Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 470 Rekindling the Spark (Part 3)

"Oh! Mr. Maja! It really is you!"

The merchant from Oak Town, who had been "invited" to identify the person, kept wiping the sweat from his forehead, forcing a smile as he warmly greeted Old Ma Jiaya: "My friend said he saw someone familiar, but I never expected it to actually be you."

Old Ma Jiya nodded: "Mr. Pan Nuo."

"Yes, it's me." Panno, whose name had been called, glanced nervously at the soldiers around him, feigning ignorance: "Are you also going to Artemis? To visit a friend?"

"To ransom him." Old Matthias answered bluntly, "My eldest son was captured by Lord Montagne, and I'm going to ransom him."

"This...then...I..." Pan Nuo was extremely embarrassed. His chubby face turned bright red, and it took him a long time to finally manage to stammer out, "I wish you all the best."

Seeing that the merchants from Oak Town had confirmed Old Majiya's identity, the young man with the sword nodded and signaled his subordinates to lead the merchants away.

Pan Nuo felt as if he had been granted a pardon and immediately followed the soldiers away obediently.

Only when he reached the far corner did he discreetly turn his head back, casting a look of worry and sympathy at Old Ma Jiya before disappearing into the carriage and the shadows of the trees.

Apart from the veteran soldier with the white tassel on his halberd, the rest of the "rebel" soldiers returned to their posts. The checkpoint, which had been tense just moments before, quickly returned to its previous calm.

Old Tasso and Raul were also released from the barracks and came to Old Majiya's side.

The young man with the knife looked apologetic and personally returned the weapons he had just taken from the three men to them.

Only then did old Tasso finally realize that, beneath that oppressive aura, the young man with the sword was actually a "child" about the same age as Raul.

However, compared to the still immature Majjah Raul, the young man with the sword was dashing and capable in his movements, exuding a strong sense of confidence in every gesture, which made old Tasso unconsciously treat him as a real adult, and even feel intimidated by him.

"Please forgive our offense." The young man with the sword solemnly removed his hat and bowed, sincerely explaining to the three, "The mistake was mine; I mistook you for another kind of people."

Hearing the other party apologize made old Tasso's heart tighten. He looked at Raul beside him and saw the same surprise in the latter's eyes.

It's always the "fish" that gets its teeth broken and has to swallow its blood; when have you ever seen the "knife" take the initiative to admit its mistake?
It should be understood that for a "knife," dignity and authority are often closely linked. Therefore, even for the most trivial matters, getting a "knife" to take off their hat and bow is harder than climbing to heaven.

The young man with the sword so readily admitted his mistake that old Tasso looked down on him. This was because it meant the other man either lacked authority or self-respect.

Regardless of the type of person the other party is, it is not good news for the three members of the Majiya family—a lack of authority means a lack of control, and a lack of self-respect means a lack of principles.

However, no matter how bad things get in the future, it won't stop old Tasso from despising the other person to his heart's content right now.

"He's still just a kid, as expected." Old Tasso sneered silently. "He doesn't have the demeanor of an official."

But no matter what old Tasso thought in his heart, he still had to put on a good show.

So, like Raul, old Tasso stood silently behind Majja Milok, waiting for the head of the family to negotiate with the other party.

Witnessing the young man with the knife's unusual behavior, even Old Ma Jiya's granite-like features wavered briefly, revealing a hint of surprise and doubt.

He did not take the weapon, but he did remove his hat and nodded in return: "Searching for spies is the proper way."

"Thank you for your understanding." The young man with the sword let out a long breath and smiled brightly. "Thank you very much."

Old Tasso wanted to question the other party, "Why are you so certain that the three of us are spies?"

However, the other party changed the subject and never mentioned any more information about the spies.

"We will compensate you for the property damage at its original price." The young man with the knife looked at the three members of the Majiya family whose clothes and boots were already tattered, and apologized again: "Please wait here for a moment. I have sent someone to find you some changes of clothes."

After saying that, the young man with the sword looked at the white-helmeted veteran behind him. Although he was giving an order, his tone was very polite: "I will speak with the three gentlemen by myself. Sergeant Holt, don't worry."

The white-tasseled veteran holding the halberd stood with his legs together and raised his hand in salute.

“Your men did a good job.” The young man with the sword returned the salute meticulously. After the salute, he said to the white-tasseled veteran, “Praise them for me.”

Veteran Bai Ying raised her hand in salute again, then silently walked back to her post.

Old Tasso was extremely indignant upon hearing the words of the young man with the knife.

If it weren't for the large tree with over twenty corpses hanging nearby, the old man would have definitely shouted at this young upstart.

Even so, old Tasso couldn't help but ask a question.

He tugged at his shirt, the seams of which had been torn open, deliberately exposing his withered chest, and asked in a gruff voice, "Sir, I don't quite understand—you can praise someone for tearing a perfectly good shirt into rags? This is the only good set of clothes I own!"

Old Tasso asked a provocative question, but the young man with the knife answered very seriously.

He asked in a serious tone, "So what if I reprimanded Sergeant Holt?"

Old Tasso was taken aback.

“If I blame Sergeant Holt for opening your clothes, he will be hesitant to thoroughly inspect suspicious individuals in the future.” The young man with the sword nodded apologetically again: “Besides, the main responsibility for what happened to you this time lies with me.”

Old Tasso couldn't refute it and subconsciously avoided eye contact: "That still shouldn't be praised..."

“That’s right.” The young man with the sword actually nodded in agreement: “Conversely, if we give them rewards too easily, it’s like encouraging them to search travelers who aren’t suspicious.”

The young man with the sword shrugged and explained with a smile, "So it was just a verbal compliment."

Old Tasso, his neck stiff, wanted to continue arguing, but seeing his employer's look, he reluctantly lowered his head and whispered flattery: "Sir, you are a master at leading troops, impressive, I admire you."

The young man with the sword didn't bother arguing with the stubborn old servant. He looked at old Ma Jiya and politely asked, "Mr. Ma Jiya, were you a soldier?"

Old Ma Jiya answered truthfully: "Twenty-five years ago."

The young man with the knife then looked at old Tasso: "And this one..."

"Tasso," old Tasso interrupted sullenly, "I was one too, but all I got was a body full of old wounds, and nothing else."

The young man with the knife listened with his arms crossed, his eyes showing more respect and pity.

But it was precisely his respect and pity that deeply stung old Tasso, who picked at his yellowed teeth with his fingernail and grinned nonchalantly: “Besides a body full of old wounds, I also have a serious venereal disease. Hey, look at my memory, I almost forgot.”

"What is venereal disease?" Raul asked curiously from the side.

Old Tasso's dark face was unreadable, his complexion a blur of red and white. He forced out a curse, "You... if you'd been a soldier, you'd know sooner or later!" "Now I believe you were indeed a soldier," the young man with the sword clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "However, your soldiers are different from yours. At least none of my men have contracted that dreadful disease."

"Is that so?" Old Tasso deliberately raised his voice.

"Yes," the young man with the sword replied solemnly, "You'll find out sooner or later."

The other party's self-righteous attitude left old Tasso speechless, and for a moment he didn't even know how to respond sarcastically.

The young man with the sword took off his gloves and extended his hand to old Tasso: "I haven't introduced myself yet—I am Lannis, a soldier of Lord Montagne."

Old Tasso paused for a moment, then hesitantly grasped the other's hand: "I've already introduced myself—Tasso."

This time he used his full name: "Tasso Rumyantsev".

Upon hearing the surname, which clearly came from a foreign land, the other person raised an eyebrow slightly but still nodded in a friendly greeting: "Nice to meet you."

Old Tasso put away his contempt, for he had already noticed that the calluses on the other man's palm were no thinner than his own: "Nice to meet you."

The traditional contest of masculinity between males meeting for the first time should have ended here.

However, Majjah Raul, who had been hiding behind the two elders and had not uttered a word from beginning to end, suddenly spoke up rashly.

"Lannis?" Raul stared wide-eyed at the sword-wielding youth, asking incredulously, "You're Lannis? That Lannis?"

The young man with the sword generously forgave Raul's impolite question. He spread his hands and replied nonchalantly, "If I'm not mistaken, the Lannis you're talking about can only be me."

Old Tasso was completely bewildered: "That? Which one?"

Old Ma Jiya also frowned, looking at his youngest son with a puzzled expression.

“It’s that Lannis, the Lannis from the…the resistance’s newsletter.” Raul explained eagerly to the two elders, but his voice grew softer as he spoke: “Lannis who conquered Artemis, Lannis who forced Major Sandel to surrender.”

He swallowed hard, the last sound coming from his throat so faint it was like a mosquito flapping its wings: "And...and Lannis who captured Pal."

This time, it was old Tasso's turn to look at the "doll" in his eyes with astonishment.

When old Majiya learned that the young man before him was the "rebel" commander who had captured his eldest son, he couldn't help but turn his gaze to him. However, his expression remained as unchanging as granite, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Instead, Lannis unfastened his sword and handed it to the three men with an open and generous manner: "The previous owner of this saber was Major Sandel. How about that? Does that prove that I am 'that Lannis'?"

Old Tasso felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He finally understood where his subtle familiarity with this magnificent sword came from—it was the ancestral military sword that the new garrison commander always carried when he accompanied his "employer" to Artemis to donate an official position to the young master.

However, when the other party handed him this expensive military knife, which was worth more than its weight in gold, old Tasso dared not accept it.

"Where did you see that...that thing...that ...

Raul lowered his head, nervously kicking a small pebble at his feet: "In town."

When did you go to town?

"We went there secretly."

"When did you sneak off?"

"I would sneak off every day."

Old Tasso stood there for a long time, a long, painful sigh escaping his chest. He bowed deeply to the promising young man with a sword, then bowed again to the "promising" young master, before slumping to the side and saying nothing more.

Raul stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

“Lord Lannis,” old Maja’s voice broke the unsettling silence, “May I speak with you in private?”

Lannis nodded in agreement, and then joked, "I'm not some 'Your Excellency,' there's only one 'Your Excellency.'"

After saying that, he made a "please" gesture and led Old Ma Jiya toward the barracks.

Only Raul and old Tasso remained in the small open space of the outpost.

"What is Father doing?" Raul snapped out of his daze and asked old Tasso in a panic. He grabbed the saber on the table, almost crying with anxiety: "It can't be—that?"

“My young master.” Old Tasso’s expression was complicated as he took the saber from Raul’s hand. “You and Lord Lannis are about the same age, why can’t you learn from his demeanor?”

"Then what exactly is Daddy trying to do? Why is he doing this behind our backs?"

"What else can we do?" Old Tasso slammed his saber on the table and spat out a single word with annoyance: "Pay tribute!"

Meanwhile, inside the outpost barracks.

"Lord Lannis."

If Raul and old Tasso were in the barracks, they would never have believed it—old Mazia's granite-like features softened, and he tried his best to adopt the most humble posture, pleading with the "rebel" high-ranking officer in front of him who was about the same age as his youngest son.

“I would like to entrust you with passing on that gold to His Excellency Montagne.”

“Mr. Maja,” Lannister told old Maja honestly, “when I knew who you were, I already knew your purpose, which is why I was certain that you were not the person I wanted to arrest.”

Old Ma Jiya's upper lip twitched slightly.

“But you don’t need to be so humble, nor do you need to explain anything.” Lannis spoke before old Majiya, giving the latter the answers he wanted: “First of all, your son did not die in battle and should be in a prisoner-of-war camp now.”

Old Majiya nodded gratefully.

“Secondly,” Lannis paused slightly, then said seriously, “when and how to release them is a decision only Your Excellency can make—no one can influence Your Excellency’s judgment, and of course, neither can I.”

Old Ma Jiya's gaze dimmed slightly. He forced himself to stay alert, waiting for the other person to continue.

"Finally—that gold. I advise you to take it back. For you, those gold bars may represent all your movable property, even your entire fortune."

Lannis whistled softly, a youthful playfulness and dashing air about him: "But Lord Montagne doesn't lack that."

[Sorry for the late update, Orz]
[Supplementary Explanation]
As the saying goes, "There's no such thing as a day without a day's guard against a thief." Hiding a secret message is always easier than searching a suspect for documents.
[Therefore, for a long time, finding the spies carrying the documents was more important than finding the documents on the spies themselves.]
[The body searches described in the previous chapter are the actual procedures for searching spies and messengers in history.] [However, the book does not mention a default setting: because intercepting spies and messengers is easier than intercepting the documents they carry, the military mostly operates on the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free."]
[For example, during the Peninsular War, Spanish guerrillas mistakenly killed many farmers who were believed to be French messengers. The French army treated Spaniards who were believed to be British spies with equal cruelty.]
[That's why Old Ma, Jia, and the other two felt grateful towards Lannis.]
[As for old Tasso, it's not that he's ungrateful; he just has a terrible temper, and he treats everyone the same.]
[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)