Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The firestorm had burned the munitions factory to the ground, and the last of the tools and raw materials were easily taken away by more than a dozen horse-drawn carts.

The port area no longer had the layers-upon-layers "onion" structure, instead, planned building clusters had replaced the wildly grown city. The winding alleys had become straight stone-paved roads with drainage ditches installed as well.

Winters and his peers could hardly recognize Guidao City, which had changed beyond recognition with each passing day.

But the joy of returning to their "second homeland" quickly faded due to the tense relations between The Federated Provinces and Vineta. As soon as the Venetian apprentice officers set foot on Provincial soil, they were under strict surveillance.

They were not allowed to move freely, nor were they allowed to visit the "new Guidao City." The Venetians were taken straight back to the dormitories at the Provincial Army Officers' Academy, and they couldn't even move around freely on campus. Even Bard, a fellow Provincial, was no exception.

"Damn it! They're treating us like prisoners..." Andre cursed as he paced back and forth in the dormitory.

Winters didn't seem to be angry; he comfortably lay back down onto his own bed... It was a curious feeling. He had spent over a thousand nights on this bed and was incredibly familiar with it, the broken wooden planks, the carvings on the headboard, the places that had been stained black by fire.

It felt like he could fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar face.

"Aike!" Winters yelled out in surprise.

Axel was delighted and punched Winters in excitement, and the two embraced each other in a bear hug.

When Axel heard that the Venetian classmates were returning to the academy, he rushed over immediately, and other United Provincials classmates also arrived.

There might have been friction between the Venetian Republic and the Provincial Republic, but that had nothing to do with the military academy students, nor would it affect the friendship between them.

It seemed at that moment that Marshal Ned's vision had become a reality, with Venetian and United Provincials cadets gathering together, laughing and horsing around as if they had returned to their school days.

"My goodness! What happened to you? You look so haggard," Axel said, clicking his tongue in concern as he looked at Winters' gaunt face.

"Really?" Winters looked around at his peers in the dormitory.

The United Provincials classmates looked rosy and vibrant. By contrast, the Venetian classmates appeared tired and haggard but also more mature and seasoned.

Several names came up, but upon hearing these names, the Venetians' expressions grew somber—they had all died in Tanilia.

"I bet your swordsmanship has gone rusty, hasn't it?" Axel said enthusiastically. "How about we have a match right now?"

"Forget it, I surrender. I really haven't practiced in a long time," Winters laughed and raised his hand in surrender, thinking to himself: But now I have a much better weapon—my gun.

"By the way, how's Professor Christian? Is he doing all right?" Winters suddenly remembered the director of the Spellcasters' Research and Teaching Department and was eager to consult him on a pressing issue.

Axel shook his head upon hearing this: "Not good. He's been dismissed, and he's not in a good state of mind. The Army Ministry has ordered him to reflect on his actions and stay home. He's currently under house arrest at the academy instructor's residence. Want me to take you to see him?"

"I'd like to go," Winters said with a wry smile, "but I can't leave this door."

The Venetian apprentice officers were confined to their dormitory, but this was not a problem for Axel.

Because there was a paradox in the surveillance system: There weren't enough people in the academy, so who was watching Winters and the others now? It was Winters' juniors...

With a stern glance, the junior officers stationed outside the dormitory obediently made way.

On their way to visit Professor Christian's residence, Winters and Axel passed a lifeless two-story detached building.

Winters stopped in his tracks—because it was the former home of General Antoine-Laurent.

"What's the matter?" Axel also stopped and asked with curiosity.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered the former owner of this place," Winters replied.

Gazing at the somewhat dilapidated house before him, Winters thought, "Yes, it was from this place that Sofia stole the notes."

Winters approached the small building, wanting to take a closer look, but the doors and windows were all nailed shut with wooden boards, so he could see nothing of the inside of the house and had no choice but to leave, disappointed.

In the faculty residence, Winters met Christian Huygens.

From his casual talk with Aike, he had come to understand. Although it was not admitted publicly, Christian had been identified by the Provincial Army as the person ultimately responsible for the "Dragonfire Devastation" that occurred a year earlier.

Even though the order to use spellcasters to change the wind direction wasn't given by Christian, he was definitely going to be saddled with the blame.

However, dealing with Christian, a seasoned spellcaster, was giving the Provincial Army's head a headache.

Spellcasters—neither could you kill them nor could you punish them.

The figurative plank was laid on Christian's shoulders lightly; he was merely dismissed from his position and was reflecting at home. As for whether he should be brought before a military court, it was said that the higher-ups were still considering it.

But the current problem was that Christian's mental state also seemed to have some issues.

At least, that's what Winters thought.

The Christian before him no longer looked like a soldier at all; he was unkempt and disheveled. Despite the extreme heat of midsummer, Christian was tightly wrapped in a long robe, wearing a pair of furry slippers. As to what, if anything, he wore under the robe, Winters dared not imagine.

Christian's residence didn't seem like a place where a person lived. The small faculty apartment was filled with experimental equipment, and there were drafts covered with handwriting everywhere.

What was most insane was that these drafts weren't just thrown randomly on the floor. Instead, they were meticulously laid out, one by one, even carefully trimmed to fit around table legs and corners, as if a layer of paper carpet had been laid on the floor.

Winters didn't dare to walk further into the room, fearing he might disturb the neat array of papers.

"Oh... it's you guys! Come in, come in," Christian said, heartily welcoming Winters and Axel, though he seemed to be sleepwalking, his eyes unfocused and not looking at the floor as he walked.

Winters and Aike exchanged glances.

Winters thought: Instructor Christian may have gone insane.

Axel thought: Instructor Christian has become even more insane.

Unable to resist the instructor's enthusiastic invitation, the two of them still carefully walked into Christian's apartment.

"Welcome," Christian said, as he brewed tea for his guests in two cups that had evidently contained something else before, "It's been a very long time since I've had guests."

"Please drink," he said, placing two cups of tea in front of Winters and Axel, then wrapping his robe more tightly around himself.

Neither Winters nor Aike dared to drink, merely holding onto the handles of the cups and not braving to bring them to their lips.

"Please drink," Christian urged them repeatedly, "Please drink."

Winters's strong instinct to save himself came to the rescue, as he looked at the drafts on the table and suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He put down his teacup and began to read the drafts carefully.

Seeing Winters engrossed in reading his drafts, Christian stopped speaking and simply wrapped himself tighter in his robe, shivering non-stop on his stool.

After reading for a while, Winters finally looked up and asked with confusion, "Sir, are you currently researching the true nature of the Dragonfire Devastation?"

"I see," Axel said, having an epiphany. He thought to himself, "Being dismissed over the Dragonfire Devastation, Instructor Christian must have been unable to let it go. Holding onto it, it eventually led to his mental issues. He is truly pitiable."

"No," Christian made a startling statement, "That was my research project nine months ago, I already know the truth about the Dragonfire Devastation."