Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 487 Rebuilding the Nation (Part 3)
Upon hearing the title "Master Figney," Father Kaman instinctively tensed up.

Although his posture was barely noticeable, everyone sensed that he had transformed into a predator ready to pounce on the unfamiliar young man at any moment.

Winters, on the other hand, only hesitated briefly before relaxing.

Because he remembered hearing the name "Figni" somewhere before—yesterday, at the siege camp, the "chief stonemason of Maple Leaf Castle who was kidnapped by Major Felt" that Senior Mason had mentioned.

“You are the apprentice of Fegney, the stonemason in charge of maintaining Maple Leaf Castle,” Winters asked.

“Yes,” the young man replied, “I am a disciple of Master Figni.”

"Felt arrested your teacher, but not you?"

"When the soldiers came, I hid."

"Hidden until today?"

“Old Mr. Mikesh found me,” the young man replied softly.

"So, I've found you?" Winters asked mercilessly, "or have I been hiding you until today?"

The young man lowered his head and remained silent.

Mikhesh Kelmin was the wealthiest man in Maplestone City, a prominent figure in the main guild, and a key figure in the change of allegiance of Maplestone City after the Battle of River Valley.

However, Winters hardly ever interacted with the old man—because since Winters took over Maplestone City, Mikash had not appeared in public again, reportedly due to a serious illness that prevented him from seeing anyone.

Winters was well aware of what "illness" Mikesh Kelemin had.

He was already used to this.

However, he was not in a hurry to force the "upper class" of Maplestone City to choose sides, so he did not take any special action, but simply sent some flowers and fruits according to the local customs of Maplestone City.

Just as the Congress of Free Men of the Newly Reclaimed Lands was about to open, and the Red Rose flag was still flying over Maple Leaf Castle, Mikaish Kelmin sent Lord Montagne a stonemason apprentice who was "supposedly capable of taking Maple Leaf Castle."

Winters was somewhat surprised by this unusually proactive gesture of goodwill.

However, compared to the calculations of the wealthy merchants of Maplestone City, Winters was more curious about just how capable this stonemason apprentice was, who had even boasted that he could help him conquer the most fortified fortress in the newly reclaimed province.

"You know Maple Leaf Castle well?" Winters asked the stonemason apprentice, taking his map bag from the coat hook.

"Yes."

Winters pulled out a few sheets of white paper from his map bag, then took out a ruler, compass, and graphite strips: "How well do you know?"

The stonemason apprentice's nose tingled with emotion as he replied, "When I was ten years old, Master Figni took me in. From that day on, I followed my master to manage Maple Leaf Castle."

Winters didn't waste any words and simply placed the white paper, ruler, and graphite strips on the small round table in the center of the living room: "Draw it for me."

The stonemason apprentice named Moses Jack paused for a moment, then leaned over the small round table, picked up a ruler and graphite stick, drew a frame, and began to draw stroke by stroke on the white paper that became the "blueprint".

The young man drew very methodically. He first stacked the papers together, used a needle to poke holes for positioning and drew baselines, and then returned to the first paper to start drawing from the underground structure.

Winters watched intently from the side, asking questions from time to time, to which the young stonemason apprentice answered fluently.

Winters had only drawn half of the underground structure diagram when he realized that the stonemason apprentice in front of him, though young, was indeed very capable.

Winters even deliberately gave him a ruler without markings, but he still drew quite well, clearly "confident and prepared".

The more Winters observed, the more he appreciated the young stonemason apprentice. From their recent exchange, it was clear that although the latter instinctively carried a hint of fear, his answers were very organized.

So when the stonemason apprentice finished drawing the underground structure of Maple Leaf Castle and picked up another sheet of paper to draw the above-ground buildings, Winters stopped him.

“Messer Jack, right? No need to draw anymore—when are you finished?” Winters clicked his tongue in admiration: “I will be building many roads and many bridges in the future, and I will need a skilled hand like you.”

The young man froze on the spot, unsure how to respond.

“Take my words as an invitation, not an order.” Winters wasn’t in a hurry and instead asked, “Tell me, what methods do you have to make Maple Leaf Castle fall?”

To be honest, Maple Leaf Castle's underground storage space is even larger than Winters had anticipated. If every single room were full, the more than five hundred mouths in the fortress could at least keep them fed until they all lost their teeth, if not live to see the end of time.

To put it another way, if every warehouse is full, then Maple Leaf Castle would be an even greater treasure that the Allied forces must acquire.

Hearing Blood Wolf's words, the young man hesitated and asked, "Then my master..."

Lord Winters Montagne, who has been regarded as a ferocious beast countless times, has become too lazy to defend himself anymore.

He asked bluntly, "What crimes has your teacher committed?"

“Disobeying you…”

Winters interrupted the other person: "Being coerced doesn't count."

"That……"

Winters retorted, "Even if he doesn't, why are you worried he'll die at my hands?"

"But they said..."

“Instead of listening to what others say about me, why not hear what I have to say for myself?” Winters rarely spoke more than that: “Since your teacher did not commit any crime, why should I punish him? Do I look like a ruthless butcher and tyrant who doesn’t distinguish right from wrong?”

The young man fell silent.

Winters paused for a moment, then added coldly, "But bullets have no eyes. Maple Leaf Castle has been besieged for over a month, and I can't guarantee that your teacher is still alive. However, the longer the war drags on, the higher his risk of death becomes. So, tell me, what methods do you have to deal with Maple Leaf Castle?"

The young man paused for a moment, then brought the diagram of the underground structure back to the top and pointed to one of the areas.

“A water reservoir.” Winters had just asked the stonemason apprentice about the purpose of the various underground areas and answered immediately. He frowned and asked, “What, are you trying to tell me that the water reservoirs of Maple Leaf Keep are dry?”

The young man showed a hint of panic: "You already know?"

“Mr. Mercer,” Winters said politely to the stonemason apprentice, though disappointed, “the moment we besieged Mapleleaf Castle, I ordered the garrison’s route to the river to fetch water to be cut off. But more than a month has passed, and they have not died of thirst. Clearly, Mapleleaf Castle is not short of water.”

The young man licked his dry lips and decided to start from the beginning: "Sir, when Maple Leaf Castle was first built, my master dug seven wells on the site, and the water from each one was muddy and undrinkable. But the location of Maple Leaf Castle could not be changed, so we had no choice but to set aside a new piece of land and dig a water storage pool."

Winters nodded slightly, signaling the young man to continue.

"Although we had a water storage tank, we still had to carry water by hand every day. So when we expanded Maple Leaf Castle twelve years ago, my master dug a culvert to bring river water into the castle. From then on, we could draw water directly from the culvert well into the water storage tank."

Having spoken too much in one breath, and due to nervousness, the young man's mouth was dry and his voice was hoarse. Seeing this, Winters poured a glass of water for the stonemason apprentice.

The young man gratefully drank the water in one gulp and continued, "But because the underground drain was so convenient, over time, no one used the water storage tank anymore. The water storage tank became an 'empty room,' and people started putting some odds and ends in it."

A year ago, General Adams ordered that as much of the legion's supplies be moved from the city into the fort. Maple Leaf Fort was so crammed with things that the warehouses were insufficient, so they simply emptied out the water storage tanks and filled them with gunpowder and other moisture-sensitive items.

"Therefore, Maple Leaf Castle's water storage is empty, and it can't possibly be empty. Even if they wanted to refill it, they wouldn't find the space to move the supplies from the storage." The young man revealed Maple Leaf Castle's fatal weakness: "The people inside the castle must still be using the underground wells. As long as the underground wells are destroyed, Maple Leaf Castle will collapse without a fight."

Upon hearing this, even young Priskin, who knew nothing about military affairs, showed delight.

But Winters remained noncommittal, instead asking the stonemason apprentice, "The culvert was dug twelve years ago, how old are you now?"

"Twenty, sir."

"You said you were taken in by your teacher when you were ten years old." Winters asked solemnly, "Then, since you weren't present when the culvert was dug, could you find the inlet of the culvert?"

The young man hadn't expected Blood Wolf to be so perceptive. He bit his lip, lowered his head, and remained silent for a long time. But when he raised his head again, there was no fear in his eyes, only determination.

“Yes,” Mercer Jack replied through gritted teeth, “I will find it.”

Winters sized up the stonemason apprentice for a moment, then summoned a messenger: "Go and tell Tribunal Richard Mason now not to negotiate with Maple Leaf Castle again until Mr. Mercer has news."

“As for you, Mr. Messer,” Winters said, looking at the young man, “once you find the culvert, you will be the chief stonemason of Maple Leaf Castle.”

……

Maple Leaf Castle
At dawn, Major Alder Felt awoke with a smile. He refreshed himself, washed up, and prepared to continue negotiations with the rebels that day.

The sentry brought news that there was unusual activity on the Anya River.

Major Felt immediately went to investigate and saw two large boats, secured together with wooden beams, moored on the side of the river near Maple Leaf Castle. Around the large boats were more than a dozen small boats, and people from the boats would occasionally dive into the river and then resurface a moment later.

Major Felt and the soldiers stared at each other in confusion for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no!"

He immediately ordered his men to summon the chief stonemason, Figney, who was being held captive in the fort, for a private interrogation.

A moment later, the door was flung open, and Major Felt's anxious shouts echoed down the corridor: "Quick! Fill everything that can hold water with water!"

……

On the other side, the attacking side also encountered difficulties.

Finding the inlet of the culvert was a hundred times easier than expected, but how to block it was a major problem.

The crowd suggested methods such as "pouring mud and sand" and "pouring stones," but all of them were rejected by the tribunal of Mason, who was in charge of the scene.

“The silt is light. If you pour it into the river, it will be swept away by who knows how far it will go when it reaches the bottom.” Mason patiently explained to his men, “Stones inevitably have gaps. Covering the inlet can reduce the amount of water entering, but it cannot completely cut off the waterway. Instead, it will become a protective shell for the inlet.”

After much discussion, everyone finally reached a consensus: there was no other good way but to use gunpowder and blow it up.

Demolition can be considered a traditional skill of the Iron Peak County Army, which they use most frequently and are most proficient in.

However, this was the first time they had ever done an underwater blast, and Mason's engineers were at a loss.

“If it were on land, just stuff a coffin inside, and it’ll take care of everything,” someone muttered. “But underwater… gunpowder is most afraid of water, and it just so happens to be underwater…”

“Asphalt is waterproof, so coat it inside and out. Wrap it with oil paper and tarpaulin, then coat it with asphalt again. Not a single drop of water will seep in.” Another engineering officer immediately proposed a solution, but he was also wondering: “Waterproofing isn’t difficult, but how do we get the gunpowder to the target location, and how do we detonate it?”

At the very back of the crowd, a hand timidly rose up.

Mason looked closely and saw it was the stonemason apprentice, Mercer Jack, who had led the men to the entrance of the culvert.

“Mr. Mercer,” Mason asked very politely, “do you have any good ideas?”

In an instant, all eyes in the room were fixed on Moses Jack. They watched the young stonemason apprentice with a mixture of suspicion, anticipation, and envy.

“My master…” Moses Jack swallowed hard. “He has a special skill: he can work underwater. Maybe it will come in handy this time.”

Mason frowned slightly: "What...special skill?"

The stonemason apprentice gritted his teeth: "The caisson!"

……

The underwater explosive "gunpowder coffin" was quickly prepared—the coffin business is currently the most booming in the newly reclaimed land.

The "sunken box" that the stonemason apprentice mentioned could not be made in a short time, nor was there a ready-made one.

However, time was of the essence. The Maplestone Church had a bronze bell that had already been cast but had not yet been placed on the tower. After consulting with the stonemason apprentices, Father Kaman stepped forward and borrowed the bell.

On the large ship moored above the culvert inlet, Moses Jack was completely naked except for a rope around his waist and a small oilcloth bag around his neck.

The others on the boat watched quietly as the stonemason apprentice prepared to enter the water, all casting respectful glances at him.

This wasn't just risking one's life; it was suicidal. The bronze bell weighed thousands of pounds and was balanced entirely by its own buoyancy and the cables pulling it from above. If it were to tip over even slightly, it wouldn't be a "sinking box" but a "sinking coffin."

Not to mention, how could one operate it inside a large clock that could barely accommodate one? And how could one escape after lighting it?

“Mr. Mercer Jack,” Mason said with a hint of reluctance, “we owe you a huge favor.”

“Lord Mason,” the young stonemason apprentice shook his head, “Please tell Lord Montagne that I am doing this voluntarily.”

After saying this, the young man bit a dagger into his mouth, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and jumped from the deck into the water.

As several strikes came from inside the bronze bell, the winch began to turn, and the bronze bell, which was attached to the "gunpowder coffin," began to slowly sink.

……

Around noon, Major Felt's worst fears came true.

A deep rumble came from the direction of the river, and a huge column of water rose from the surface. Much of the water was even blown into Maple Leaf Castle, drizzling down like a rain.

The well water that the entire garrison relied on for survival subsequently became extremely murky.

"It's over." Major Felt's vision went black. "It's all over."

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(End of this chapter)