Iron Powder and Spellcaster

The swift sword that struck from behind was fast and poisonous, biting Ciel's armpit fiercely.

In a fleeting moment, the blade of the sword accurately captured the gap left by the shoulder plate of the right arm for holding the lance. There is no greater skill in swordsmanship than this.

Ciel couldn't dodge and was hit by the sword. His body suddenly curled up in pain and fell forward.

However, the blade of the sword only penetrated the gap of the armor by an inch, stopping at the locking leaf under the arm of the armor, and could not go any further.

Most of the skilled swordsmen did not expect that someone would go to such trouble to prepare a full set of heavy armor - it was not a battle formation.

When the strike failed, the swordsman strode forward and stabbed the fallen soldier in the crotch.

What greeted him was the black muzzle of the gun.

Broken lanterns, fallen soldiers, silent swordsmen, stunned militiamen, time seems to have frozen at this moment.

Charles gritted his teeth and endured the severe pain. He didn't pull the trigger until the blunderbuss was pointed firmly at the assassin.

There was a crisp "click" sound, the spring wheel rotated, firelight burst out with gunpowder smoke, and time resumed its flow.

The lead bullet penetrated the flesh and blood and shattered the lungs and heart.

The swordsman staggered, his hand lost its accuracy, and the swift sword was pushed by the heavy torso and inserted into Ciel's left leg.

Ciel used his gun as a hammer and hit the assassin's head hard: "[Poyin's expletive]!"

The two sled dogs barked wildly and hesitated. The two militiamen who followed Charles into the basement were shocked. One reached out to pull the assassin, while the other hurriedly tried to draw his sword.

There was another dull gunshot, and this time, smoke spurted out from inside the secret door.

Then a dark iron ball flew out of the secret door, and the gunpowder on the iron ball's outer shell made a hissing sound.

On the line between life and death, Charles burst out with astonishing strength, picked up the iron ball and threw it back at the secret door. At the same time, he pulled the assassin, who was still alive or dead, in front of him.

…

street.

Two bodies were dragged out of the yard. Roger Baldhead looked at them one by one, and the "black-faced man" he called was not among them.

Charles was sitting against the wall, having already received Carman's treatment.

Two streaks of blood stretched out from his temples, and his hair and eyebrows were covered in dust, as if they were covered with a layer of powder. The large white area was dotted with dark red spots, which were mud mixed with blood and dust.

A militiaman lay quietly on the roadside, his upper body covered with clothes.

Another militiaman, with dull eyes, sat slumped next to his neighbor's body, still recovering from the shock.

The place where the corpses were laid became a temporary assembly area, and men kept coming with weapons and hurriedly walking to join them.

Several reserve sergeants with ribbons and torches ran through the streets to maintain order.

Some women living nearby wrapped their shawls and walked out of their homes. They stood more than ten meters away from the body, whispering and exchanging news.

A barefoot young woman recklessly crossed the queue of militiamen, squeezed through the wall of onlookers, and rushed to the corpse of the militiamen.

The young woman tremblingly opened her clothes, and her last hope was shattered. She fell to her knees weakly and cried bitterly.

After a while, another staggering old woman walked to the body with the help of a servant.

The old woman looked sad, but did not shed tears in public. She just silently covered the deceased with clothes again, carefully tucked the clothes corners, held the cold hands of the deceased, and chanted in a low voice.

Within the courtyard wall, Winters had just interrogated the old doctor and his wife and was leading people to inspect the secret room that Ciel had found.

The secret room and the basement were sealed by Winters, and militiamen and unrelated personnel were not allowed to enter or exit.

When he was alone, Winters asked Carman: "You can tell the truth of what I say, but why can't you tell whether the old man is lying?"

Kaman followed behind and replied in a muffled voice: "He is too scared, even if he tells the truth, it feels like he is telling a lie."

The frightened old royalist couple splashed out everything they could.

The problem is that apart from knowing that they are "serving His Majesty", they have very little exposure to anything.

The old doctor has been "serving His Majesty" for sixteen years, and what he has done most in the past sixteen years is actually recording his own experiences - writing a diary, and then regularly sending the diary to relatives in Beimengta.

Four years ago, "His Majesty's servant" disguised himself as the old doctor's coachman and dug a secret room under his house. After that, the old doctor dismissed all the live-in servants.

According to the old doctor, the secret room has been idle since its completion, and some boxes and cages were moved in and out two years ago. "His Majesty's servant" neither told him what was stored nor allowed him to inquire. Occasionally, the stored items will be transferred under the cover of medical visits.

He didn't know the other places where "His Majesty's Servant" ended up. His upper line was a black-faced gentleman from [John H. Sherlock Company] - he should be the same person as Roger Whitehead's upper line. But John H. Sherlock's firm was located in the Bay Area, that is, the Old City, and Winters was temporarily out of reach.

As far as Winters is concerned, the chamber never sits idle. The background is reliable, the location is secluded, and the owner is a doctor...the secret room of this house is a perfect emergency shelter.

As for the old doctor's so-called "never told me what was stored", he was just trying to shirk responsibility.

Winters sighed: "Two decades have passed, and there are still royalists."

"Really?" Kaman asked coldly.

The height of the secret room is lower than the original basement of the house, and it is connected to the basement through a short corridor.

Stepping out of the corridor, there is a basement about the same size as a bedroom. There are no living utensils in the room. Several small wooden boxes surround a large wooden box that serves as a table and chairs.

A lampstand lay on the ground, and dozens of dirty playing cards scattered around the wooden box.

Except for the passage and a small open space for people to rest, the other spaces in the secret room are filled with crates.

Winters looked at the scene in the secret room. This hidden cellar was more like a "fox's storage room" than a "fox's lair".

"Pry them open." Winters was a little disappointed and ordered with his arms folded: "See what kind of things are hidden in a place like this?"

The first crate is empty.

The second crate was also empty.

The third crate is still empty.

The guard moving the box was a little impatient and his actions became more and more rough.

The fourth crate was opened. It was not empty. It contained some sealed glass bottles. The bottles were carefully separated by wooden strips and straws.

"Wine?" The guard was puzzled.

Winters took out one of the glass bottles, removed the sealing paint, uncorked the bottle, sniffed it, and suddenly turned around and extinguished the candle in Kaman's hand.

"What's wrong?" Kaman asked in a serious voice.

Winters took off the copper buckle of his belt, and the dark green light filled the secret room again, and the liquid in the glass bottle became darker and darker.

Winters corked the glass bottle tightly: "Liquid fire."

Kaman took a moment to digest the information. He stared at the crate of liquid fire and said, "Char's lucky."

Winters touched the lampstand and scattered cards on the ground with the toe of his boot, and simulated the airflow when the grenade exploded in his mind: "It's just good luck."

Most of the crates opened next were empty, and the non-empty crates contained ordnance: liquid fire, grenades, guns, gunpowder... There was no room in the secret room, and the wooden crates were moved to the adjacent basement.

The guard carrying the crate couldn't hide his smile: "The imperial man's arsenal has given us an advantage! Centurion."

What Winters wanted was not the arsenal. He frowned and paced in the basement.

Another guard walked down the ladder: "Sir, Mr. Schmid and the North City Sheriff have come over and are waiting outside."

Kaman and the guards carrying the crates both looked at Winters.

"According to what the old man said." Winters tapped the hilt of his sword gently: "The two assassins in the secret room were hiding here this morning?"

"yes."

"Then they didn't flee here to hide after we were defeated at Manor d'Este." Winters gave a high-five: "They were protecting this secret room."

The guard carrying the crates was puzzled: "Shouldn't someone be guarding the arsenal?"

"Then why was there no one guarding it before? Now that most of the boxes are empty, couldn't it be that there were more ordnance stored before?" Winters spoke quickly and quickly: "A place like this that is not visible to the light should be guarded by someone. It makes no difference.”

The guard scratched the back of his head.

Winters thought of the oil lamp: "Once exposed, the assassin guarding the arsenal has no time to remove the remaining weapons. All he can do is destroy them...or die together."

Hearing this, the two guards looked at the boxes of liquid fire and gunpowder, and their Adam's apples involuntarily turned.

"Roger the Whitehead saw Green Eyes getting on the carriage half a street away. If this is just an armory, why would Green Eyes risk coming here?" Winters stared at Carman: "You are Green Eyes, the reason for you to take the risk What is it?"

"I'm not the messenger, how can I know what the messenger is thinking?"

"What is a messenger?"

Kaman stopped talking.

"Think about it! Think about it!" Winters grabbed Kaman's shoulder: "Think about those assassins. They don't have anything on them that can prove their identity - including those green eyes! We know they are the wolves of the Oathbreakers. But there is no evidence. What does this mean? It means that this is their way of doing things."

Kaman clenched his fists and unclenched them.

"If I were green-eyed, what would I do the night before the steel castle was destroyed?" Winters asked himself and answered: "I would destroy all documents, kill all witnesses, erase all footprints, and leave me in it. All traces of it were erased. The riot that took place in Steel Castle tonight was like a spontaneous disaster. Just like..."

Winters' voice deepened as he spoke: "It's like another fire,"

Kaman understood, but he didn't want to answer.

The guard moving the box asked hesitantly: "You mean, the imperial guys hid their 'traces' here?"

"No." Winters replied without thinking: "Things that can be destroyed must have been destroyed."

He changed the topic again: "But are there some things that 'cannot be destroyed easily', 'are not necessary to transport' and 'must be kept well'? If I were green-eyed, tonight I would put those things in a safe place Put it in a safe place and have someone watch it at all times. If everything goes well, it can be easily retrieved afterwards; if any accident occurs, destroy it immediately."

As soon as he finished speaking, Winters had already walked to the secret room: "Move out all the crates and check them one by one!"

The four of them started working together, and the efficiency was extremely high.

The remaining crates were quickly moved into the basement and inspected.

Nothing was found.

The two guards stared at the tips of their boots awkwardly, not daring to speak.

Winters drew his sword, looked around the walls of the secret room, and suddenly stabbed the empty crate used as a card table.

The long sword penetrated the crate and went straight into the earth, but it made a sound of gold and iron that penetrated the soil.

"Disintegration Technique!"

The crates were torn apart and sawdust flew everywhere.

"dig."

After digging less than an inch, what was buried in the soil was exposed.

They were fine linen bags the size of fists, containing hard things. They were neatly stacked on top of each other and lay quietly in the dirt.

Winters cut one open, and the contents of the bag shone seductively in the firelight.

It's a silver coin.

Carman glanced at Winters: "It is indeed something that 'cannot be erased casually', 'there is no need to transport it away' and 'must be kept well'."

Without saying a word, Winters pulled out a linen bag, examined it, and then the next.

Kaman shook his head and reached out for help. The two guards came to their senses and hurriedly stepped forward to help.

There were more than a hundred bags of gold and silver in the linen bags, and they were all quickly taken out.

When the last sack was brought up, a guard screamed in surprise and took out another square iron box from the bottom of the pit.

At this time, even Kaman's eyebrows were raised, showing a hint of surprise.

The iron box was locked. Winters opened the flap and looked at the keyhole, remembering the small set of keys found on the green-eyed corpse.

He took out the bunch of keys from his carrying bag and tried them one by one.

No, no, no, right...

The fourth key was inserted smoothly into the keyhole. Winters and Kaman looked at each other and turned the key steadily.

As if in response to his call, a "click" sound came from the iron box, and the lid bounced up lightly.

Everyone's eyes are on the box: a wilderness-style knife, a pair of glasses, a handkerchief, a portrait of a woman, an iron ring with a blazing sun heraldry, a bunch of small keys engraved with numbers...

Winters pulled out the portrait of the woman. In the frame, a quiet and elegant young woman smiled lightly.

Winters silently put the portrait back into the iron box and let out an imperceptible sigh: "It seems to be his personal belongings."

Kaman took out the iron ring and looked at it for a long time: "This... this is the messenger's token. That guy is really the messenger."

"Really?" Winters took the iron ring and asked, "What's so special about it?"

Kaman shook his head slightly: "I don't know."

"It doesn't seem difficult to fake."

"They have their way of verification."

While talking, the sound of a ladder came from the basement.

Because Winters had ordered the basement to be cordoned off, a guard immediately asked, "Who?"

"It's me." Charles spoke seven times louder than usual: "Old man Schmid is waiting outside and is almost dying of anxiety!"

Winters put away the iron box and picked up two bags of gold coins: "Let's go!"

The four of them filed into the corridor, and the small secret room returned to darkness and silence.

But just seconds later, Winters came back. He rushed into the secret room and rummaged frantically in the mound.

Kaman followed back as if he was facing an enemy. When he saw Winters turning over the soil, he gritted his teeth and asked, "What are you looking for again?"

"Damn green eyes, he is always deceiving and playing tricks. It's gold and silver, it's a portrait, it's a ring. But he buried things so deep, how can he destroy them!? That kind of guy with green eyes must have Put the most important things where they can be destroyed most easily.”

"Found it!" Winters stood up abruptly, holding a dirty card carefully in his hand.

Kaman didn't know what was going on.

Winters examined it carefully for a moment, then carefully picked up a corner of the card. As he slowly exerted force, he forcefully peeled off the layer with patterns and numbers on the surface of the card, revealing the light yellow cardboard base.

Kaman looked at the still empty card base: "Still nothing?"

"It's not nothing." Winters was silent for a moment, then took a long breath and said with a slightly gloomy look, "It's steganography."

He warmed the base of the card by the candlelight, and the brown, irregular letters were revealed.

…

Old Schmid finally waited until "Captain Bern" carrying two bags walked out of the yard.

Before the old man could speak, Captain Bern's voice had already reached his ears: "How many people have you found?"

The Sheriff rushed to answer: "All the free men from the nearest nine blocks are here. Including your people, there is almost a large group. There are more people coming."

Old Schmid answered eagerly: "But it seems to be getting worse and worse in the old city. Sir, what should we do next?"

Winters glanced at the night city. The assassin who escaped from Manor Este had not yet been found. The imperial spies must have other secret hiding places in the northern city.

If we continue the search, we may have a chance to uproot the spy network that the Oathbreakers have planted in Steel Citadel.

But there was a more pressing matter at the moment - in the direction of the old city, the sky was filled with red light from the fire.

He put the two bags of gold coins in his hand into the arms of the sheriff: "You personally guard this place and don't let anyone in or out. Trespassers can be killed on the spot. Two bags of gold, one bag for the family of the militiaman who was killed just now." .The other bag was distributed to the injured militiaman and the family whose property was damaged during the search."

The Sheriff's eyes widened, he nodded first, then raised his hand in salute.

"You come with me." Winters looked at Old Schmid. He quickly recalled the map of Steel Castle and the traffic routes: "Go to Constitution Street. I want to set up the first line of defense on Constitution Street. Pick two reliable ones. Send the order and let the free men who arrive later go directly to Constitution Street to assemble."

"I asked my son to go!" Old Schmid hurried to the queue.

Winters jumped on his horse and galloped through the streets where armed citizens were lining up, roaring like thunder: "Stand at attention!"

The loose and whispering "free men" subconsciously obeyed the order, and the streets suddenly became solemn and quiet.

Thanks to winter military training year after year, even Menta men who have never served as soldiers know how to use weapons, march in formation and obey orders.

Winters felt a bit of approval in his heart. It was indeed a recruiting ground for the imperial royal family. The per capita military quality was much higher than that of the newly cultivated land.

"I am Army Captain Eike Berne. The highest military commander of Solingen State has appointed me to take over the defense of the North City. A curfew will be implemented in the North City immediately." Winters's cold and powerful voice echoed in the long street: "From now on, you will I command; from now on, you are bound by military law; from now on, I give orders and you obey. In exchange, I will defend your property! Guard your families! Guard your city!"

Winters did not give the militiamen time to question, and directly waved his hand: "Everyone - turn to the right!"

“Target—Constitution Avenue!”

“That will be our first line of defense!

"Prepare - move forward!"

After a brief delay and some small-scale confusion, the militia's formation slowly moved forward. Once the queue moves, people can't help but think, and can only obey inertia.

Winters then galloped toward the crossroads, and at his request the militiamen with horses were formed into separate lines.

Beicheng District is the wealthiest district in Steel Castle, and there are many people who can ride horses and can afford to keep horses.

Winters glanced over and saw that nearly a squadron of militiamen leading horses stretched all the way to the next intersection.

He immediately named a small group of mounted militiamen and handed them over to the Sheriff to enforce the curfew and prevent Imperial assassins from fishing in troubled waters in the rear.

After arranging everything in front and behind, he summoned the remaining hundreds of "cavalry" to one place.

"You will be commanded by me personally." Winters rarely showed a smile tonight: "It doesn't matter if you don't know how to fight on horseback, just follow me closely."

After that, Winters pulled the reins, and Changfeng raised his front hooves high and neighed excitedly.

"Gentlemen, there is another city waiting for you to defend! Let's go!"

[Work hard to pay off your debt! ]

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