Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The rooftops of the Army Ministry of the Federated Provinces Republic were nearly blown off by the clamor. No sooner had Paratu's consul in Guidao City stormed out after a furious argument than Vineta's chief advisor in the Federated Provinces arrived, fuming with anger.

The military's actions were secretive, swift, and efficient, with no advance warning whatsoever.

By the time the Vinetan officials stationed in the Federated Provinces learned that all the Vinetan cadet officers awaiting commission in the military academy had disappeared, it had already been three days since Winters and the others were taken away.

"[Vineta curse word]! What on earth are you doing! What the hell do you intend to do!" Domenico Roye, Vineta's chief advisor in the Federated Provinces, slammed his hand on the table and cursed, spitting so much that William Balenz's, the head of the Army Ministry's external liaison department, face was covered in it.

In terms of military rank, Balenz actually outranked Roye by one level, but since the Federated Provinces were in the wrong, Balenz had to appease Roye with a smile, "Please, calm down, let me explain. I assure you, Colonel Roye, that we in the Army Ministry were truly completely unaware of this matter..."

Roye punched the desk so hard it cracked, "You dare say you didn't know? Every little thing in Guidao City happens right under the eyes of your Army Ministry, and you still dare say you didn't know?!"

"We really didn't know!" Balenz said earnestly, "The operations headquarters handled this matter all by themselves, keeping even the Army Ministry in the dark. We only learned of this incident very recently and had no prior hints at all."

The separation of the military command and military administration in the Federated Provinces Republic had been a chronic issue since its independence. Vinetan military had only one "palace," while Federated Provinces military had their counterpart "departments."

Other republics could see this flaw in the Federated Provinces clearly and took it as a warning. Especially Vineta, which feared becoming a second Federated Provinces, controlled the powers of military officers with a large number of stringent laws.

But Balenz's excuses couldn't deceive Domenico Roye. Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire

"Bullshit!" Roye was even more irate, "You can't control the operations headquarters, but since when can they reach into your Army Ministry?! Since when did the military academy become part of the operations system?! You dare say the military academy isn't under your military administration?!"

"Correct, the military academy is under the jurisdiction of the military administration," Balenz said helplessly. "But the jurisdiction over the Army Officer Academy is in the hands of 'Alliance Army Headquarters!'"

...

...

The carriage travelled on the stone-paved Guzhi Road, the wheels bumping and jostling slightly.

Winters was feigning sleep with his eyes closed.

The marks on the wooden planks indicated that the group had spent sixteen days inside the carriage, during which the Vinetan warrant officers could only eat stale bread and drink water that had started to stink.

A large wooden barrel filled with waste was placed in the corner of the carriage; it was a miracle that it hadn't been overturned during the journey.

But the barrel inevitably emitted a foul odor, mixing with the sweat smell in the poorly ventilated carriage, lingering for a long time.

The Vinetans had become numb; they couldn't tell whether their own bodies smelled worse or the barrel did.

If it hadn't been for the naturally stronger constitution of an officer, this long and painful "journey" would have been enough to take down most of them.

Everyone suffered tremendously. On the first day, the young Vinetans cursed and swore, but by the sixth day, they didn't even have the strength to talk.

There were six people in the carriage Winters was in, and only Andrea Chellini still had the energy to speak. Andrea stubbornly tried to sharpen the edge of an iron spoon on the metal plate, cursing hoarsely after a few scrapes.

When they were locked in the carriage, the soldiers of the Federated Provinces took everyone's weapons, but Andrea had sneakily kept a spoon on him.

"That's enough." Andrea tested the sharpened edge with his finger, satisfied, "It'll do."

"Let me see?" Winters opened his eyes.

"Here." Andrea handed over the spoon to Winters.

Winters tried it on his face and said with a laugh, "This thing's hardly good enough for shaving, let alone thinking of other uses."

"It'll do," Andrea laughed too, "They can't keep us locked up forever... hmph, the moment they open the carriage door, I'll make my move and kill those mudsuckers!"

Another voice came in the dark, "Fine, leave that little bearded bastard to me. I swear I'll tear off his beard."

The Vinetans didn't know the small-bearded man's name, so they nicknamed him "Goat Man," based on his beard, which eventually evolved into "Little Beard Man" amidst their cursing.

The men found humor amidst their suffering, and low chuckles filled the carriage.

However, the carriage suddenly stopped, and the inside of the carriage fell silent.

Winters listened intently; it sounded as if they were changing horses outside.

Since setting off, the carriage had been moving night and day, always changing horses without changing carriages. The only possibility to pull this off was by using a courier station system.

If they were using a courier station system, it meant that the transportation was not a rash act by individuals, but rather had at least some degree of official support.

Every time they thought of this, everyone in the carriage grew more anxious.

This time, however, the changing of the horses took unusually long, and the warrant officers only felt the outside grow silent. Locked inside the carriage, they had no sense of time and could only observe the sun's position through the iron window on the carriage ceiling,

But then a long time passed, and the carriage did not start moving again.

"Don't tell me they've left us in the middle of nowhere?" Andrea suddenly panicked, pounding on the carriage wall, "Hey! Let us out! Do you hear me?! Let us out!"