Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

He thought the young man before him was foolish, naive, and too impulsive, but he couldn't help feeling a measure of respect.

Bard, Andre, and Mason hurried over from the army camp.

Apel looked at the three newcomers and asked calmly, "You're going to follow him, aren't you?"

"Exactly!" Andre answered loudly, "I've been wanting to do this for a long time!"

"Fine," Apel nodded, then asked, "Can I take Asko with me?"

"Sorry, senior," Winters replied somewhat embarrassedly, "That's not possible. Asko Senior likes to drink and wants to eat meat. Originally, he only owed fifteen hundred work hours, but now it has increased to two thousand."

"Alright, I'm leaving." Without further ado, Apel nodded at the group, stepped into his stirrups, mounted his horse, and galloped away.

Winters watched Apel until the senior disappeared behind the hillside, "Let's go."

"And they sent you a new uniform?" Andre touched the captain's uniform and commented offhandedly, "The material is not bad."

...

Apel did not go far, stopping after riding about two kilometers.

He and his guards removed the iron bits from their warhorses and took two bags of corn from their saddlebags, as if they were resting the horses.

Before long, several persons dressed as peasants in sackcloth shirts, baggy trousers, and straw sandals came out of the woods.

Upon seeing Captain Apel, the "farmers" saluted one by one.

They were not farmers; they were Revodan's scouts and spies.

"How is it?" Apel asked.

The lead scout replied, "The several villages in Wolf Town appear normal, with no soldiers found lodging in the farmers' houses. But they've built a large army camp right in the center of the town, very big, taking up half the area of the town. Plus, the inspections are severe; we couldn't get in."

"I saw that army camp too," Apel chuckled, shaking his head, "But I couldn't get inside to have a look either. My junior brother is quite meticulous."

"So?"

Captain Apel re-bridled his warhorse, "You wait here."

Apel and his guard resumed their journey, hastening towards the ford at Blackwater River.

They covered the twenty-odd kilometers with only one stop to rest the horses.

By the time they reached their destination—the forest on the north bank of Blackwater River—the warhorses were so exhausted that they were panting white foam, their flanks soaked with sweat as if they had just been pulled out of the water.

A man dressed as a hunter was waiting for Captain Apel, who immediately led the captain deeper into the woods upon his arrival.

Deep in the woods, Major Ronald was waiting for Apel.

"How is it?" Major Ronald asked.

Apel shook his head with a bitter smile.

Major Ronald let out a heavy sigh, "Then it is settled. Let's call everyone together, they've had enough rest."

The drill sergeant's reprimands echoed through the woods, along with the sound of knocking on tree trunks, calling the sleeping men to wake.

Under the canopy that formed a lid, a dark mass of people stood up.

Winters, Ronald... Everyone had received the same military training, they knew each other all too well.

The annihilation of the Chelini Century could have been an accident.

But after the forces of Bard and Mason were also "completely wiped out," Major Ronald would be a complete fool if he still didn't understand what was happening.

Winters' actions were too obvious, so obvious that Revodan couldn't possibly have failed to notice.

Therefore, Major Ronald came, bringing along two battalions as well.

The negotiations had already broken down, attempts at reconciliation had failed, and Revodan's only option left was violence.

Major Ronald intended to quell the rebellion with a swift and decisive blow.

"We set off now! Quickly! Don't give him time to react!" Major Ronald summoned all the officers, "They haven't been lodging in the farmhouses; all the rebels are stationed in the army camp in the town center. This is good, we can eliminate them all at once."

The forest was quiet, the centurions silent.

"What we are facing is not bandits or marauders, but an organized, disciplined army. This army's commanders have received the same training as we have, and when it comes to real combat experience, they are even more seasoned than you or me. This is a genuine civil war, fighting among our own, we must be extremely careful."

The centurions' eyes grew somewhat dim.

On both banks of the Ashen Stream River—the heart of Paratu—had already become a battlefield, but the flames of war had not yet reached the Newly Reclaimed Land.

And they were about to fire the first shot of the civil war within the Newly Reclaimed Land.

"Our soldiers lack training and have low morale," Major Ronald surveyed his subordinates, "But there are two pieces of good news: their soldiers are equally poorly trained and low in spirit, and we have an absolute advantage in numbers!"

This was Revodan's all-out strike, aiming for a clean and decisive kill.

"Intelligence shows that Winters Montagne is an extremely powerful spellcaster," Major Ronald deployed standard anti-magic combat forces, "Do not give him the chance to join the fray. The moment you spot him, blow the horn and send a message! Captain Apel!"

"Yes, sir!"

"My best musketeers are at your command, do not fire a single shot unless you see Winters Montagne," Major Ronald's gaze was stern, "There is no camaraderie now, only a fight to the death!"

Captain Apel nodded emphatically, "Yes, sir!"

Major Ronald gave his centurions one last look. Who would make it back this time?

"Move out!" he gestured grandly with his hand.

...

Two battalions from Revodan launched an attack at dawn.

The town of Wolf Town was eerily quiet at dawn, like a wolf curled up in its den, deeply asleep.

The new soldiers, on their first battlefield, charged toward the town center from the westward directions, shouting under the officers' lead.

The soldiers of Revodan burst out from the forests surrounding the town, one battalion heading straight for the town center, while another encircled from the north side along the town's river.

Five hundred meters, three hundred meters, one hundred meters...

The wooden walls of the military camp were now clearly visible.

But Wolf Town was still eerily quiet, so much so that it was unsettling.

A new soldier suddenly stopped in his tracks, and the others, frightened, came to a standstill. They stood on the outskirts of Wolf Town, at a loss.

A centurion's vine whip lashed down harshly, "Go! Kill! Why the hell are you standing there!"

The new soldiers started running towards Wolf Town again, but this time, they did not dare to run as recklessly as before.

"Major!" Captain Apel found Major Ronald out of breath, "There's no one!"

"What?" Ronald leaped up in shock.

"There's not a soul in the barracks! Nor in the town. There were people here when I came this morning!"

Ronald was first shocked, then puzzled, and finally furious.

He slammed his fist into a tree with such force that the dry leaves and fruits fell like rain.

"Fuck!" Ronald cursed aloud, "We're screwed!"

...

Winters, Ronald... they had both received the same training, understanding each other's tactical thinking.

Ronald understood Winters, and Winters understood Ronald.

But Ronald made one mistake—he underestimated Winters's determination and audacity.

Meanwhile, at the gates of Revodan.

"Hey! Open the gate!" a soldier banged on the door, "I'm back!"

A head emerged sleepily from the gatehouse, slurring, "Who the fuck are you?"

Revodan originally had no city walls or defensive fortifications, as the current earthen walls, wooden walls, and moats were all hastily constructed a few months before.

"It's me, Ish from Ganshui Town! Ish the sergeant?" the soldier outside reported his identity, "Hurry up and open the gate for me!"

"Ish?" The person on the gatehouse muttered the name, confusion evident as he asked, "Weren't you dead?"

"Who the fuck said I was dead?"

"Oh... so you're not dead. We can't open the gate now, wait until daybreak and then you can come in."

The soldier outside flew into a rage, cursing, "Bullshit! Open the damn gate for me! It was so hard for me to escape back here, I'm almost starving to death!"

"Sigh, then wait a moment," the soldier in the gatehouse said reluctantly, "I need an officer's permission to open the gate now. I'll go find Lieutenant Alec, let him come to open it for you..."

Before he could finish speaking, the soldier in the gatehouse suddenly shuddered.

A steel nail shot into his skull, first causing him to lean back, then slowly collapse forward, and finally, he tumbled down from the city wall.

Colonel Moritz and Lieutenant Juan emerged from the darkness, the noisy sound of footsteps following them, indicating an unknown number of men hidden behind.

"Why the hell did you waste words with him?" Tang Juan was unusually irritable now.

Ish from Ganshui Town nodded sheepishly.

"Come on! Bring the tools over here!" Tang Juan bellowed his orders, "Blow this damn gate open!"