Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 577 Siege (Twenty-Nine)

"No matter how special your identity is, you are still a soldier, a soldier in the order of combat."

“I don’t recall giving you any order to ‘come to the front,’ Major Montagne.” Gaisa’s tone was not only stern, but even somewhat aggressive. “So, what are you doing in Castle of Kings?”

Inside the central command tent, the relaxed atmosphere of casual conversation between the two friends of different ages was instantly dispelled, replaced by a somber and heavy atmosphere.

Gaisa Adonis was no longer speaking as a friend or senior, but as a superior and the highest military leader, questioning him.

While it was still anger, Gaisa's anger was no longer the feigned anger he had shown when he complained that Winters hadn't come to see him immediately; it was now genuine rage.

However, amidst the raging anger, Winters caught a fleeting glimpse of negativity.

Grief? Disappointment? Exhaustion? It's hard to tell what it is.

Winters could understand why Gaisa had such a strong stress response, because Gaisa wasn't just asking, "What are you doing here?"

They're still asking, "Who sent you?"

They were even asking, "Are you going to join forces against me?"

Because it was not Gaisa Adonis who urgently summoned Winters back, but Skul Mecklenburg.

“During your time at Kingsburg, the United Provinces’ fleet has become increasingly active,” Winters carefully chose his words, not answering the question directly, but starting with the river defenses, “They are no longer content with simply blocking the Jinliu River waterway, but have begun harassing the ports along the coast, even the inland river docks like Green Bay and Rock Harbor. Fishermen have also witnessed unfamiliar vessels measuring the water depth…”

“Do you need to tell me all this?” Gaisa frowned, picked up the riding crop from the map table, and slammed it heavily against the file box behind him. “Do you think Skul only delivers letters to you and doesn’t inform me?”

“You certainly know more about what’s happening in the rear than I do,” Winters first affirmed Gaisa, then changed the subject, “but we may have some differences in our views on the movements of the United Provinces Fleet.”

"Oh, really?" Gaisa grinned, making the scars covering half his face look even more menacing. He asked in a friendly tone, "What disagreement?"

Winters answered calmly and openly, "I disagree with your opinion that the actions of the United Provinces Fleet are 'just petty tricks to tie down our forces.' I support Brigadier General Skoll's judgment. I believe that the activity of the United Provinces Fleet is likely a prelude to an attack."

“I understand,” Gaisa raised his chin, a sneer on his face. “Skul, that blockhead, couldn’t argue with me, so he brought you back.”

Gaisa spread his hands. "What's next? Get rid of me? Skul and Matthias only have two votes, not enough. But with your two votes, we can do whatever we want."

Upon hearing this, Winters frowned deeply. He stared intently at Gaisa Adonis, scrutinizing him from head to toe, without uttering a word.

Annoyed by the stare, Gaisa snapped, "What are you looking at? Don't you recognize me?"

“It does feel a bit unfamiliar,” Winters said, moving his chair back with disdain. “You’ve only been in charge for a few days, and you’ve already grown scales?”

Gaisa was furious and wanted to have a big argument, but after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't understand what Winters was talking about. He could only pinch his nose and ask fiercely, "What do you mean?"

Winters didn't bother to explain. He told the chairman of the provisional military council bluntly: "No one is colluding in private, no one is forming cliques, and no one wants to remove you—please rest assured, we are not United Provinces people, addicted to coups."

Gaisa was taken aback at first, then flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table and shouting, "Is that what I care about?"

“If not,” Winters countered, “then what do you have to worry about or be angry about?”

Gaisa was speechless, wanting to refute or defend himself, but unsure where to begin. He was a man of great pride, incapable of arguing or being unreasonable; he was adept at intimidating others, but only depending on who the target was—he could forget about this guy.

In short, Gaisa didn't know what to say, so he crossed his arms and simply stopped talking.

“However,” Winters stepped forward and solemnly told Gaisa, “I must also admit to you that it was indeed Brigadier General Skul Mecklen who brought me back.”

"Brigadier General Skull did believe that it was necessary to review the current strategy within the provisional military committee, especially to discuss whether to continue the siege of Kingsburg—at least that's what he told me in his letter."

Gaisa was immediately ignited, slamming his hand on the armrest: "In the end, it all comes down to..."

“No,” Winters interrupted Gaisa abruptly, reiterating, “it’s a ‘discussion,’ not a ‘majority rule.’ Brigadier General Skull wants the four to reach a new consensus; nobody wants to go to the point of a ‘vote.’”

“If Brigadier General Skull, Colonel Matthias, and I really intended to force you to submit through a vote, then I wouldn’t have needed to travel all this way back. My two votes were already authorized to Andrei and Senior Mason, didn’t you know that?”

"Then why did you come back?" Gaisa glared at him.

“I’m back so I won’t vote,” Winters said seriously. “You have to admit that since you became Commander-in-Chief, you’ve become arrogant and self-willed—or perhaps you were always like this.”

Gaisa's expression changed, and he looked like he was about to lash out again.

Before Gaisa could erupt, Winters spoke first, "In short, Brigadier General Skull is too busy in Maplestone City to spare, and Colonel Matthias is making great strides and can't possibly abandon the promising Northern Slope Province to come to Kingsburg. Besides these two, who else do you think can speak to you?"

Mentioning Matthias Korwin only fueled Gaisa's rage. While Gaisa's main force was battling it out at the gates of Kingsburg, Matthias Korwin's detachment was reporting frequent victories.

That alone would be fine.

The problem is that while Matthias Korwin was conquering cities and seizing territory, he was also demanding reinforcements and supplies from the rear.

The reasons were also quite valid: he needed reinforcements because he needed troops to garrison the towns that had submitted; he needed supplies because the tax system of the Northern Foothills Province had been paralyzed, and unless he resorted to outright robbery, he could not collect money and grain.

Regardless of how much of it was true or false, Matthias Korwin's conquests in the Northern Foothills province dispersed the resources of the newly cultivated lands, and the more aggressively he advanced, the more resources he consumed.

Therefore, the mere mention of Matthias Korwin ignites Gaisa's fury.

But Gaisa couldn't express it directly, because he couldn't accept others thinking he was jealous of talent.

So his tone suddenly became harsh.

“Yes,” Gaisa said coldly, “besides the two of them, there’s only you.”

Winters keenly sensed the brigadier general's change in mood. He briefly considered the possibility of Matthias Korwin and rationally decided, "No matter what, let's not mention the Northern Foothills Province for now."

Of course, the best way to handle this is to get the topic back on track.

Winters then leaned toward the map table and asked seriously, "Don't you really think the United Provinces might be holding back a right hook?"

"A right hook?" Gaesar scoffed. "Skoll is always cautious; he sees ambushes everywhere. If Jason Cornelius really had that kind of force, would he have come to Kings' Castle with just a thousand men?"

Gaisa glanced at Winters. "Didn't you already talk to that guy who ran out of town before coming to see me?"

“You really can see right through anything,” Winters nodded. “We did talk, but that guy is a complete idiot and still doesn’t realize that it was Chief Cornelius who deliberately let him out.”

“But the information he gave me corroborates the intelligence I received before.” Gaisa stood up and paced around the map table. “There were two large battalions of provincial troops in the Fortress of Kings before; they were troops sent by Guitu City to help Magnus suppress the opposition.”

"Jansen Cornelius brought two more battalions of infantry, plus a few artillerymen, engineers, and auxiliary troops, bringing the total to no more than three thousand men."

“Aside from these three thousand soldiers from the combined provinces, the remaining troops in the city are all just donkeys with horsehair stuck on them—pretty faces, useless.”

Gaisa stopped and looked down at Winters. "And during this time, Cornelius's three thousand soldiers from the United Provinces have either died or been wounded, and there are hardly any left alive."

Winters trusted Gaisa's assessment of the current troop strength in the city, but he had some very bad suspicions.

He always felt that this intelligence came too easily, as if someone was feeding him bite by bite.

However, unfounded speculations cannot be brought to the forefront, so Winters held back for the time being and said nothing.

The phrase "all intact" in Gaisa's words touched a raw nerve.

“Before coming to see you, I went to the wounded soldiers’ camp,” Winters said, his voice heavy with emotion. “Our losses were also great.”

Upon hearing this, Gaisa snorted coldly, adopting an indifferent expression, and asked provocatively, "What? You can't bear to part with it?"

Winters was not provoked, but calmly retorted, "Are you really willing to do that?"

Gaisa's expression froze. He stood silently for a moment, then suddenly slammed his fist into the map table in front of him, causing the tabletop to collapse.

"Fuck you, disgusting!" Gessa gritted his teeth, kicking the leg of the map table hard. "Fuck you, disgusting! You sons of bitches! You fucking disgusting! You just won't come out and have a proper fight..."

The guards and officers from the command post rushed in upon hearing the commotion inside the tent.

Winters waved his hand, and the guards and officers who had barged in immediately retreated.

After venting his frustrations, Gaisa slumped back into his folding chair, leaning against the backrest and panting heavily.

Winters got up and poured the brigadier general a glass of wine without saying a word.

But the war must continue. War is like an avalanche or a flash flood, a natural disaster that will not stop because of the joys or sorrows of those involved.

“Please allow me,” Winters broke the silence, “I have another place I would like to go.”

"Do you need my permission to go anywhere?" Gaisa tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a bitter smile. "Just tell me, where?"

Margit Island.