Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 469 Rekindling the Spark (Part Two)

Money can be a powerful motivator. Upon hearing Old Majiya's words, not only the coachman at the outpost but also the "rebel" soldiers on duty were drawn to the gold in Old Majiya's hand.

Raul was completely bewildered.

Although Mr. Matthias knew in his heart that his journey to Artemis was to redeem his son, he was completely unaware of what price a father would be willing to pay to get his son back.

The old servant Tasso beside Maggie immediately tensed up.

Old Tasso's brow furrowed unconsciously. He estimated the distance between the "rebel leader" in front of him and the other "rebels," and silently took a half step to the side, using the "employer's" body to block the "rebel leader's" view. At the same time, he slowly turned the short knife in his belt with his left hand, making it so that he could draw it at any time.

However, the "rebel leader's" astuteness exceeded old Tasso's expectations.

As soon as Old Tasso made a move, the young man with the knife immediately looked past Old Majiya's shoulder and aimed straight at the "old servant feeding the horses" hiding behind the "master".

Clearly, the young man with the sword had noticed the dangerous behavior of the "old servant feeding the horse".

However, instead of immediately taking a few steps back to distance himself from the threat, he turned around and looked at the "head of the family" in front of him with great interest.

Majjah Milok turned to look at old Tasso and slowly shook his head.

Old Tasso deflated immediately. He glanced sideways at the young man with the sword, spat rudely at the ground, then reluctantly released the dagger and crossed his arms.

Completely bewildered, Raul then realized that Tasso seemed to be planning to kidnap the rebel leader.

Little Ma Jiya felt his mouth go dry. He forced himself to suppress his tension and panic, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he tried to stealthily reach for his saber.

However, the confrontation between the two sides had already ended in silence. Old Tasso sighed and waved helplessly at the young master.

With the outcome decided, the three members of the Majiya family could only submit to the other side's judgment.

The young man with the sword first examined the broken pottery on the table, then picked up a gold bar from the pottery and looked at it. He then glanced at the obviously heavy saddlebag and asked, "Is there any left in there too?"

"Yes," Old Ma Jiya answered bluntly.

"take it out."

The saddlebag that Lady Machiavelli had given to her husband before her departure was emptied, and the clay sticks were taken out one by one, smashed, and examined.

The gold bars were neatly stacked on the side table. Although it looked like only a small pile, it seemed like it was about to break the table legs.

Outside the checkpoint, more and more coachmen gathered to watch the spectacle, their eyes wide with amazement.

Let alone now, even in the "good old days," carrying such a huge sum of money while traveling would be tantamount to gambling with one's life.

Not to mention that the people carrying this gold were just two middle-aged men and a young boy whose beard hadn't even fully grown.

The onlookers' gazes hardened—gold can bend not only table legs, but also people's hearts.

Whether with good intentions or malice, people unconsciously scrutinized the three isolated and helpless master and servants, just as a horse thief eyed a fine horse or a butcher appraised a fat sheep.

Old Tasso also sensed the gazes around him. He raised his eyebrows, bared his teeth, and glared back fiercely without showing any weakness.

On the other side, the saddlebags had been emptied. A small pile of gold bars and a small pile of broken pottery were laid out on the table.

"That's all?" The young man with the sword frowned, casually picked up two gold bars and tapped them together, his tone carrying a threat and implication: "If there's anything else that needs to be declared, you can still say so now."

Old Ma Jiya shook his head frankly.

The young man with the sword brushed his fingertips across the gold bars and broken pottery, while closely observing the subtle changes in the three men's expressions, but he did not get the reaction he wanted.

He suppressed his faint smile, his expression turning serious as he gripped his sword, turned his back to the gold, and pointed at the three men in front of him: "Search them."

"Yes!" An old soldier with a white tassel on his helmet straightened his boots and saluted the young man with a sword who was much younger than him.

After the ceremony, the veteran stared at the three men and whistled loudly.

The previously relaxed atmosphere at the sentry post instantly turned into a solemn and menacing place.

The "rebel" soldiers, who had just been listless from being baked by the scorching sun, instantly transformed into a completely different group:
With their lips tightly pressed together and brows furrowed, they silently surrounded the three strange travelers, holding short spears and long halberds.

Old Tasso tried to struggle, but as soon as he raised his arm, the halberd was already pressed against his chest and back.

Without a user, a weapon is nothing more than an object.

Like the rebels' short spears and long halberds, neither exquisite nor novel, when they were placed diagonally at the corner of the sentry post, even if people passed by them, approached their blades, and saw the mottled bloodstains on the edge of the sleeves, they would never feel fear towards them.

But when they were held in the hands of the "rebel" soldiers, a chill ran through the hearts of every civilian present—it was the instinct of an animal to sense a dangerous object that could kill it.

Old Tasso raised his head and met the cold gaze of the "rebel" soldier; looking down, he caught sight of the "rebel" soldier's motionless arm and his knee poised to strike.

Even though the other party neither screamed nor bared its teeth, old Tasso's clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

Old Tasso swallowed hard and made no further move that might cause the other party to misunderstand.

A "rebel" soldier stepped forward and swiftly confiscated all the weapons carried by the three men, even taking out the small dagger that old Tasso had hidden in his leggings.

The drivers and merchants watching sensed the shift in the wind.

While the crowd half-heartedly pitied the three unlucky men who had flaunted their wealth, they obediently followed the "rebels'" orders and dispersed from the outpost.

With a sharp blade pressed against their hearts, no one could remain defiant. The three members of the Majiya family were taken to the outpost's barracks and immediately subjected to an extremely rigorous body search.

The three people's clothes, shoes, and all their personal belongings were thoroughly inspected.

The "rebel" soldiers cut open the seams of their clothes and tore open the soles of their shoes, paying special attention to hidden places such as the brim of their hats, inside the buttons, and inside the grips, as if they wanted to turn over every possible place to hide something and examine it.

Even the five horses they brought with them underwent a thorough search.

From the saddle to the bit, from the neck to the hooves, no place where something could be hidden, whether it was the horse harness or the horse itself, was spared.

Throughout the entire process, old Tasso kept swearing, but hidden beneath his indignant exterior was a deep sense of unease and despair.

Old Tasso peered intently at every exit, every window, every gap, anxiously searching for any possible chance to escape the checkpoint, but to no avail. Young Maggie Raul, after a brief period of shock and humiliation, was consumed by extreme anger.

Little Maja's anger manifested as an unusual quiet.

The rebel soldiers ordered him to take off his clothes, and he did so; they ordered him to take off his boots, and he did so, without uttering a word.

But his gaze never left the soldier in front of him. He stared intently at the soldier in charge of searching him, his fists clenched tightly, his teeth grinding together.

The "rebel" soldiers in charge of the search focused more on the two middle-aged men, especially the old servant whose eyes never stopped moving.

The "rebel" soldiers weren't nervous about the teenagers who seemed ready to pounce and bite at any moment; in fact, they seemed to find it amusing.

The veteran in the white-tasseled helmet supervising the search took off his coat and threw it to the young man, who was naked because all his clothes were being checked, half as a threat and half as a well-intentioned dissuasion: "Don't be foolish."

Raul did not reach out to catch it, letting the clothes fall to the ground, his eyes still fixed on the nearest rebel soldier.

Old Tasso stepped forward and stood between Raul and the rebels, shouting righteously, "Give me one!"

The old soldier with white tassels looked the old servant up and down expressionlessly, placed his sword across his lap, and said nothing.

Old Ma Jiya silently picked up the clothes from the ground and draped them over her youngest son.

"Don't worry," Old Majiya said softly to his youngest son. This was the first thing he said after being brought into the outpost, his voice as deep and steady as ever.

While old Tasso was consumed by anxiety and Raul was filled with humiliation and anger, Maggie Milock remained restrained and calm.

Raul looked up and met his father's deep, unfathomable gaze. But for the first time, little Maja saw a concern and tenderness in his father's eyes that he had never shown before.

He loosened his fists with difficulty and nodded.

Old Tasso also took a step back, standing next to Old Majiya and Raul, with his back to the soldiers, and lowered his voice: "The rebels are all skilled, they've been defeated this time."

Hearing his tough Uncle Tasso back down, Raul's eyes widened as if he had been betrayed, and he clenched his fists again.

As Old Tasso observed the soldiers around him, he spoke rapidly: "The Blood Wolves' soldiers, just like wolves, have venomous eyes, are ruthless and greedy... Truly, there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names..."

Old Ma Jiya listened attentively.

Old Tasso lowered his head guiltily, his voice filled with remorse and self-reproach: "Now that it's in their hands, the gold is definitely lost..."

He suddenly raised his head, looked at the father and son, and said, word by word, "Master, let's find a way to save our lives first!"

Old Ma Jiya nodded without hesitation.

Seeing his father also back down, Raul forced out an angry question through gritted teeth: "Why should I?"

“Because they have weapons to kill.” Old Tasso replied in a deep voice.

Tears of humiliation welled up in Raul's eyes, and he retorted unwillingly, "Does that mean I can be unreasonable?"

Old Tasso answered decisively: "Yes, if you have a weapon, you can be unreasonable. In front of a killer, reason is nonsense. If one day you have a weapon and they don't, you can also be unreasonable."

This blunt answer greatly shocked Maggie Raul, but old Tasso wasn't finished speaking.

Old Tasso said cynically, "Why is Blood Wolf the master of Voner County? It's because he has the most powerful killers in Voner County—his soldiers! So he doesn't need to reason with anyone, so he can declare himself the master of Voner County. Even if his soldiers rob us, or even if they kill us, we have nowhere to seek justice!"

Old Tasso fired off a barrage of questions, one after another: "If you were Blood Wolf, would you really hang your own soldiers for some bullshit reason? If you hang your own soldiers, who will fight for you? That's how the world works—might makes right. Blood Wolf has the most power in Vone County, so he's the head of Vone County. The government has the most power in Palatour, so the government is the head of Palatour. The emperor has the most power in the north, so the emperor is the head of the empire! Reason? Bullshit!"

"Silence!" Veteran Bai Ying noticed a small argument in the corner of the barracks and interrupted Old Tassot's outburst: "No whispering!"

Old Tasso shut his mouth.

On the other side, Raul was speechless after being scolded. He felt that what Uncle Tasso said was wrong, but he didn't know how to refute it. He gritted his teeth and wiped away his tears haphazardly.

Seeing this, Old Tasso felt a pang of pity and his tone softened.

"Think about that tree outside! Think about the man who hanged himself from it!" The old servant tried his best to persuade the young master in a low voice: "It's a miracle that you're alive today. As for gold—forget about it. We're meat on the chopping block, and Blood Wolf's soldiers are the knives. Can the knives control how they cut us? What else can we do? Do we expect them to admit their mistakes? Do we expect them to apologize?"

Raul felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw that it was his father.

“You’re not wrong, Tasso is wrong,” Maja Milok calmly told her son. “But this is all we can do for now—it’s not your fault.”

In an instant, the stubbornness that had sustained Raul's inner world collapsed and crumbled.

He wiped away his tears, bearing immense humiliation, and lowered his head.

As the body search came to an end, the "rebel" soldiers in charge of the search took turns approaching the veteran with white tassels and whispering their reports in his ear.

The more the veteran Bai Ying listened, the more his brows furrowed. After hearing everyone's reports, he glanced suspiciously at the three people being inspected.

After pondering for a moment, veteran Bai Ying stood up, looked around at her subordinates in the barracks, and made a gesture.

Upon seeing the signal, the "rebel" soldiers orderly withdrew from the barracks. Veteran Bai Ying was the last to leave; he glanced at the three of them, master and servants, with a furrowed brow, before closing the door.

Old Tasso and Raul looked at each other, completely bewildered.

"Never mind." Old Tasso walked over, took back all the clothes the rebels had left in the barracks, and said fiercely, "Put your clothes on first."

After the three men got dressed, old Tasso looked through each of the five windows of the barracks, shook his head, and walked back.

"No way." He clicked his tongue and said resentfully, "There are people guarding them."

The three members of the Majiya family, master and servant, had nowhere to go but wait in the barracks.

Just as old Tasso was rummaging through boxes and cabinets looking for a weapon, the barracks door was pushed open again.

The young man with the sword appeared before the three of them, but this time, his face no longer showed the previous composure and ease. Instead, it was filled with an embarrassment and apology so deep that even boiling water couldn't dispel it.

"I'm so, so, so sorry." The young man with the sword blushed, rubbing his hands together, sweating profusely with embarrassment. "We arrested the wrong person."

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(End of this chapter)