Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 419 Price
Two small battles that took place on the same day in the Wasteland and Iron Peak County also ended on the same day.

On the vast wilderness, black-clad cavalry escorted cattle, sheep, horses, and carts laden with spoils of war on their return journey.

In Shovel Harbor, notices to reassure the people were posted all over the streets and alleys. The Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment was methodically cleaning up the battlefield, burying the dead, identifying prisoners, and sealing off supplies. The townspeople emerged from their homes hesitantly and uneasily, curiously peeking at the triumphant "rebels."

Although separated by distance, both units were filled with the same joyful laughter.

However, Winters was unable to share the victory with his men. After handing over the cavalry to Major Seber, Winters rushed back to Ghevordane day and night.

Two other important guests were waiting for him.

……

"Even if that old man Adams is unpopular, he is still the recognized commander of the New Reclamation Corps. If the United Provinces didn't have his backing, how could Grove Magnus have dared to lay a hand on him?"

Colonel Bode was still furious when the Maplestone Incident was mentioned. He slammed his fist on the table, his empty sleeves swinging back and forth beside him.

"Hypocritical United Statesmen! Despicable United Statesmen! Insatiable United Statesmen! They talk about unity and solidarity, but they're armed with iron bridles! Those ambitious jackals dream of turning Palatour into the next Varne, Monta!" The colonel glared at Winters, asking with exasperation, "You don't know? Grove Magnus—or rather, the United Statesmen behind that viper—has already started planting spies in Palatour! They even have spies they support in the New Reclamation, in Iron Peak County, and in Shovel Harbor, northwest of where we are now!"

Colonel Bode coughed violently after saying too much in one breath.

He waved his hand, preventing his attendants from serving him, and, with one hand supporting himself on the edge of the table, waited until his breathing had returned to normal before looking up at Winters: "They have been planning to annex Palatour for a long time. The bloodshed in Maplestone City is just the beginning. If the entire New Territories falls, your little utopia will not survive either."

Colonel Bode sighed and said, "White Mountain County can send troops to help you remove the nail from Shovel Harbor."

“We are very grateful for the help from our allies in White Mountain County.” Winters poured Colonel Bode a glass of warm water. “However, the Shovel Harbor gang surrendered yesterday.”

……

"Although the Teldun tribes suffered heavy losses in last winter's raids, they are far from being completely destroyed. At least those Teldun tribes that did not participate in the winter raids still retain a considerable amount of strength."

Major Mel—the envoy representing Kingsburg and Maplestone—deliberately explained the situation.

There were four people present: Major Mel and Major Nevets, the envoys of the Castle of Kings; Captain Winters Montagne, the "garrison commander" of the Iron Peak County; and Captain Montagne's "private priest".

Although the major didn't understand why the other side insisted on having a priest involved in the negotiations, he didn't care.

He leaned back slightly in his chair, a polite smile on his lips, but his body language conveyed an arrogant distance.

"Reliable intelligence indicates that a barbarian warlord named Red Serpent is rising in the Great Wilderness. This barbarian warlord has openly raised the banner of avenging the barbarian chieftain, Fire-Burning, in order to unite the divided Terdun tribes. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be another great raid this autumn—a great raid targeting Iron Peak County."

Major Mel asked with pity, "By then, will Iron Peak County still be able to survive?"

After a moment's wait, he said, "You need our help."

“Thank you for your concern,” Winters replied casually. “But the body of the barbarian warlord ‘Red Serpent’ you mentioned is currently outside the city—as for his head, I left it on the wasteland.”

……

“Captain Montagne.” Major Mel sat up straight, showing a little more respect: “You need to understand that both the Arpad rebels north of the river and the restless New Reclamation rebels are doomed to perish. Not because the Grand Council of the Kings’ Castles is the only legitimate government of this country, but because the Grand Council controls the Republic’s largest population, the largest land, and the richest cities—these are the reasons why she will surely win.”

"The war will eventually end, the key is..." The major paused, looking Winters directly in the eye, "to be a victor, not a loser."

Major Mel was eloquent and persuasive:
"Right now, the Republic is in dire need of personnel. It urgently needs officers like you who have received a complete academic education, possess rich experience, and have outstanding combat achievements. Arpad's rebellion destroyed the Republic's original military system, but it also means that a large number of positions that were originally held by the 'blue-blooded faction' have become vacant. For capable officers, what a dream scenario this is!"

"War is the best ladder to advancement, and the road ahead is a smooth path. If you still want to return to the Republic, now is the best opportunity—we will never offer you better conditions."

"Think about your subordinates, consider their future. Don't you want to clear their names of treason and let them return to the legitimate republican system? Do you want them all to end up on the gallows for treason?"

"Think of your family again; they are still waiting for you in Veneta. If you want to return to Veneta, the Republic can offer you a reward you can't even imagine, escort you out of the country as a colonel, and guarantee that your subordinates will not be held accountable for their crimes afterward."

“If you want to stay in Palatour, the Republic will never be prejudiced against you because of your Venetia origin—judging people by their place of origin and bloodline is precisely the tradition that Blue Rose is most passionate about.”

"To be honest, I was once filled with anger towards the Republic, but I eventually realized that violence and rebellion only lead to bitter consequences and are meaningless. Only by becoming a part of the Republic can one truly change it from the inside out."

After offering a series of attractive prices, Major Mel picked up his porcelain cup and lightly ran his fingertips along the rim: "Think carefully before you make a decision, Captain Montagne."

……

"What?!" Colonel Bode's eyes widened. "Do you intend to side with that bunch of vipers, wolves, treacherous, shameless lackeys of the United Provinces?"

……

……

"So?" Winters, sitting almost reclining in his armchair, brazenly propped his boots on the table. "Which of them is lying?"

“I don’t know.” Kaman rolled his eyes.

Winters asked with great interest, "Don't you have a divine spell that can see through lies? Or is there a necessary prerequisite for using divine spells?"

Kaman sneered, already adept at handling such situations: "They're not lying, believe it or not."

“I believe you.” Winters stretched wearily, looked around, and said with a sigh, “I’ve almost forgotten what this chair feels like.”

The room where the two were located was none other than the original "garrison officer's office" of the Gevordan garrison, which was theoretically Winters's office.

Unfortunately, Winters probably spends less time in the office than in the restroom.

However, the office remained exactly as it was when he last left: a ruler and two charcoal pencils were tossed on the desk, and an armchair was casually placed at an angle under the desk; the curtains were half-drawn and half-drawn, and the colored chess pieces on the windowsill had been drying for who knows how long.

Although the office had not been used for a long time, the interior was still spotless, indicating that someone cleaned it regularly.

Kaman walked to the windowsill in the office, picked up a chess piece to examine it—a piece of wood the size of a thumb was carved into the shape of a horse's head; although not exquisite, it was quite lifelike.

"Oh, right," Kaman said, trying to sound casual, but his tone was very stiff. "Brother Saul has already been taken away."

"They picked them up?" Winters asked, somewhat surprised. "Did the Alliance Magic Operations Bureau arrive so quickly?"

But Winters immediately realized what was happening. He took his boots off the table, sat up straight, and asked, "Not the Magical Operations Bureau?"

Kaman's Adam's apple bobbed, and he picked up another castle chess piece, intently examining the knife work.

"Who picked them up?"

Kaman remained silent.

Winters thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "The Papacy?"

Kaman remained silent.

“The Inquisition?” Winters began trying out different answers one by one: “St. Michael’s Monastery? The Reformed Order…”

“Don’t interfere anymore. This matter ends here.” Kaman cleared his throat and pleaded earnestly, “I would be very grateful if you could pretend you never saw Brother Saul.” “What good is it if I just pretend I never saw Brother Saul?” Winters laughed in exasperation. “What about Father Edmund of the Gevodan Cathedral? He knew of Saul’s existence, and he was the one who wanted to burn Saul, not me. What, are you going to deal with him too?”

Kaman stared at the chess pieces without saying a word.

Winters, who had been laughing, suddenly stopped and asked incredulously, "You took care of him?"

“I don’t know anything,” Kaman mumbled weakly. “I was with you in Monta.”

“Brother Kaman!” Winters slammed his hand on the table and solemnly warned, “You swore an oath of honesty! You are a clergyman, you cannot lie.”

“I never swore an oath of honesty,” Kaman said angrily, throwing the chess piece onto the windowsill. “Believe it or not.”

“You don’t understand. If the Reformed Order exists, we can absolutely cooperate.” Winters approached Kaman and said urgently, “I fully support the Reformed Order’s ideals. If the world is God’s work, then isn’t understanding this work the best way to get closer to God? I…”

He stopped abruptly mid-sentence—Winters fell silent.

The only sound in the office was their breathing. Kaman looked at Winters with a puzzled expression, but Winters gestured for her to be quiet.

Winters closed his eyes and listened intently.

About five seconds later, his eyes widened in horror: "It's over!"

"What's wrong?" Kaman asked, even more curious.

Winters dashed to the windowsill and explained rapidly, "It's Senior Mason! I heard Senior Mason's footsteps!"

Kaman chuckled, "When did you learn to recognize people by their voices?"

“No one else can do it.” Winters roughly swept the chess piece off the windowsill. “But Senior Mason can.”

He flung open the window, peeked out, and said to Kaman in despair, "No, there are stone slabs underneath! And... I'm afraid of heights."

"What's wrong with you?" Kaman looked at Winters, who was running around the room like a frightened kitten, and was even more confused: "It's Senior Mason who came, not the adjudicator—not an assassin, what are you afraid of?"

“What is an ‘arbitrator’?” Despite being extremely tense, Winters still keenly noticed Kaman’s slip of the tongue, but he couldn’t care less about that now: “Assassin? I’d rather it were an assassin! At least I could fight back!”

He first tried to hide under the table, but the space under the table was too small. So he turned to the filing cabinet, but the filing cabinet was even smaller.

Behind the curtains?

No, the boots will show.

Hanging outside the window?

Even worse! How could a dignified civil official be hung outside the window like a lover caught in adultery?

Winters's preference for minimalist furnishings backfired—his office, with only a table and a filing cabinet, offered nowhere to hide.

Winters gritted his teeth, tiptoed to the door, and locked it as quietly as possible.

Winters also lowered the small latch on the office door.

The footsteps coming down the corridor grew clearer and closer; even Kaman could tell they were the sound of military boots.

Winters held up a finger, making a gesture that said, "Please don't talk."

Kaman rolled his eyes, closed them, held his breath, and entered a quiet meditative state.

Finally, the footsteps stopped outside the door. Then the doorknob began to tremble, clearly someone outside was turning it.

After trying to twist it a few times and finding it wouldn't budge, the person outside seemed to give up.

But before Winters could breathe a sigh of relief, the crisp sound of keys clinking came from outside the door, followed by the sound of a key being inserted into the lock, and then the sound of the lock cylinder turning.

The door lock was opened, and the doorknob began to tremble again.

Winters felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and slowly and easily let out a long breath, his breath even trembling with excitement.

Thank goodness there was a latch!
Then he saw a small, shiny piece of metal sticking out from under the door...

Before he could react, the small metal piece deftly flicked upwards, lifting the latch.

The door opened.

Richard Mason stood outside the door, holding a thick file folder.

“Winters?” Mason asked in surprise, “You’re back?”

The imagined storm didn't materialize; Mason was as kind and approachable as ever. Winters felt a pang of sadness: "He came back a few days ago..."

“Oh, I know,” Mason said with a smile. “But you didn’t go back to Gervodan, did you?”

"The military situation is urgent," Winters said sternly. "So I went straight to Wolf Town."

“I know.” Mason took a letter from his pocket and waved it in front of Winters. “You wrote to me, didn’t you?”

The letter was small, with a line of crooked writing on it: [Senior, I've gone to Wolf Town.]

“Father Kaman, so you’re here too.” Mason then noticed Kaman, who was pretending to be dead in the corner of the room.

Kaman sensed something was wrong and decided without hesitation to abandon Winters: "Yes, but I'm leaving now."

“Wait, there’s something else!” Winters strode up to Kaman, preventing him from escaping, and said rapidly, “By the way, senior, I’ve already spoken with Colonel Bode and the Red Rose’s envoy. The Red Rose wants to incorporate us to contain the local forces in the various counties that might rebel at any time. As for Colonel Bode—I’m now certain they will definitely raise an army, but the timing is still unclear, though White Mountain County should be among them…”

Mason, holding the file folder, listened attentively and responded with "uh-huhs."

After Winters finished recounting all the details of the negotiations and had nothing more to say, Mason finally spoke up: "You can discuss these matters with Bard when he returns from Lower Iron Peak County. Whatever decision you make, I will support you. As for Andre... don't worry, he will support you even more resolutely than I do."

“Thank you, Senior Mason.” Winters thanked him sincerely and guiltily, but he was still a little uneasy, so he asked somewhat guiltily, “Is there anything else?”

“Me?” Mason was taken aback, then suddenly realized, and waved the thick bag of documents in his hand: “A lot has happened in Iron Peak County while you were away. Some things you need to know, some you need to review, and some you need to make decisions about—I’ve sent them all to you.”

“Okay, I’ll look at it now!” Winters happily took the file folder, and while untying the rope, casually asked, “That’s all?”

"These?" Mason smiled. "These are just the catalog."

After saying that, he clapped his hands.

At the end of the corridor, two clerks pushed out a cart.

[We made it!]
[55652/100000]
[When exchanging dialogue, you might need to visualize a composition where the two people are exchanging texts from a distance...]
[Compared to the Battle of Shovel Harbor, this chapter leans a bit more towards slice-of-life, but... Mason-senpai deserves a slice-of-life chapter. From today onwards, Mason-senpai can proudly be called one of the "two who can make the Blood Wolves tremble" alongside Anna, and exclusively enjoy the title of "the man who can make the Blood Wolves tremble."]
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)