Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Botayun was in great pain, and it neighed agonizingly.

Scarlett hugged the horse, crying and humming a lullaby intermittently, "Flowers white as snow... may you be fragrant... forever in bloom... grow..."

First came the translucent amniotic sac, then the foal's legs.

Suddenly, the foal's body got stuck.

Winters had already exerted a lot of strength, but he couldn't use any more force.

The little foal's legs looked so fragile; even a bit more strength could hurt it.

"Push!" Major Ronald helped with his hands, shouting at the clumsy infantry officer, "Push harder! It can take it!"

Winters clenched his teeth and slowly increased the pressure.

"The head is out!" Major Ronald exclaimed with joy, "Push!"

First a small, delicate nose appeared, and then the foal's head gradually emerged from the birth canal.

Major Ronald methodically cleared the foal's nostrils, supporting its head and neck, assisting Winters in dragging it out.

The foal's eyes were open, with a layer of pale white fetal membrane enveloping it.

Once the head and neck emerged, the pulling resistance felt by Winters through the belt suddenly decreased.

The foal was smoothly dragged out of its mother's body.

With a "pop," the foal's hind hooves also left the birth canal.

The pale white fetal membrane, along with the red placenta, followed the foal out of Botayun.

Botayun's abdomen deflated, and it lay exhausted in a pile of hay, gasping for breath.

"We did it!" Scarlett kissed Botayun, "We did it!"

"Is it alive?" Winters didn't dare to look because the Major had said the foal was stillborn.

"It's still alive! Oh God! Breathing!" Major Ronald tore off his shirt, wiping the foal's nostrils, head, and body, "Breathe! Just breathe and you'll live!"

The pale yellow amniotic fluid stained the Major's uniform, but he didn't mind at all.

Winters quickly took off his shirt and handed it to the Major.

The strong child's breathing was initially very weak, but it gradually became more robust, and its chest began to heave.

It was a color between grey and black, completely different from its grey father and pure white mother.

"You're so beautiful," Winters kneeled next to the strong child, gently stroking its wet mane.

"Such a big fellow! By the Holy Body above!" Major Ronald joyously wiped the foal's body, muttering continuously, "Such a big fellow! No wonder the mare had difficulty giving birth! How could it grow so big? Good heavens!"

He lifted the foal's hind legs and examined them closely.

"It's a little colt indeed!" Major Ronald laughed.

Scarlett's tears turned into a smile, her face blushing with embarrassment.

"Is the mare yours?" Major Ronald asked Winters.

"No... its father was my companion," Winters suddenly recalled the beautiful gait of the strong runner, "but he's no longer here."

Major Ronald's actions paused, and he said bitterly, "There's nothing we can do about that. Give the little one a name. Don't worry, it will definitely be a top warhorse."

"No!" Tears filled Winters' eyes, "I hope he never has to go to the battlefield."

The little foal, almost as soon as it was left alone, tried to stand up.

It blinked its eyes, stumbled as it propped itself up on its knees, then fell over.

Scarlett wanted to help the foal up.

Major Ronald stopped the girl, "Let it stand up by itself."

After several failures and repeated attempts, the son of the strong runner finally propped itself up on all fours.

Its legs were still slender, but already nearly the length of an adult horse's.

Although it stood shakily, it finally stood tenaciously on the ground by its own strength.

Winters held the son of the strong runner in his arms.

The foal didn't understand why the human in front of it was so gentle—it didn't even have a concept of humans yet—it just felt that it liked the scent of the "thing" before it.

It gently licked Winters' cheeks.

"I have thought of his name." Two tears rolled down Winters' face, "His name is Changsheng."

...

Winters and Ronald, two weary men, sat side by side outside the stable.

Scarlett was in the stable, helping Botayun feed the foal.

Major Ronald leaned against the wall, fumbling out a pipe, and slowly packing it with loose tobacco leaves.

The tobacco was packed tight, but no matter what, he couldn't light it—his hands trembled, and he couldn't strike the flint properly.

Winters took the pipe, and when he handed it back, the tobacco was lit.

Ronald took a satisfying drag, slowly exhaling a wisp of smoke, "What breed is its father?"

"A Lucian horse."

"Hmm, no wonder." Ronald smiled knowingly, "Don't be fooled by its current size as a small black colt. Once it grows up, it will fade, gradually turning light gray."

"Hmm."

Ronald continued to smoke, and both sat silently.

"You fought a good fight this time."

"Thank you."

"How long had you been preparing?"

Winters honestly replied, "Over a month ago, when I went to Revodan."

"And when did you start considering us the enemy?"

"Earlier."

"No wonder," Ronald said with a smile, "No wonder you, lad, came to Revodan and didn't even stop by to see me."

Winters also smiled.

The two fell back into silence.

Ronald let out a bitter laugh, "Calling it a bandit suppression really underestimates you. You have the right to use the word civil war.

I thought I would be the one to fire the first shot in the Newly Reclaimed Land civil war. But now it seems, no matter how you look at it, that first shot was yours.

But are you ready for this? Revodan, Maplestone City, Newly Reclaimed Land... even the entire Paratu. Are you ready?"

"No," Winters shook his head, "But I will do my best to carry on."

Major Ronald let out a puff of blue smoke from his lungs, pointing to the dissipating smoke, he said lightly, "The warmth of this moment is just like this smoke, it will disappear in the blink of an eye. Civil war is very cruel, it might be more brutal than what you or I can imagine at its worst, take care."

"I'm off," Major Ronald tapped the ash from his pipe against the wall, "Next time we meet, it will be a matter of life and death."

He stood up and walked towards his warhorse.

Winters watched the Major's retreating figure, "Thank you for reaching out today."

Ronald, without turning back, waved his hand, "Thank you for the mercy of not killing today."

...

Winters left with Scarlett, Botayun, and the foal.

Ronald also rejoined his troops.

"Let's go," the Major looked somewhat dispirited as he called the Centurions together, "It seems we won't catch Montaigne. He has planned this for a long time and won't give us such an opportunity. Withdraw, back to Revodan."

Lieutenant Adam tentatively asked, "There are some crops in the fields of the nearby villages that haven't been harvested yet. Besides the crops, there are also houses... Should we, burn them?"

"Burn? Why should we burn them?" Ronald retorted indifferently.

Lieutenant Adam braced himself and replied, "The people here are die-hard supporters of Montaigne's bandits, no different from the bandits themselves. Burning their food and houses would be like cutting Montaigne's bandits off at the roots."

"Hahaha!" Ronald laughed miserably, "The peasants would rather follow a bandit than help a legitimate garrison officer like me. Is it our problem or theirs? By burning them, we would be no different from the bandits! Leave them be, consider it as a way to spend fewer days in purgatory after we die."

The two battalions of Revodan soldiers assembled and set off back to Revodan.

Meanwhile, two messengers were making a desperate ride to Wolf Town during the night.

One was Lieutenant Istvan, who would bring Major Ronald a message: Montaigne's bandits have not withdrawn from Revodan. On the contrary, they have taken the city.

The other was Pierre Mitchell, who would bring Winters a message: Execute Plan B.

...

Operation Plan A: Draw the tiger away from the mountain, conquer Revodan, take all the materials that can be taken, and continue to accumulate strength;

Operation Plan B [reserve]: Draw the tiger away from the mountain, occupy Revodan, annihilate Ronald Division, and fully bring Iron Peak County under control.