Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 490 Rebuilding the Nation (Part Six)
"...Grov Magnus had planned this all along, and the garrison troops that had secretly defected to him sealed off the Kingsburg Castle overnight—they didn't even wait until dawn, when the members of parliament were all in the Great Council meeting, before they made their move—until Grove's henchmen came to arrest people, many members of parliament were unaware of the government army's disastrous defeat in the newly reclaimed lands..."

While speaking, Kai Morland kept his hands tightly gripping his knees.

He restrained his emotions, striving to remain calm and composed. Nevertheless, others could easily discern from his body language how terrified he was.

Following the Battle of River Valley Village, the Zhuwangbao government immediately blocked the land route to the newly reclaimed land province.

As a result, the military and political officials in the newly reclaimed lands only knew about the process by which the fake Speaker Grove Magnus "purged local members of parliament and welcomed the United Provinces' army into the country" from rumors and hearsay in letters from the people.

Through the firsthand account of MP Kai Morland, the three officers present finally saw the light and understood the ins and outs of the "Second Coup of Kingsburg" that had been shrouded in mystery.

"It seems Grove Magnus has some similarities to a recent officer cadet," Lieutenant Colonel Matthias Korwin said, glancing at his fellow alumni. "'The first time' was a mess, but I still learned a lot. By the time of the 'second time,' I was much more skilled."

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias tried to lighten the mood with a dirty joke, but of his three target audience members:

Winters didn't understand, because the unfortunate Captain Montagne never had the chance to participate in the "Victory Parade"—a lavish and extravagant graduation celebration.

As a serious man, Colonel Skul Mechlen blushed slightly and didn't dare to reply.
As for Colonel Gaisa Adonis, he was not amused at all by Lieutenant Colonel Matthias's vulgar jokes.

"You said Grove had been plotting this for a long time, arresting all the opponents in one night." Colonel Gaisa stared intently at Kai Morland, his scarred half-face twitching slightly, looking quite terrifying.

He shouted at the latter, "Then how did you get out?"

“It was all thanks to Major Claire Ronald’s advance warning.” Kai Morland was not intimidated by Colonel Gaisa and calmly replied, “I changed my clothes and pretended to be the major’s adjutant. I followed the major and escaped from Kingsburg overnight.”

Colonel Gaisa, however, was not about to let Kai Morland off the hook so easily. He pressed on, asking, "But you're the only one here now. Where is Ronald?"

“I don’t know.” Kai’s eyes darkened.

"You don't know?" Colonel Gaisa's tone grew increasingly stern.

“At the time, Grove’s henchmen were hot on our heels. Major Ronald gave me his horse and turned around to distract the pursuers… So I don’t know how the major is doing now.” Kai Morland said emotionally, his eyes slightly red. “But without Major Ronald’s sacrifice and help, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

Seeing this, Lieutenant Colonel Matthias took out a silk handkerchief from his pocket and gently placed it in front of Kai Morland.

Kai Morland nodded gratefully and took a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his eye.

Colonel Gaisa curled his lip in disdain: "Save your breath! Who knows if you betrayed Ronald so you could escape back to the new settlements?"

“Colonel.” Kai Morland put down his handkerchief and looked directly at Gaisa Adonis: “I swear by my father’s grave—every word I say today is true.”

“Is that so?” Gaisa sneered. “But I don’t believe it.”

Kai Morland clenched his fists under the table and asked in his most sincere tone, "What do I have to do for you to believe me?"

“No matter what you do, I will never trust you,” Gaisa replied sarcastically.

The tension in the meeting room grew increasingly palpable. Colonel Skull looked at Winters Montagne, who had brought Kai Morland before the group, hoping the latter would take some action.

Winters remained silent, observing Colonel Gaisa, who had suddenly become extremely aggressive, and Kai Morland, who was enduring the Colonel's attacks with difficulty.

From the moment he met Colonel Gaisa at the entrance of the city hall in the early morning, Winters keenly realized that "Mr. Congressman" had not revealed everything to him.

At the very least, Kai Morland deliberately concealed his interpersonal relationships.

Because the moment Colonel Gaisa saw Kai Morland, he immediately revealed an undisguised and intense hostility.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthias appeared quite surprised to see Kai Morland enter the conference room, as if he had no prior knowledge of the situation—of course, this was likely an act.

Out of surprise, Lieutenant Colonel Matthias welcomed Kai Morland warmly, embracing and kissing him.

It seems that the two had a close personal relationship in the past.

Given this, it would be somewhat suspicious if Lieutenant Colonel Matthias was completely unaware that Kai Morland had already returned to the newly reclaimed lands.

In contrast, Colonel Skul Mecklen showed utter shock upon meeting Kai Morland.

Suspicion followed, so Colonel Skull's gaze lingered mostly on Winters rather than on Kai Morland.

Colonel Skull seemed to be trying to read Winters' face to see what he was up to in colluding with Kai Morland.
Winters saw all of this.

Winters even discovered that Kai Morland unconsciously showed a preference in his seating selection:
Although the latter was sitting next to Winters, he chose a seat furthest from Colonel Gaisa and facing Lieutenant Colonel Matthias.

This forced Winters to rethink the value of Kai Morland.

For Winters, the most important task at present is to win Colonel Gaisa's two votes, so as to prevent the newly formed Republic of Palatour from becoming a second federal province.

Therefore, at this critical juncture, the last thing Winters wanted to see was a conflict between himself and Colonel Gaisa.

Winters was also somewhat displeased that Kai Morland deliberately concealed his relationship with Colonel Gaisa and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias.

So Winters watched coldly as Kai Morland was torn apart by Colonel Gaisa.

Seeing that Kai Morland had already explained everything he knew about the Second Coup of the Kingsburgs, Colonel Gaisa asked him bluntly, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Kai Morland stole a glance at Wolf's Blood, who was expressionless, and then observed the atmosphere in the conference room. Even though he had a million things to say, he swallowed them all.

He shook his head.

"Take him away." Geza slammed his fist on the table and gave the order directly to the military police who opened the conference room door upon hearing the noise.

The military police officers from White Mountain County were about to step forward and take down Kai Morland, but were blocked by two figures—Charles and Heinrich.

Everyone present knew that Charles, also a Venetian, was Blood Wolf's close attendant, while Heinrich, the "Executioner," was Blood Wolf's standard-bearer.

With the two of them blocking the way, no one dared to make any rash moves for a moment.

Kai Morland looked to Blood Wolf for help, while Colonel Gaisa glared at Winters.

“Mr. Kai.” Winters, who was the center of everyone’s attention, stood up and spoke politely, “If there is nothing else I can help you with, please take your leave.”

Kai Morland thanked everyone present, and although it was clear he was reluctant, he obediently left the meeting room under the protection of Charles and Heinrich.

As soon as the conference room door closed, Colonel Gaisa unbuttoned the top two buttons of his uniform and asked Winters angrily, "You brat, what are you doing getting involved with Kai Morland?"

"[Even a little bird chased by an eagle will run into its lap and be protected by a hunter]." Winters quoted a proverb that existed in both the Land of Galloping Horses and the Hed Wasteland, then sighed, "Besides, he said Major Ronald sent him to ask for my help, so I can't just kill him, can I?"

Colonel Skul frowned upon hearing this and looked at Lieutenant Colonel Matthias, who shrugged.

Upon hearing Winters' words, Colonel Gaisa's anger subsided somewhat, but it was not completely quelled. He asked Winters, "Do you know who Kai Morland is?"

Winters cleverly replied, "I only know what Kai Morland himself told me."

"Then you might as well listen to what I have to tell you!" Colonel Gaisa took a deep breath and said viciously, "Kai Morland is a die-hard Red Rose! Grove Magnus's lackey! After the first Kingsburg Coup, he was the one who swore allegiance to the puppet government on behalf of the New Reclamation! He has always been the guy who is most at odds with us in the New Reclamation!"

“Senior,” Lieutenant Colonel Matthias interjected with a smile, “to be precise, he’s the one you get along with the most.”

"What's the difference?" Colonel Gaisa immediately glared back.

“No difference.” Lieutenant Colonel Matthias smiled and waved his hand in surrender: “No difference.”

Colonel Gaisa turned to Winters and said earnestly, "In short, that kid is rotten; don't get involved with him..."

“If he’s Grove Magnus’s henchman.” Winters was never one to listen to reason. He frowned and retorted to the colonel, “Why would Grove Magnus want to arrest him? Why would he be hunted down?”

"Damn it! Who knows if he's telling the truth or not." Colonel Gaisa slammed his fist on the table and cursed. "Ronald's fate is unknown, so he gets to say whatever he wants. Maybe Grove Magnus deliberately sent him back to the new settlements to sow discord among us!"

“That’s possible,” Winters replied calmly.

“We can talk about Kai Morland later. Anyway, he’s in Maplestone City and can’t escape.” Colonel Skull tried to stop the pointless discussion, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “The most important thing right now is to prepare the troops as soon as possible and take over the newly reclaimed province.”

Colonel Skull analyzed: "If what Kai Morland said is true, then the Second Coup of Kingsburg was by no means a simple military coup, but rather Grove Magnus purging all the native members of parliament who opposed him and the United Provinces' intervention."

In other words, Grove Magnus is now completely isolated, and without the support of the provincial forces, the citizens of Kingsburg might very well rise up and overthrow him.

"If that's the case, we should seize the opportunity even more and open up new lands as soon as possible!" Colonel Skul said eagerly. "Before we re-establish our rule in the Kingsburg, we should bring those cities that are alienated from Grove Magnus and those Paratians who, like us, hate the invasion of the United Provinces, to our side."

Finally, Colonel Skull, unusually, followed the example of the other officers, slamming his fist on the table and emphasizing decisively, "The sooner the better!"

“I agree!” Lieutenant Colonel Matthias immediately raised his hand in support and proposed, “We should quickly consolidate the prisoners of war held by the troops in each county and recruit men from them to replenish our losses. Prisoners are excellent sources of manpower; if we offer them sufficiently good conditions, they will be happy to take up arms again.”

“I agree.” Winters also raised his hand. The unified management of prisoners was an opinion he had always supported: “Unified management of prisoners will also facilitate screening and statistics. However, recruitment should be limited to soldiers, and officers should be placed separately. We will not consider recruiting them for the time being.”

Colonel Skull and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias exchanged glances, and then the former readily nodded: "The officer should indeed be observed for a while longer."

Over here, the three are engrossed in discussing how to manage the prisoners.

Over there, Colonel Gaisa, who had been looking sullen, suddenly spoke up: "Where is Kai Morland living now?"

Winters raised an eyebrow: "He's currently under the protection of Mikash Kelmin, and I've sent people to protect him."

"No, no! It's not about protecting him, it's about monitoring and keeping him under surveillance—detaining him! If we don't control him, who knows what other trouble this kid will cause us!"

Gaisa slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth: "Let's just arrest him and lock him in the Maple Leaf Castle dungeon! He's a Red Rose, so arresting him is perfectly justified! I doubt anyone else can say anything about it."

“I support your decision.” Winters paused for a moment. “However, at this critical juncture, I’m afraid we can’t easily arrest Kai Morland.”

Winters gave Colonel Skull a meaningful look: "If we're going to fight out..."

"Why can't we arrest him?" Gaisa asked angrily.

"No, absolutely not." Colonel Skull realized what was happening and quickly tried to dissuade him. "No matter what, Kai Morland is a native who opposes the provincial intervention, a member of the Red Rose against Grove Magnus, and possibly even the only senator to have escaped Kingsburg. At this time, openly arresting him would definitely send the wrong message. We not only shouldn't arrest him, but we should also use him. Let him persuade the cities still misled by Grove Magnus, let him prove Grove Magnus's madness..."

Colonel Gaisa is not easily persuaded by Winters, but he is willing to listen to Colonel Skull's opinions.

He sat there, sulking for a while, and finally said unwillingly, "Even if we don't arrest him, we have to keep a close watch on him! To prevent him from doing anything funny to us!"

“I’ll also send a few men to keep an eye on Kai Morland.” Colonel Gaisa looked at Winters: “Is that alright?” “Of course, no problem.” Winters replied with a smile: “You’re saving me the trouble by sending your own men.”

"That's all for today." Colonel Gaisa buttoned up his collar, grabbed his coat hanging on the back of the chair, and said gruffly, "I'm tired, I won't be coming this afternoon either."

With that, the colonel turned and walked out the door.

"What do you mean you're not coming?!" Colonel Skull was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly chased after him from his seat: "You still have a lot of things to say."

"You three make the decision," Colonel Gaisa said, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the conference room before finally settling on Winters. He snorted, "It won't make a difference if I'm not one more!"

Having said that, he strode away.

"This..." Colonel Skull glanced at Colonel Geza's retreating figure, then at the other two remaining in the conference room, and finally sighed helplessly, "Sigh..."

"That's all for today." Seeing Colonel Geza's strike and demonstration, Lieutenant Colonel Matthias also smiled and got up to take his leave: "We'll take a day off too."

In the blink of an eye, the Supreme Council was reduced to only two people and three votes, completely rendered ineffective and shut down.

The small door leading to the next room was gently pushed open, revealing a head—Lieutenant [Woods Frank] of White Mountain County.

Honest Lieutenant Woods was pushed out by the other officers selected for the preparatory meeting to "scout out the enemy situation".

Because the painstakingly developed plans were rejected time and again, the county officers selected for the preparatory meeting developed an extremely strong sense of shared hatred towards the four-person Supreme Committee, which unexpectedly enhanced mutual trust and friendship among the key mid-level officers of the counties.

“Colonel,” Lieutenant Woods asked Colonel Skool with a forced smile, “our commander…”

"They're gone." Colonel Skull slowly pulled out his pipe, his face full of weariness. "Lieutenant Colonel Matthias has left too."

"Then let's..."

"You should all take a day off too."

Upon hearing this, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the next room. They sounded even happier than if they had won a battle.

"Yes, sir!" Lieutenant Woods saluted Colonel Skull, then saluted his junior, Montagne, and happily disappeared behind the door.

Winters gestured for the recorder sitting in the corner to leave as well, leaving only Winters and Colonel Skull in the large conference room.

Winters carried the water bottle to Colonel Skull's side, poured the old man a glass of water, and then lit his pipe for him.

Colonel Skull was initially a little unaccustomed to it and subconsciously looked at the wolf cub with suspicion, but in the end, he smiled and accepted Winters's kindness.

“Senior.” Although strictly speaking, Winters should call him “Uncle,” he still shamelessly called him “Senior.” “May I ask, what exactly is the feud between this Kai Morland and Colonel Gaisa?”

"What grudge is it?" Colonel Skul took a deep drag on his pipe and slowly exhaled the smoke. "That's a long story."

Winters used body language to indicate that he was all ears.

“If I had to say,” Colonel Skull rarely teased his old classmate behind his back, “every upright New Reclamation councilor has a grudge against Gaisa Adonis. Kai Morland is just the toughest one.”

Winters chuckled: "So Colonel Gaisa is here... as the villain?"

“Black and white, right and wrong, who can really tell?” Colonel Skull gave Winters a meaningful look. “Captain Montagne, do you think you’re not a villain? Am I not a villain? Sometimes, who’s the hero and who’s the villain just depends on who’s telling the story.”

“I partially agree with you,” Winters replied politely. “But I believe that there is always a universally applicable principle for judging right and wrong, black and white, regardless of time or place.”

“May you always remain as steadfast as you are now.” Colonel Skull looked at Winters with affection, then sighed, “In any case, Adonis truly hates Kai Morland. Otherwise, Kai Morland wouldn’t have fled to Kingsburg.”

Colonel Skull then changed the subject, smiling as he said, "However, even in hiding in Kingsburg, Kai Morland still hasn't given up on 'investigating White Mountain County,' and he keeps causing trouble for Adonis every now and then."

"Just an audit?" Winters recalled Colonel Gaisa's anger. "Just an audit probably wouldn't warrant this much."

Colonel Skull paused for a moment: "I've heard... I've only heard that something like this happened, and it seems like someone died."

However, Colonel Skull had no intention of continuing the conversation: "That's all I know, and I've told you everything. I'm going back to rest now, and you should rest early too."

Having said that, Colonel Skull knocked off his cigarette ash, got up, and left.

Winters raised his hand in salute.

Colonel Skull paused for a moment, returned the salute, and the two parted ways.

……

That evening, Winters hosted a dinner at his residence for the elderly Mitchells, who had traveled all the way from Wolftown to Maplestone.

However, Winters, Anna, and the Mitchell family were already literally one family.

So rather than saying "Winters hosted a dinner for the Mitchells," the actual situation was more like the Mitchells hosting Winters and Anna at Winters's residence.

The dishes that filled the table were mostly prepared by Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Little Mitchell.

Anna, the theoretical mistress of the house, was "invited" out of the kitchen to help Scarlett with the children. The two girls hadn't seen each other for a while and had endless whispers to each other.

Winters, like every Platonic man, would chat in the living room before meals and then retreat to the lounge to play cards afterward.

Even Father Kaman—who was, of course, invited to the dinner party—was invited by Wentes to play cards.

Winters' reason was "otherwise we wouldn't have enough people."

However, after a few rounds, Winters regretted it. The priest was simply too good, beating Winters to the point of being dumbfounded.

"Tell me the truth, did you use..." Winters stared at Father Kaman as if interrogating him: "Mind reading?"

“With you.” Kaman deftly shuffled the cards, replying disdainfully, “No need.”

“Cheating will get you into hell!” Winters shouted.

Kaman suddenly reached out and conjured a card out of thin air in front of Winters, then made it disappear in the blink of an eye: "It's only considered cheating if you get caught."

"I refuse to believe I can never catch you!" Winters roared, his anger blazing. "Again!"

The Mitchell father and son could only look at each other helplessly and smile wryly.

Gerald Mitchell had actually seen it long ago: the young garrison commander of Wolftown, though always nonchalant, was more competitive than anyone else; in a sense, it was precisely because of his strong competitiveness that he was prone to hurting others, which was why the young garrison commander became nonchalant and deliberately avoided competition.

Seeing that Lord Montagne's competitive spirit had been fully ignited, old Mitchell couldn't help but worry about Father Kaman's personal safety.

“Your Excellency,” Girard asked cautiously, “may I ask…”

“Please don’t call me ‘Your Excellency,’ Uncle Mitchell, please don’t.” Winters looked away from the cards in Kaman’s hand as if he had been burned. He looked at Gerald Mitchell and pleaded, “Please call me Winters as before… or Captain, it’s fine.”

“Well…” Gerard’s face flushed red. He stammered for a moment, then finally decided not to use any form of address.

Ignoring his son's vigorous shaking of his head, he asked cautiously and suspiciously, "What exactly do you want to do by gathering these 'free men' from the newly reclaimed land?"

The card table fell silent instantly, and even Kaman stopped what he was doing and looked at Winters curiously.

Winters' expression immediately turned serious upon hearing the question.

He rested his hands on his knees, pondered for a long time, and solemnly replied, "Although there are many things I want to explain to you, to put it simply and honestly... I hope that the 'free men' of the newly reclaimed lands can witness the birth of a new republic."

Both Kaman and Pierre had somewhat complicated expressions on their faces.

Girard, however, acted as if nothing was wrong. He nodded and asked, "So, what's the difference between this 'new republic' and the current 'republic'?"

There was another long silence.

Winters thought about it for a very long time. He came up with one answer, but felt it was too hasty; he came up with another answer, but felt it was too optimistic.

Finally, he raised his head, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes: "I don't know if this new republic will become the same as the current 'republic' in the future, or even worse. I really don't know."

Father Reed told me to read more, but all I saw was a cycle of endless repetition—one lord left, another arrived; those who fed on others were then eaten by others, one layer pressing down on another, everyone screaming in agony. Even the most golden moments ultimately vanished like smoke. Only eternal oppression, eternal suffering, remained, without end.

“But I will do everything I can to make it better.” Winters’ gaze gradually hardened as he told old Mitchell, word by word, “Even if it’s just a little bit.”

Born in the Empire, died in the United Provinces, and witnessed the last upheaval, Gerard Mitchell confirmed the look in the young man's eyes.

He vaguely remembered seeing a pair of eyes that were almost identical somewhere before.

Gerard Mitchell struggled to process it for a while before finally answering honestly, "What you're saying is too profound. Actually... I didn't quite understand what you were talking about."

“But I believe you.” Girard stood up and nodded in acknowledgment. “I believe you.”

“Tell me what you want me to do, and I will do my best.” Gerard Mitchell took Little Mitchell’s hand and helped him up. “It is an honor for my son to serve you.”

"It is my honor to have your trust." Winters also stood up and returned the greeting solemnly.

"Alright," Kaman sighed, "Let's play cards."

Once he came to his senses, Winters had no intention of playing along with Kaman any longer. He earnestly said to Girard, "Actually, I also have many things I'd like to ask for your opinion on and explain to you."

"I'm always ready to serve you."

“Now then.” Winters removed the cards and said with a smile, “I’ll tell you now.”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Scarlett's clear, youthful voice drifted into the lounge:

“Winters, there’s a bald, ugly guy outside.”

[Late (っ°Д°;)っ]
[But it's a long chapter ヾ(^▽^*)))]
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(End of this chapter)