Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 456 Plenipotentiary Representative
Little Priskin's identity is an open secret in Maplestone.

All the prominent merchants in Maplestone knew that Mr. Priskin, though young, was a close ally of Bloodwolf, an important advisor to the Lord of Iron Peak County, and the plenipotentiary agent in Maplestone for the number one wool smuggler in the newly reclaimed lands.

Of course, the number one wool smuggler in the newly reclaimed land, the lord of Tiefeng County, and Blood Wolf himself, who were far away, knew nothing about this.

If another young child were to bestow so many titles upon themselves, they would likely be seen as a joke.

The surname "Priskin" wouldn't be of much help. While the Priskin family was undoubtedly a prominent and prestigious clan in Zhevodan, they were not considered a large or influential family in Maplestone, and had little reputation whatsoever.

However, young Priskin had a prominent introducer—Fernando Leo, a senior partner in the Navarre family and the plenipotentiary representative of the Ocean Blue Wool Importers and Textiles Guild in Palatour.

As is well known, Venetia needs to import massive amounts of wool every year to satisfy the ever-expanding spinning wheels and looms in its textile factories.

But trade is always two-way; Palatour’s need for exported wool was almost as strong as Veneta’s desire for imported wool.

Fernando Leo is an insurmountable obstacle on the way from Palatine to Veneta.

Since it was Fernando Leo who personally introduced young Priskin into the social circles of Maplestone City, the wealthy merchants of the newly established capital could not help but think highly of Priskin—at least on the surface.

Furthermore, since Fernando Leo doesn't spend most of his time in Maplestone, young Priskin unwittingly acts as a middleman between Maplestone and Mr. Leo—meaning that even if someone knows Priskin is bragging, they won't expose him.

Furthermore, the social circles of Maplestone City already had a strong interest in the Iron Peak County rebels.

The Paratites worship heroes, especially tragic heroes. If a tragic hero also possesses a rebellious streak, it's like dancing on the most sensitive itch of their souls.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Winters Montagne had died at the moment of victory in the Battle of Bloody Mud, he would have immediately become a hero forever remembered by the new settlers—and even the Plattites.

The new settlers will carve statues, build churches, and erect monuments in his honor. The day he died will gradually evolve into a festival, on which people will wear blue flowers to commemorate him, and his name will eventually be declared in the register of saints on that day.

His story will be sung in taverns, recited in churches, and told to the next generation by warm fireplaces, and will one day in the future ignite a fierce battle for ownership between the Paratians and the Venetians.

Given this local custom, it's not hard to understand why young Priskin, a mere boy from a poor, remote village, could become the most popular guest in Maplestone's living room overnight:

Every young man in Maplestone City wanted to learn more about the Blood Wolf's formidable martial arts skills;

Unmarried women all longed to hear the legendary story of the Styx ghost's resurrection one more time;

The older generation was particularly interested in how the rebels, with only the strength of one prefecture, had defeated the Khanate of Teldun.

And so, amidst glass after glass of fine wine and word after word of flattery, young Priskin rose from "Mr. Priskin from Zhevodan" to "the Blood Wolf's close comrade-in-arms," ​​"an important advisor to the Lord of Iron Peak County," and "the plenipotentiary agent of the No. 1 wool smuggler in the newly reclaimed lands."

On the other hand, little Priskin is also quite likable:

He was good-looking, witty, humorous, always had a cheerful expression, and knew how to please people;

When he was with young people, he didn't act like "Mr. Priest," and he was playful and knew how to have fun; when he was with older people, he knew how to show respect.

Although he loves to boast, he never uses the opportunity to belittle others, thus rarely provoking resentment. Even if listeners don't completely believe what he says, they are willing to treat his stories as interesting tales.

The "upper class" of Maplestone welcomed little Priestin, greeting him in the driveway, opening the door to his house, and setting a seat for him at the table, naturally taking care of him in every way.

For unknown reasons, the New Reclamation Army has not taken any action against him.

Little Priskin's identity thus became an open secret in Maplestone.

He even visited Major Ronald—the former military commander of Iron Peak County—once.

After the Battle of Bloodsludge, Major Ronald, along with the other captured officers, was released. The released officers were immediately recalled to Kingsburg for a report, while their families were temporarily housed in Maplestone.

Because they were unfamiliar with the local area and had no one to take care of them, many military officers' families encountered various difficulties in their lives.

Young Priest took it upon himself to deliver the outstanding wages owed to the former Iron Peak County officers to Mrs. Ronald, entrusting her to distribute them to the officers' families.

Sometimes, young Priestin would wake up in a fright, fearing that the military police of the New Reclamation Corps would break down the door the next second, arrest him, and torture him in a dark cell.

He couldn't understand why the New Reclamation Legion would allow him to freeload in Maplestone City.

Is it that they genuinely don't know? Or do they want to maintain a communication channel? Or are they playing the long game?

However, little Priest's questions may never be answered—and he no longer needs to worry about such things.

With the New Reclamation Expeditionary Force's surprise attack on Maple Leaf Castle and General Adams' suicide, young Priest's good days in Maple Rock came to an end.

On the day of the incident, the "upper class" of Maplestone immediately discovered that Mr. Priskin from Zhevodan had disappeared.

Young people might still ask all sorts of questions at the dinner table. But the older generation will just exchange a knowing smile, shrug, and warn the younger family members never to mention that name again in public.

But none of them could have predicted that, just a few days later, the "blood wolf's close comrade-in-arms" would secretly return to the home of a distant relative of the Priskin family in Maplestone.

If young Priestkin's previous boastful talk had only garnered polite smiles, his recent life-threatening return to Maplestone earned him genuine respect.

It should be noted that even Fernando Leo had already left Maplestone City ahead of time.

But respect cannot be bought with gold, and young Priestin himself knew that the only reason he had not been denounced was that the battle in Mirrorlake County was still undecided.

Therefore, when several young men from Maplestone City who were close to him secretly approached him and subtly inquired about the relationship between Blood Wolf and Gaisa Adonis, Skul Mecklen, and others, a loud "hum" resounded from inside Little Priskin's skull.

Even though he was in a simply furnished, dark room, he could actually smell the enticing aroma of a suckling pig that had been slowly roasting over a low fire all night, the aroma of which could only be smelled when the lid was lifted.

He picked up his water glass to conceal his inner turmoil.

After observing the hesitant expressions of several young men from prominent families in Maplestone City, he took a small sip of water, leisurely placed the cup back in its place, and smiled nonchalantly at the group in front of him: "You all know the result too?"

The young people looked at each other, and after several silent exchanges, one of them whispered, "They didn't tell us, but we vaguely heard some rumors."

Another person, unable to contain himself, eagerly followed up, "Mr. Priskin, what exactly happened to Blood Wolf...?"

Before the other party could finish speaking, Little Priskin raised his hand, and the young men immediately shut their mouths.

“Since I haven’t told you, I won’t tell you either.” Little Priskin’s heart was pounding in his chest. He gave them the order to leave without any politeness, gesturing for the white-haired Roger to see them out: “Use this as your report when you get back.”

Several young men wanted to speak, but seeing Mr. Priskin's serious expression, they dared not ask any more questions and could only reluctantly follow the newly arrived white-haired servant away.

Little Priskin waited, and when the footsteps of the group disappeared, he finally couldn't help but jump up from his chair, stand in the middle of the room, and frantically punch the air around him, stuffing a towel into his mouth and making "woo-woo" noises.

Shortly after, more footsteps approached.

Little Priestin instantly returned to his chair and sat up straight.

The next second, he realized he was still holding the towel in his hand, so he quickly hid it and continued to sit upright.

The door opened, and the white-haired Roger appeared outside.

Little Priest jumped off the chair and pulled white-haired Roger into the room.

Under the bewildered gaze of the white-haired Roger, little Priest first made sure no one was eavesdropping outside the door, then pressed himself against the window frame to look around and make sure no one was eavesdropping outside the window, and finally sealed all the gaps in the door and window tightly with sheets and blankets.

"What's wrong?" asked the white-haired Roger, puzzled.

"Shh!" Little Priestin immediately covered Roger's mouth, listened for a moment to make sure there was no unusual sound, and then whispered excitedly in Roger's ear, "It must be His Excellency the Tribunal who won!"

"Huh?" White-haired Roger looked surprised at first, but he reacted quickly, lowering his voice and saying with sudden realization, "So these guys have come to beg for mercy?"

“I don’t know what they’re up to, but they must have heard something. These wealthy families in Maplestone City have such intricate connections; they’re definitely more informed than we are.” Little Priskin released Roger, paced around in circles, and then fell into a state of distress again:

"Your Excellency is really something. You've won the battle, so why don't you at least send us a message? We've been left guessing like we're blind. Ah, if only we could get in touch with Your Excellency the Protector of the People..."

As he spoke, little Priskin turned his gaze to Roger.

White-haired Roger knew he couldn't escape it, nor did he want to. In terms of courage, this Steel Fortress man was no less daring than little Priestkin.

He patted his chest with a very nonchalant air and said in his broken Paratist dialect, "Enough talk, I'm going to find the tribunal."

But young Priskin shook his head: "You won't do. You're new here and don't even know the way. How are you going to find me? Besides, the people of Maplestone know you came with me. If you disappear, they'll know what cards I have up my sleeve."

"Then what do we do?" Roger glared.

Little Priskin sighed, flopped straight onto the bed, closed his eyes, and said helplessly, "Then we can only wait for them to come to us and then figure out a way to deal with it."

"When will they arrive?" Roger glared again.

"Wait!" Little Priskin covered his face with a pillow.

The agonizing wait didn't last long.

In the afternoon, several young people had just been sent away by little Priest.

Late at night, three leaders of the Maplestone Merchants and Craftsmen Guild—Mikesh Kailemin, Bese Djurgi, and Gvadani Yuzhov—came to visit him together.

Upon seeing this formation, young Priestine understood that his tribune had not only won, but had won a great victory.

Otherwise, the other party wouldn't have come in such a hurry, without even considering bargaining.

Silently shouting "Long live Lord Blood Wolf!" three times in his heart, little Priskin walked onto the carriage road and welcomed the three old gentlemen through the main gate.

This time, the meeting place was no longer a simple, dark room, but a bright and clean living room.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the three leaders of the Maplestone City Guild got straight to the point and frankly explained their purpose:

They hoped that Blood Wolf could represent them and mediate with Colonel Gaisa, Colonel Skul, and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias of Bianjiang County...

Mr. Mikesh paused for a moment, then slowly stated the embarrassing reason: "To resolve misunderstandings and avoid making mistakes... a reckoning."

Then, the three began to detail the rewards they could offer.

Young Priest nodded repeatedly, seemingly listening attentively, but in reality, a bold idea was sprouting in his mind.

After placing the weights on one side of the scale, the three leaders of the Maplestone City Chamber of Commerce prepared to take their leave—they didn't believe that young Priest was qualified to bargain, and merely regarded him as a mouthpiece. But the mouthpiece spoke for itself.

“Excuse me, Mr. Mikesh, Mr. Besser, Mr. Gwadani,” Little Priskin asked politely, “why don’t you take this price list and go to Colonel Geza, Colonel Skul, and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias yourselves?”

The three leaders of the Maplestone City Chamber of Commerce exchanged glances without revealing their true feelings, and remained silent for a moment.

“Because it’s not enough, right?” Little Priestin asked himself and answered, “Others may not know, but I know very well that in the eyes of the powerful military leaders, we merchants are nothing… We have just gone through a great war, and the garrisons in each county are in dire need of funds to make up for the losses. Maplestone is the fattest and most juicy spoils in their eyes, and there is no longer any force in the newly reclaimed lands that can defy them.”

At this point, the eyes of the group, including young Priskin, dimmed somewhat.

"Moreover," Priskin said, his tone turning cold, "the so-called misunderstanding is probably not a misunderstanding at all; the so-called reckoning is probably not wrong either."

Little Priskin stretched out his finger and began to list things one by one: "Maple Leaf Fortress Massacre, you let the New Reclamation Expeditionary Army into the city; after the massacre, you were the ones who came forward to appease the people in the city; when the puppet army attacked Mirror Lake County, you were the ones who defended the city for the puppet government army; even when the Allied forces passed through and gave you a final chance to surrender, you turned a deaf ear."

“We…” Mikesh’s explanation was weak: “There’s nothing we can do.”

“I know. But Colonel Gaisa only needs one excuse to settle scores with you.” Little Priskin’s body language suggested he was the weaker party, but his words were as sharp as knives: “But your ships transported supplies for Sanel, and the militia you provided helped Sanel defend Maplestone. These are all real facts.”

Young Priestin pressed his advantage: "Besides, you should know what kind of man Colonel Geza is—he's the kind of guy who can squeeze water out of a stone. Believe it or not, if Colonel Geza only raided half the houses, the other half would just applaud."

If old Mikesh still can't understand, it can only be because he's deaf.

He coughed lightly, and said meaningfully, "Please speak plainly, Mr. Priest, what exactly do you want us to do?"

To Mikesh's surprise, the young man in front of him gave him an unexpected answer: "I don't want you to do anything, I'm just advising you—don't take chances."

Next, Mr. Priestin, representing the interests of the Iron Peak County rebels, began to empathize with the wealthy merchants of Maplestone and analyze the pros and cons for them:
"You all bribed the Tribunal Montagne because you wanted his military protection. But think about it: can a sword in someone else's hand really be trusted? Only the sword in your own hand is reliable. I tell you, if you want to protect yourselves and your lives, there is only one way: defend Maplestone!"

“If you surrender from the start, Gaisa will only devour you; if you hold Maplestone and prevent Gaisa and Skul from breaching it, they will have no choice but to accept your surrender; if you can defeat Gaisa’s forces, not only will you not have to surrender, but Maplestone will also be spared from being plundered.” Little Priskin’s eyes gleamed: “If you defeat the combined forces of the four counties, then not only Maplestone, but all the newly reclaimed land will be yours!”

“The members of the guilds we represent are all honest and law-abiding citizens.” Old Mikesh coughed again. “We will not fight, and we do not want to fight.”

“Then…” Little Priestin said solemnly and earnestly, “You will have to find someone who can fight for you.”

……

……

[Maplestone City West Gate Tower]
“So?” Winters stood on the city wall, toying with the city gate key in his hand, and glanced at little Priskin: “You just sold my ‘protection’ to them like that?”

"It really took a lot of my effort, Your Excellency!" Little Priskin, completely oblivious to the strange atmosphere, was still immersed in excitement, boasting incessantly: "The citizens of Maplestone originally wanted to tie me up and hand me over to the puppet army commander, but I remained calm and fearless, and boldly told them about your deeds when you entered Zhewodanqiu without committing any offenses! I also told them about how you forgave me for colluding with foreign enemies! And I told them about your iron-fisted restoration of security in Iron Peak County, which moved the representatives of the citizens of Maplestone to tears and made them prostrate themselves in admiration..."

"Alright, alright." Winters waved his hand and asked, "What exactly did you promise to go out with?"

"Pardon them for their crimes of serving the puppet army, do not hold them accountable for all their acts of treason during the puppet army's occupation, and protect their lives and property from the armies of other counties..." Little Priskin counted on his fingers and said a few things, then grinned: "These are all things that the people of Iron Peak County already have! It's practically free!"

Winters, supporting himself on the hilt of his sword, stood up. Not only was his rib pain worse, but his skull was throbbing. He patted little Priestkin's shoulder hard, praising him through gritted teeth, "Well done! Well done!"

Little Priskin gasped in pain, too afraid to ask Lord Montagne, and could only look pitifully at the other tribunes present.

"Why are you looking at me?" Andrei grinned. "In my opinion, you did a really good job this time! But the other two might not see it that way."

Little Priskin looked even more pitiful.

In the end, Mason softened and gave young Priest a brief explanation of the situation.

Young Priest was dumbfounded. How could he know that a gentleman's agreement had been made beforehand within the Allied forces?
“Then…” Little Priskin stammered, “Then I should go and bring Colonel Skul back, and then hand over Maplestone to him?”

Winters patted little Priestkin on the shoulder again: "If you were Colonel Skull, what would you think of this proposal?"

"Your subordinate... Your subordinate did not know..."

“If I were Colonel Skull,” Winters sighed, “I would only see it as a trap—a trap to wipe out the Minefield army.”

Little Priestkin was about to cry: "Then...what should we do?"

Winters gave a soft hum and did not reply.

"Or perhaps we could ask Colonel Gaisa to act as an intermediary?" Mason frowned and pondered, "We could hand over Maplestone City to Colonel Gaisa, and then Colonel Gaisa would hand it over to Colonel Skul?"

"Hand it over?" Winters turned around, picked up the enormous city gate key, and said decisively, "The people of Maplestone voluntarily handed this key over to us. If we hand it over again, we will not only be breaking our promise to Skul Mecklen, but also to the entire New Reclamation! We will not hand it over!"

"That's right!" Andrei clapped his hands.

Mason shrugged, looking much more relaxed.

As the sun began to set, wisps of smoke rose from various chimneys throughout Maplestone City.

“Everything Priest promised must be fulfilled.” Winters looked at the first major city of the newly reclaimed land, shrouded in a veil of green, and gradually sorted out his thoughts: “Have Charles bring the military police into the city to seal up the barracks, houses, warehouses and all legion property, and assist the city guard in maintaining order.”

“I’ve got it.” Mason had already taken out his notebook and graphite pen.

"Let Bart Sharling lead two companies to take over the defense of West Gate."

"Just take over Westgate?" Mason asked.

"Only the West Gate will be taken over; the other city gates will remain under the temporary guard of the militia."

"What about the other units?"

“The rest of the troops remain outside the city.” Winters’ tone turned stern. “Order all commanders to restrain their soldiers and prohibit any Iron Peak County soldiers from entering the city without permission.”

"Why?" Andrei asked, puzzled.

“If we just walk right into the city,” Winters sighed, “then it will be truly irreversible.”

Andrei scratched his head, somewhat confused.

“Colonel Skull,” Mason prompted.

Andrei let out a long "Oh," then asked helplessly, "You've taken the city gate keys, but you haven't sent troops to garrison them. There has to be a reason, right?"

"Isn't the reason readily available?" Winters raised his hand, pointing directly to Maple Leaf Castle on the high ground outside the city, and said with a smile, "Isn't that the best reason?"

Mason nodded in agreement: "Perfect, we can let the troops practice siege tactics. Since the expansion of the army, we haven't experienced a siege battle, and I'm afraid many company commanders have almost forgotten about it. The Maple Leaf Fortress garrison is mostly old, weak, sick, and disabled, making them an excellent target."

Andrei yawned to the side.

"Call Pierre over, I have something to ask him." Winters gazed at Maple Leaf Castle, whose red rose banner still fluttered, and began to devise a plan for the siege in his mind: "Take a headcount of the prisoners. I need to know which officers have escaped into Maple Leaf Castle. If there are any prisoners familiar with the structure of Maple Leaf Castle, bring them to me as well."

"Okay, I've written them all down."

Winters turned around and used his eyes to pull little Priskin back from trying to slip away.

“Your Excellency,” said young Priest, his head bowed.

Seeing the frightened and dejected look on little Priskin's face, Winters felt a pang of sympathy. This time, he gently patted little Priskin's shoulder and said, "Thank you."

Little Priskin finally couldn't hold back his tears of grievance.

“Stop crying, there’s still something for you to do.” Winters had just praised him when he started ordering people around again: “Find me all the gazettes you can collect, and invite the heads of the major trading companies over. If anyone has recently returned to the new settlement, invite them too—I need to know what has happened outside the new settlement recently.”

"I'll take care of it right away." Little Priskin wiped away his tears and left happily.

Winters looked at little Priest's retreating figure and thought of Pierre again, a sharp pain shooting through his skull once more.

“What about Colonel Skull?” Mason reminded him. “Should we still send someone to explain?”

Winters rubbed his forehead and thought for a moment: "We also need to send someone to explain the situation to Colonel Gaisa."

"How to say?"

"What else can I say?" Winters smiled wryly. "To tell you the truth."

"Will they believe it?"

Winters scoffed, "Believe it or not!"

This time, Mason could only manage a wry smile, while Andrei walked over and grabbed Winters's shoulder tightly, laughing wildly, "This is the real Winters Montagne! This is the blood of the wolf! Believe it or not! If you're not convinced, come at me! Let's settle this on the battlefield!"

“The situation we are facing now is not good.” Winters looked towards the southwest in the twilight and explained his thoughts: “Vorne County isolates us from the ‘homeland’ of Iron Peak County, while Thunder Group County and West Forest Province are right next to us—so our primary goal at present remains unchanged: Vorne County.”

“Okay.” Mason nodded habitually.

“Andrei.” Winters also touched Andrei’s shoulder. He realized that he hadn’t done such an intimate gesture with his companion in a long time, so he patted him even harder. “You need to keep a close eye on what’s happening in Vaughan County.”

"Don't worry!" Andrei laughed loudly: "If that coward from Vönie County dares to show his face, he's no longer a coward."

“It’s easy to find someone to deliver the message to Colonel Gaisa.” Mason then remembered another problem and added, “But who should we send to explain the situation to Colonel Skull? He’s probably unlikely to trust us anymore.”

This problem stumped Winters for a moment: "We need to find someone we trust, and someone they can trust as well."

The city walls fell silent for a moment, with only returning birds circling gracefully above.

Andrei slapped his forehead and smiled, "I've thought of a great candidate!"

……

[Outside Maplestone City]
[The convoy escorting Colonel Bodle's coffin]
"Hey! I just can't do anything with you guys!" Seber Carrington deliberately put on a stern face, but his eyes couldn't hide his smugness and the satisfaction of being needed: "Colonel Bode is gone. When something like this happens, who else can back you up besides me?"

[As mentioned at the end of the previous chapter, based on the distance between Maplestone and Midoriya, and the speed at which the fleeing soldiers in the real world reported the news, the time interval between [Pierre repelling the Midoriya garrison] and [the first batch of fleeing soldiers appearing outside Maplestone] has been shortened from six days to three days.]

[Current timeline as follows]
[Battle Date -1 Battle of Green Valley, Colonel Bode discovers enemy movements, Winters rushes to the main battlefield overnight;]
On the day of the battle
Battle date +1 deserter arrives at Midoriya;
Battle date +2 Pierre defeats Felt's last remaining fighting force;
Battle date +2 nights Felt's forces retreat, Pierre pursues;

Battle date +5 deserters arrive in Maplestone City;
Battle date +6 Winters leads his army back to Green Valley]
[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)