”

The mayor's heart tightened again. He thought for a moment, and an image of a "blue steed" in his memory matched the name.

"The tribunal asked me to tell you that the circuit court has resumed, and Manyun Valley is scheduled for the second week of next month. As for the bridge, a pontoon bridge will have to do for now. He promised to give the people of Manyun Valley a 'better, stronger, and more beautiful' bridge, and he will not break his promise, so please rest assured. Please also tell the townspeople."

The town mayor paused for a moment, then nodded.

After Mayor Manyun Valley left, Captain Moro, who was wearing a mask, finally spoke: "He was bullying you, didn't you realize?"

“Maybe,” Tamas replied. “It’s alright.”

The order was quickly passed down, and the cavalry turned northeast and set up camp on a flat open space outside the town, by the river.

"Why?" The monkey was extremely unhappy. He kept banging on the tent pegs and grumbling, "We have a house, so why are we setting up a tent in the wild?"

[Lu Xirong]—Monkey's current squad leader and also Monkey's sergeant in the militia—gets annoyed by Monkey's grumbling and kicks him: "You talk too much! Even the company commander lives in a tent, so what's wrong with you living in a tent? Sergeant Bunir didn't complain, so what are you whining about?"

The monkey, despite being kicked, showed no anger. He rubbed his backside and grinned as he approached Lu Xirong: "Sergeant?"

“I’m a squad leader now, not a sergeant.” Lu Xirong said with a dark face, hitting the tent pegs with a stone one by one.

"Hey, sooner or later."

"Leave far away."

"I have something I want to ask..."

"Let the fart go."

The monkey asked hesitantly, "When will we new recruits be given land? When will we get our land?"

Lu Xirong put down the stone, turned around and stared at the monkey: "Why are you asking this?"

"Isn't it itchy inside me?" the monkey sighed. "Forget about land, I've never even had a new piece of clothing in my life. The thought of being given land makes my heart itch like a cat scratching at it. With land, maybe I could get married. Sigh, I've never even been with a woman."

Lu Xirong scolded him with exasperation: "You haven't even gotten a single head as a reward, what's the rush? Look at your fellow villager, he got three heads and a blue feather! He's not worried, why are you?"

The monkey, still grinning, said, "You're in such a hurry, Shaocai. If I had three heads as merit, I wouldn't be in a rush either."

Upon learning that the unassuming little man in front of him was the famous Sergeant Bunier, the monkey immediately agreed to join the army.

Doug was already packing his bags when he saw his comrade decide to join the army, so he quietly stayed behind.

As soon as they moved into the camp, the two were separated.

Monkey was assigned to Luciron's ten-man squad, while Doug was picked up by Sergeant Peter Bunier and is now serving as a messenger for the acting battalion commander.

Lu Xirong ignored the monkey and turned back to hammering nails. The monkey sensed that the captain was unhappy and wisely shut up and went back to work.

Soon, the tent that could accommodate six people was set up, and everyone set up an iron pot and prepared some hot food before dark.

While drinking soup around the fire, Lu Xirong finally spoke: "I reckon that you new recruits won't be treated the same way we were."

"What? Why?" the monkey exclaimed anxiously.

"What was the situation back then? What is the situation now? It's different now."

If he were a fool, he would have kept pressing Lu Xirong for answers. But the monkey was quick-witted and immediately grasped the crux of the matter.

The Iron Peak County army can currently be roughly divided into three tiers, with the top tier consisting of Blood Wolf's most senior subordinates. They are easy to identify because only they address Blood Wolf as "Centurion," and only they can use this title.

Many of the veterans who remained in the army had become company commanders, such as Tamas and Bart Sharing. Those who were discharged due to injury often went on to work under the militia officers of Badr.

The middle ranks consisted of Lu Xirong's group, who were the core members of the "first army." Most of them were at the rank of squad leader or sergeant, and their land holdings were at least enough to make them small landowners, though they had not yet been liquidated.

The third layer consists of prisoners who were forcibly incorporated when the three hundred-man squads were expanded into infantry regiments.

They joined the Blood Wolves' army reluctantly and half-heartedly at first, and now they are the backbone of the army.

Among them, the most distinguished in battle was Sergeant Peter Thousand Acres Bunier. Even those without much military merit, as long as they were alive, were entitled to the most basic land grant of three hundred acres under the land grant law.

As for the newly recruited soldiers like Monkey and Doug, they don't even qualify to be included in this three-tiered pyramid.

Lu Xirong said the situation was different, meaning that in the past it was very difficult for Blood Wolf to recruit soldiers; they couldn't retain people without coaxing, deceiving, and offering generous rewards.

And now? The news that enlisting in the army would grant one three hundred acres of land has spread throughout Tiefeng County, making countless people envious.

The bloody battle that took place in the valley is a lingering nightmare for many survivors, but many others are willing to grit their teeth and fight back.

With recruitment becoming easier, the conditions offered naturally won't be as generous.

Even after figuring it out, the monkey was still unwilling, but he had no choice but to sigh in frustration.

“You don’t need to worry either.” Lu Xirong glanced at the monkey: “Blood Wolf never mistreats his people.”

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(End of this chapter)