Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Fortunately, the merchants of Staghorn Town were scared to death and didn't notice the two men's loss of composure.

"Gentlemen," Winters coughed lightly and said kindly to the frightened merchants, "Traders have their ears to the ground. I've called you here because there are some questions I need to ask. As long as you answer honestly, I guarantee your lives and property will be safe."

The merchants of Staghorn Town nodded eagerly as if pecking for grain.

"You, start." Winters's cane pointed at the oldest merchant present.

The other man was puzzled, "You... You haven't said what you want to ask?"

"Don't worry about what I want to ask," Winters spoke calmly, "just start talking, and when I hear what I want to know, naturally you'll be let go."

The elderly merchant was dumbstruck, after a long while, he gathered his courage to ask again, "Where should I start?"

"Start with the latest and biggest event."

The old merchant's lips quivered. It took him a great effort to finally speak, startling both Winters and Andre when he did, "The Herd Barbarians are back."

"Continue," Winters maintained a neutral expression as he locked eyes with Andre.

From Andre's tense cheeks and surprised gaze, he saw the same emotions as his own.

The old merchant rambled on:

In mid-September—about the same time Bard and Mason's hundred-man team "perished entirely,"—the Herd looting army once again invaded from the east.

Clearly, the Herd tribes that attacked Paratu at the beginning of the year had grabbed a bounty, causing massive envy among the other tribes.

"The Barbarians came killing from both banks of the Ashen Stream River; you couldn't even count them!" the old merchant's excitement grew as he spoke.

"Hmm," Winters nodded nonchalantly, "go on."

What "coming from both banks at the same time"?

What "unable to count them"?

There was no one present who understood the inner workings of the Herd tribes better than Winters.

It was clearly two Herd looting squads, entering Paratu separately from the south and north banks of the Ashen Stream River.

Since the Herd tribes were also attacking each other, the two groups of robbers simply chose to operate separately to avoid bloody conflicts if they met.

And how could there possibly be "impossible to count"? Winters had long guessed roughly how many assets the three major tribes had.

Which tribe would dare to mobilize in full? Aren't they afraid of having their home base taken?

Nevertheless, this information was still very valuable.

The elder merchant, his enthusiasm growing, continued with the second-hand information he had heard, unsure how many times it had been passed down:

The Barbarians invaded the North River Province from the northern bank; it was said they fought fiercely with the "Rebels."

The Barbarians from the southern bank invaded Mirror Lake County and were defeated by the wise and valiant General Adams and the reinforcements sent by Kingsfort.

[Mirror Lake County belongs to the Newly Reclaimed Land, situated at the northernmost end of the province, adjacent to Mirror Lake. With its advantageous geographical conditions and convenient transport, it is the wealthiest and most densely populated county in the Newly Reclaimed Land.]

Winters stroked his chin; this half-true, half-false news was becoming more and more valuable.

Not only did the large-scale eastern invasion and looting by the Herd tribes fail to provoke a new round of war between the Red and Blue Roses, but it also eased the situation.

Nothing unites the people of Paratu like "a common enemy."

The most interesting part was "the reinforcements sent by Kingsfort," which was essentially the Red Rose troops advancing into Newly Reclaimed Land.

"It seems that in the end, it is Adams who has the bigger headache," Winters thought it was rather amusing. He nodded expressionlessly, "Keep talking."

Other merchants took their turns, talking about various scattered issues.

Things like "a general from Kingsfort being assassinated," "they said it was over a woman," "Blood Night," they spoke with such detail as though the narrators had been with the assassin throughout the ordeal.

Merchants dealing in tobacco, ceramics, and wool lamented bitterly. The economic crops of the Newly Reclaimed Land couldn't be shipped out and were all stockpiling in their hands.

Import traders followed suit, complaining that goods from outside couldn't enter, souring their business greatly.

Both groups became more and more animated as they argued, nearly coming to blows over who was more miserable.

Newly Reclaimed Land has always relied on selling agricultural produce and buying in what cannot be produced; now both lifelines had been cut off by the war.

Winters took notes in a little book as he listened.

The rapid, drumming sound of horse hooves approached. A scout cavalry soldier rushed to Winters, dismounting swiftly, and whispered a report in Winters's ear.

The merchants of Staghorn Town witnessed the emotional change of the Rebels' commander, from calm and indifferent to outright laughter.

The scout cavalry soldier had only said one sentence, "They're here."

Winters's reply was just one word, "Good!"

The garrison forces of Mont Blanc County turning back to provide support was a piece of great news.

If Colonel Gaisa lost his head and charged headlong towards Revodan.

Then Winters would have no choice but to give up on Revodan and see if he could recoup the losses by taking Falconflower Fort.

Revodan had too few soldiers, divided loyalties, defenses too feeble to withstand a single blow, and an extreme shortage of military supplies.

All members of the newly formed infantry were using short spears because they could not find long, straight spear shafts, nor did they have enough steel.

Only the core soldiers were issued with swords and helmets.

A few dozen muskets had been captured from Ronald, but with the quality of the troops in the newly formed infantry, they couldn't be effective.

They only dared to aim and shoot with their hands, not resting their chins on the musket stocks to fire.

There were even fewer crossbows, which could be counted on one hand.

Single bows were indeed confiscated by the hundreds from the Arsenal, but Ronald didn't use such things, and Winters was even less likely to.

In Winters's hands, there were barely any landless peasants who could shoot a bow and arrow.

Such troops could only fight when the wind was in their favor, a crowd of men shouting and charging forward.

If they felt they could win, each one was braver than the next.

If they felt they couldn't win, they could run away in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing behind.