Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 578 Siege (Thirty)
As night fell, on the opposite bank of Margit Island, Winters and Mason lay behind the riverbank, observing the river and whispering to each other.

“Colonel Skul,” Mason habitually used his old rank, then quickly corrected himself, “Oh, Brigadier General Skul.”

Mason asked somewhat nervously, "Does Brigadier General Skull want to call off the siege?"

Winters speaks without reservation when speaking to his classmate, unlike when communicating with Gaisa, where he has to be careful about his words.

He chuckled and answered bluntly, "Anyway, according to Brigadier General Skul Mecklen, he doesn't want to call off the siege, but rather hopes to 'preserve some forces' to deal with potential threats. At the same time, he wants to redeploy some cavalry to monitor the river mouths in the rear, preventing the Allied fleet from invading the inland waterways..."

Mason quickly grasped Winters's explanation, but his tone became even more hesitant, "Then, shouldn't we still call off the siege?"

“Let me put it another way, so as not to hurt the pride of the other general,” Winters smiled again, but this time, his smile carried a hint of sarcasm. “Given his temperament, if Brigadier General Skull had said he wanted to withdraw, then this siege would have to go on to the very end.”

It goes without saying who "that person" is.

Mason bit his lip, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't respond to Winters. He was naturally kind-hearted and always had a psychological aversion to criticizing others.

Slightly below, Bud Sharing stood guard next to Winters and Mason, and he dared not speak even more.

Behind the riverbank, there were three people. Two of them didn't speak, and the world suddenly became quiet.

After a moment, Mason broke the silence and asked in a low voice, "So that's why Brigadier General Skull asked you to come back?"

“No,” Winters shook his head and smiled wryly, “although I also believe that if I were to speak up, the chances of persuading that person would be higher.”

"But the reason Skul Mecklen insisted that I come back was not to persuade him to abandon the siege—he genuinely believed that the invasion of the Allied Fleet was imminent and could cut off your retreat at any moment."

"He needs me because he wants to fight another battle, another battle where the enemy only exists in his mind for the time being."

Mason paused for a moment, then frowned slightly and asked, "Do you support Brigadier General Skull's judgment?"

Winters shrugged slightly with a self-deprecating smile. "Look where I am right now?"

Mason was somewhat unwilling, and inevitably fell into self-doubt. He swallowed hard, moistened his dry throat, and asked hoarsely, "But... Brigadier General Skull's conjecture is a bit too... far-fetched. Just because a few warships harass us, we're going to give up the siege of Kingsburg? All that blood, all that sweat, was it all for nothing...?"

“It’s not that time yet,” Winters immediately reassured his senior, noticing that he was a little off. “I have reservations about Brigadier General Skull’s assessment.”

"Then why did you..."

"The point is not whether the enemy will do it, but whether the enemy has the capability," Winters stated his point of view. "It is true that the United Provincial Fleet controls the Jinliu River. It is also true that the United Provincial Fleet's activities along the coast of Mirror Lake and Xilin Province have become more frequent."

"Although Skul Mecklen is always overly cautious, we should indeed consider the possibility that the United Provinces' warships could invade Anya River, or any navigable river behind us, and cut off our retreat."

“But where does the Southern Army find so many troops?” Mason’s breathing quickened. “They only have…”

“Less than three thousand people,” Winters said to his senior almost simultaneously.

Mason sensed Winters' skepticism about the number, so he stopped talking and waited for Winters to continue.

“Less than three thousand men, you know, I know, General Gaisa knows, General Skull in the rear knows, even that idiot who ran away to surrender knows,” Winters frowned. “So, is this intelligence still credible?”

Mason thought for a moment and countered, "Since everyone knows this, doesn't that just prove that the information is accurate?"

Winters coughed lightly.

Now it was Winters' turn to fall silent. After a while, he readily admitted, "You're right. If the information from all sides can corroborate each other, then the fact that there are less than three thousand people from the United Provinces in the city should be true."

But Winters still couldn't shake off the gloom in his heart. He unconsciously stroked his stubble, scratching his chin until it bled without realizing it. "But I always feel something is wrong. Troop deployment is about the life and death of an army. How could such important intelligence fall into our hands so easily, as if it were handed to us with both hands?"

“There are no secrets in the city,” Mason murmured a proverb.

"Where does that secret originate?" Winters countered.

This question stumped Mason, but only for a short while. After taking over the siege, he memorized every document he had ever read.

After cross-referencing the data, Mason, biting his nails, slowly gave his answer: "The Southern Army itself."

“That’s what I wanted to say,” Winters finally saw the same cloud in his senior’s eyes. He pressed on and poured out all his doubts at once. “If it weren’t for the fact that the Southern Army only had four battalions, we wouldn’t have rushed to Kingsburg without even having enough men to fill the gaps.”

"We will not launch an attack on Zhuwangbao while the rear is still unstable."

"Furthermore, we would not have gritted our teeth and persevered to this day despite the unfavorable circumstances in the early stages."

Winters' brow furrowed almost into a knot. "However, the intelligence that 'the enemy only has four battalions,' the premise of all our actions, actually originates from the enemy themselves. This is very wrong."

Mason fell into thought, biting his nails as he stared at the slope of the riverbank, nodding instinctively.

Unable to get any effective feedback from his senior, Winters turned to the Second Battalion Commander and asked, "What do you think, Bart?"

Bart Sharing, who was listening attentively to the lecture, clearly did not expect to be called on.

But he didn't panic. After taking a moment to organize his thoughts, Bart Sharing spoke calmly.

“I think you have a point,” Bart Sharling first agreed, then suddenly changed the subject and posed a dangerous question to his centurion, “But is it possible that your doubts and anxieties, in the final analysis, are actually because—you oppose the siege of Kingsburg?”

Upon hearing this, Mason stopped biting his nails and looked at Winters.

Winters laughed in exasperation. "You mean, because I opposed the siege of Kingsburg, you're making up all sorts of excuses to be suspicious of everything?"

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Bart Sharling said humbly but firmly, “but that’s roughly the idea.”

Upon hearing this, Mason immediately felt that it was a bit too much.

There is a tendency in other people's impressions of "Winters Montagne": the further away they are, the more terrifying "wolf blood" seems; the closer they are, the more approachable "Lord Montagne" seems.

However, getting closer to Richard Mason's location offers a different perspective.

The longer they spent together and the closer they became, the clearer Mason realized that, despite all the trials and tribulations, Winters Montagne had never changed his fiery temper; that terrible rage had never subsided, it was just that "Blood Wolf" tried to bury it and only unleash it on his enemies.

So, Mason coughed lightly, his face unusually stern, and preemptively reprimanded, "Battalion Commander Xia Ling, you need to be mindful of your words."

Bart Sharing immediately raised his hand in salute and lowered his head.

A suffocating silence fell over the three of them. Not only Bart Sharing, but even Mason felt uneasy. After a while, Winters let out a long sigh, and the other two finally relaxed.

Winters was somewhat frustrated, but he still readily admitted, "Bart is right... I can't lie to myself, I am truly against besieging Kingsburg now."

Mason exclaimed "Huh?" and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Didn't you just say that you had reservations about Brigadier General Skull's assessment?"

“I have reservations about Brigadier General Skull’s assessment,” Winters replied softly, “but I oppose the siege of Kingsburg now, not because of Brigadier General Skull’s reasons.”

"Why is that?" Mason couldn't hide his curiosity.

Winters paused for a moment, then said, "I can't bear to see my men die in a place like this."

Mason and Bart Sharing both felt a chill run down their spines.

Winters gazed at Margit Island, which was swallowing up countless lives in the darkness. "So many warriors who came all the way here didn't have to die here. They should have become the backbone of the New Republic's army, the heart of the New Republic, instead of being wasted in the trenches."

"Zhuwangbao is just an isolated city. There are clearly better ways to conquer it. What's wrong with leaving it to the United Provinces? As long as we take Xilin Province, Donglin Province, and Beilu Province, as long as we can draw more strength from the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, as long as we advance steadily—Zhuwangbao will be ours sooner or later."

Mason lowered his head. He knew Winters wasn't criticizing him, but he was still overwhelmed by guilt.

“There are always deaths in war,” Bart Sharing said calmly. “We know that, your soldiers know that, Centurion.”

“But now, at this moment, right now,” Winters’ words were like a knife stabbing into himself, “under these unsuitable, insufficient, and unstable conditions, a full-scale attack on Kingsburg is not out of military considerations, but because of damned politics.”

"Because Matthias Korwin was winning every battle in the Northern Foothills province;"
"Because Gaisa Adonis did not want Matthias Corwin to go any further, he had to take Kingsburg before Matthias Corwin returned in triumph;
"Because I let them do it, I let them put their own interests above the lives of other people."

For the first time, Mason saw a look of "pain" on Winters' face.

He had seen "pain" many times. But "suffering" was something he was seeing for the first time.

He realized that Winters was more remorseful than he was.

“I used to think I had chosen the right path,” Winters said sadly, “but now I regret it.”

“If you choose another path,” Bart Sharling calmly retorted, “there will still be sacrifices, and perhaps even more.”

“Are you trying to excuse me?” Winters pursed his lips. “Bart Sharling.”

“No, I am your subordinate, I have no right to exonerate you,” Bart Sharing said earnestly and solemnly. “I just want to tell you that I have never blamed you. I was going to say that no one blamed you. But I don’t know what others think. I only know that I understand and accept my fate. I fought for you willingly, and no matter where you lead us, no matter when death comes—even in the next second—I will not regret it, much less blame you. So you don’t need to blame yourself; you just need to point the way.”

“There is no such thing as fate,” Winters said.

“Yes,” Bart Sharling replied, his attitude as humble yet firm as ever.

Winters repeated, "No."

Bart Sharling remained silent, but it was clear that he hadn't changed his mind; he simply didn't want to argue with Blood Wolf anymore.

“So,” Mason asked, “what’s next? Should we withdraw? Go south or west?”

“We have to keep playing even if it’s a bad move,” Winters’s gaze had hardened again. “A blind retreat would be just as you said—all that blood and sweat would be wasted. So I’m going to the island first, to the front lines, to see for myself before I decide.”

“You can come to the island,” Mason suddenly became tense, “but we’ve already agreed that you’re not allowed to participate in the fighting.”

“Okay,” Winters nodded.

“Absolutely not,” Mason emphasized.

Winters nodded again.

Mason was almost in tears. "You can't afford any mistakes now, why don't you understand?"

“I understand,” Winters said, looking at his senior. “I promise.”

Mason hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Winters then turned to the Second Battalion Commander. “As for your question… yes, I am against besieging Kingsburg now. However, I am certain that my doubts and anxieties are not because I oppose besieging Kingsburg.”

“That means the intelligence is indeed suspicious,” Bart Sharling nodded decisively. “It must have been deliberately leaked to us by the enemy.”

Now, Winterston was speechless.

“If it were Tamas, he would only answer ‘yes’,” Winters said, feigning anger. “No wonder you’re the second battalion commander.”

Bart Sharling raised his head: "But only under your command can I become the 'Second Battalion Commander'."

Winters was utterly defeated.

After a while, he looked at Margit Island in the darkness and muttered to himself, "I don't know how to explain this to you."

“I am not familiar with Jason Cornelius’s conducting style. I know as little about him as he knows about me.”

"But this feeling is like an ink spot on a blank parchment, no matter how much you try to erase it, it just stays there, making every inch of my skin, every tendon, and every bone itch..."

Upon hearing Winters' description, Mason also felt a vague sense of unease.

Bart Sharling nodded repeatedly with a serious expression.

Just then, a sentry crouched down on the riverbank and jogged over from the south.

Upon seeing the sentry, Winters, Mason, and Bart Sharing all stood up.

The sentry moved with light steps, making almost no sound, until he reached Bart Sharing's side and whispered a few words of report.

Bart Sharling nodded and turned to look at the centurion.

“The ship is here,” he said.

[Only two updates this week, I'm very sorry, Orz]
I don't deserve to be called a human being.
[This chapter contains too much monologue because I haven't been able to sort out Winters' inner world, so no matter how I wrote it, it felt awkward, leading to writer's block. In addition, I've been very busy with work lately, so I only had time to properly organize my thoughts this weekend.]
[This current version may not be the best, the most coherent, or the most logical, but he was genuinely saddened and regretful, and couldn't help but wonder if a better outcome would have been possible if he had taken a firmer stance. If he hadn't so single-mindedly pursued uniting all parties, could he have avoided these unnecessary sacrifices?]
[Enough of this small talk. Let's turn the page, let the story continue, let the sun rise again, and let the monsoon winds blow across the land of Palatine once more.]
[Thank you for your company and support, fellow readers]
[Thank you to every reader for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation votes, monthly tickets, tips, and comments. Thank you all!]