Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 391 Storm (Part 5)

Old foreman Corvilian and white-haired Roger hid in the pine forest on the lake shore, watching the firelight in the city grow increasingly glaring.

Although the Baron repeatedly warned the two to guard the sled dogs and ice sleds, anyone with a brain could figure it out: What dogs? What sleds? Did the Baron intend to go back to the inn for a nap?
The truth is that the Baron couldn't distinguish between the two men under his command, so he made up a reason to appease Corvillian and Roger.

The lake was deathly still, and there was no one on the shore. There was no better chance to escape than now.

White-haired Roger considered running away several times, but whenever he caught sight of his uncle's hunched back and slightly trembling fingers, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Hesitating, time slipped away second by second.

Suddenly, the sled dogs barked wildly, and a rider leaped off the lake embankment, galloping towards the hiding place of the uncle and nephew.

It was the baron's squire, and judging from his appearance, he had just been through a fierce battle: his breastplate was dented, and lead bullets were still embedded in the dent. His once clean robe was now stained with blood and mud, and the edges of the robe were charred black.

Seeing that the foreman and the thin, white-haired man hadn't run away, Charles was a little surprised. He stopped at the edge of the woods and called to the white-haired Roger, "Come with me!"

Kovilian hurried forward and asked in a humble voice, "Where are you going?"

"It can't be explained in a sentence or two, just come with me." Charles thought for a moment, "Take the dog with you, it might come in handy."

“Uncle, don’t worry about it. I’ll go with him.” Roger steeled himself and walked out of the woods with a rather nonchalant air, saying casually, “But you have to find my uncle a warm place. Is this a place for a human to stay? We’re freezing to death!”

“Easy. Old sir, do you know where the Schmidts live? That’s all we need to do.” Charles pointed at the white-haired Roger: “But you have to come with me obediently and don’t get any funny ideas.”

"Okay, how do I get there?"

"Can you ride a horse?"

"will not."

Charles grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Then you'll have to make do with this."

A moment later, White-haired Roger was tied to the horse's rump in a very humiliating position, like a sack of flour.

Charles whistled, and the sled dogs stirred.

"Don't move around too much, I'm not responsible if you fall and die." Charles raised his whip to crack, but then suddenly remembered something else important and said with a smile, "When you get there, remember to call me Captain Bern. Don't give yourself away."

Having said that, he rode off into the distance, with the sled dogs following behind.

Kovilian watched the two leave, gave a silent salute, and wearily walked toward the Schmidt house.

……

After Charles brought White-Haired Roger to Winters, he immediately had White-Haired Roger lead the way to the place where he had encountered the green-eyed and black-faced man.

Roger cooperated and led Winters and the others to the intersection of Mana Street and Omer Street.

"Is this the place?" Winters asked.

Roger nodded and pointed to the roadside: "Right there, I saw Blackface seeing that blond kid off to the carriage."

Winters looked around; there was nothing special about it, just an ordinary street scene.
A narrow stone road, wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side, is blocked by road railings and courtyard walls. The northern part of the city has few shops and workshops, so the roadsides are mostly lined with residences.

Besides Winters' men, more than twenty militiamen from the North District were also brought over without any explanation.

At this moment, they stood in small groups behind Winters, whispering among themselves and waiting for orders with no idea what was going on.

Winters thought for a moment, then suddenly turned to the militia: "Who has ever been a deputy? A sergeant?"

The militiamen looked at each other in bewilderment, and two older men stepped forward.

Seeing this, Winters pointed to another militiaman who looked mature and reliable: "You're a quartermaster now."

Winters then drew his lance from his sling, walked straight to the center of the crossroads, and gave a menacing order: "The thugs who robbed the Ester Palace have fled into the nearby houses. Starting from this crossroads, search every house! Better to arrest the innocent than let the guilty go free! Go ahead and do it! I'll take full responsibility for any consequences."

The militiamen didn't know if there were really rioters, but Captain Berne declared that he would take full responsibility, placing them on a safe moral high ground, and their doubts were temporarily put aside.

Winters decisively divided the more than twenty militiamen into three teams, each led by one of Winters's men and a "decimal," and they went off to search separately.

If those who carry out a task believe they don't need to take responsibility, they will be less cautious and more ruthless.

Barking dogs, screams, banging on doors, and shouts filled the air. Lights emerged one after another from the darkness, turning the already sleepless residential area into a scene of chaos.

"Open the door! Open the door!"

"You...who are you?"

"Didn't you hear the alarm? A riot has broken into the north of the city! By order of Captain Bern, search for the rioters!"

"Captain Bern? Huh? Wait! What are you doing?! Go upstairs, honey! Take the kids and go back upstairs! You—I don't have any thugs in my house!"

"How will we know they didn't go in if we don't search? Better to arrest the innocent than let the guilty go free. Search them!"

"What are you trying to do?! I'm talking to you..."

"Hey! Wait! Don't hit him! I know this man—Mr. Rudolf!"

"Detrich? It's you? What happened?"

"Oh, I'm also wearing military boots. Don't be afraid, this isn't a robbery. These gentlemen are all free citizens with civil rights, not bandits. We really are here to find thugs."

"Well... then please don't scare the child, and don't rummage through things or break anything..."

"Alright, alright, don't worry. By the way, aren't you a free man too, Mr. Rudolf?"

"Huh? What?"

"Then why aren't you dressed yet? Find your gun! Come with us to search for the rioters! Don't you know? All free men have been conscripted tonight! Captain Bern said anyone who dares not go will be court-martialed!"

Soon, outside another house.

"Open the door! Open the door now!"

"Who is it? Mr. Rudolf? What's going on?"

"Alas, by order of Captain Bern, search for the rioters."

"But...where would I get thugs from in my house?"

"The captain's orders, oh dear, I had no choice, I was just following orders. Kazimir, you should get dressed quickly, find your sword, and come with us to search for the thugs."

……

All around was deep darkness, and only Winters, Carman, and White-haired Roger remained at the crossroads.

Kaman's eyes were cold and he remained silent. Since leaving the hotel, Kaman seemed to have fallen into a state of recklessness, acting even more decisively and ruthlessly than Winters.

Winters, however, kept his eyes closed, holding his sword, conserving his energy.

Every step leaves a trace. The assassin of the oath-breaker [can escape the monks, but not the monastery]. So Winters wasn't bothered by not capturing them alive, because what he wanted was to destroy the Imperial Insect's lair in one fell swoop.

As Winters had instructed, each search team was equipped with two revolver pistols, and if anything unusual was found, they were to fire a warning shot immediately. If no problems were found, adult males from the searched households would be summoned to continue the search.

In this way, the more houses searched, the larger the search team became. As more residents of the neighborhood were incorporated into the search team, the resistance encountered during the search decreased. How do you find a needle in a haystack the fastest?
The correct answer is simple: start from one corner of the room and search inch by inch.

Foxes disguise their dens as trees and hide them in the forest.

Winters was unfamiliar with the forest and had no friends there, so he decided to take a simple and brutal approach—cut down all the trees.

Start cutting from where the fox last appeared, and continue cutting until the entire North District is turned upside down.

While Charles and the others wielded their axes, Winters waited quietly.

But a voice abruptly broke the silence.

“My lord,” the white-haired Roger stood before Wintershorse, “I have something I would like to ask you.”

Winters opened his eyes.

Roger shifted his weight uneasily between his legs, his hands pressed tightly against his sides, his thumb unconsciously digging into his middle fingernail: "You've changed so many identities, who... really are you?"

"Why ask?" Winters found the white-haired young man in front of him amusing: "Knowing the answer might get you silenced."

Roger smiled with relief, all his tension and anxiety vanishing in an instant. He clicked his tongue and said in a self-deprecating tone, "Anyway, I'm going to be silenced no matter what."

Winters remained noncommittal.

"I probably won't get into heaven, but at least before I go to purgatory, I want to know who you really are?"

Winters did not answer; he had not yet decided what to do with White-haired Roger.

“Well… alright then,” Roger said to himself, “Can I ask you for one more favor?”

Winters raised an eyebrow slightly.

“That old bastard Kovilian knows nothing, really, I swear, I swear any oath. I'm the one who sold your whereabouts to someone else. You'd better shut your mouth and kill me. I can put my head on the chopping block for you to chop, or I can jump into the frozen lake myself and not get your hands dirty.”

Winters hummed in agreement and asked, "Is that all you're asking for?"

Roger, now completely uninhibited and open, became more talkative: "There's one more small matter... Please tell Kovilian to give all my money to Luna; he knows where I hide it. Heh, it's definitely not enough for Luna to donate a divine spell, but there's no other way; if it's not enough, have him add more..."

Meanwhile, Charles and a squad of militiamen were searching a detached house.

The house belonged to an elderly couple. The husband was a doctor who seemed to be somewhat well-known. When the militiamen entered, they all greeted the husband politely and with great restraint.

The old doctor was very understanding of the militiamen's difficulties and generously said that they could be searched at will.

This made the militiamen feel even more guilty.

But the Shire were not Steelburgers. Winters sent his own guards to lead the team precisely to prevent the local militia from showing favoritism.

So Charles showed no mercy, carrying the lantern and stepping into the courtyard without looking to the side.

Two four-wheeled carriages without horses were parked in the courtyard.

"One is for house calls," the old doctor explained. "The other is for everyday use."

Charles walked to the carriage, put down the stirrups, and crawled directly under the carriage.

Soon, he emerged again, calmly brushing the dust off his body amidst the puzzled gazes of the others—not that spring suspension.

The elderly couple's house had two floors above ground and one floor below ground; nothing unusual was found during the search.

But Charles felt something was off. He stood in the center of the courtyard, carefully observing his surroundings.

"If Brother Montagne were standing here," Charles thought, "what would he notice?"

Soon, Ciel understood why he felt something was off.

The yard is too spacious.

The shooting range is excellent.

The courtyard wall is also a bit too high.

The open space between the houses and the courtyard walls is a small "killing ground".

Charles walked straight up to the old doctor who was chatting with the militiamen: "Are you two the only ones living here?"

The old doctor paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."

"No servants?" Charles pointed to the carriage in the courtyard. "Who drives the carriage for you? Where are the horses?"

“I don’t have any servants living in my house,” the old doctor replied fluently. “The horse was taken away by the coachman, and my wife doesn’t like the smell of horse manure. The coachman lives in his own house.”

The other party's answer was reasonable, but Charles wasn't so easily fooled. He shouted, "Bring the dog in."

Another militiaman obeyed the order and led two sled dogs into the yard. As soon as they entered the yard, the sled dogs began barking incessantly.

The old doctor remained expressionless, but a hint of tension flashed across the old woman's face—a detail Charles keenly noticed.

The sled dogs that Kovilian found were excellent at pulling ice sleds, but when it came to finding things, they were far inferior to the two bloodhounds trained by the shaman Hed.

However, the wolfhounds were taken away by the other two groups, leaving Shire with only sled dogs to make up the numbers.

But... there are advantages to being stupid.

Unlike wolfhounds, sled dogs are not as intelligent—they only bark when they smell a specific scent. Sled dogs, which are not very bright, will bark excitedly at anything they smell.

To someone with a clear conscience, it's just noise. To someone with a guilty conscience, it's a death knell.

Charles immediately took the chains, led the sled dogs to the carriage, and deliberately let the two sled dogs sniff the wheels.

The sled dogs indeed began to bark loudly and desperately.

Charles yelled, drew his revolver, gave the old couple a dark look, but didn't speak to them. He led the sled dog toward the door: "Come with me!"

The other militiamen, unaware of what was happening, followed Charles into the house out of habit and out of obedience. The old couple's cheeks twitched slightly, and they hurriedly followed after him.

The first floor, second floor, and attic have been checked; there are no secret rooms or anything unusual. The only place where something could have been tampered with is the basement storage room, so Ciel, with the dog on his leash, headed straight for the basement without a word.

The elderly couple behind them suddenly became agitated and tried to shoo them away. They accused the militiamen of being impolite, demanded written orders from Colonel Bern or Captain Bern, and insisted that the basement contained medicines that could not be contaminated by cat and dog feces.

Charles, not wanting to get entangled with the elderly couple, directly ordered the militia to control them.

The elderly couple, who had started swearing, were locked in the living room. Charles led the militia down the ladder and carefully conducted a second inspection of the basement.

The barking of dogs echoed in the somewhat empty underground storage room, and the wooden wall behind Shire collapsed with a crash.

The slender, snake-like blade trembled slightly as it thrust out.

……

At the crossroads, Winters, who was observing the incessantly talking white-haired Roger, heard a gunshot.

[Work hard to pay off your debts!]
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(End of this chapter)