Iron Powder and Spellcaster

As the monsoon brought the first rainfall in 560 years of imperial history, the vast wilderness of the newly cultivated land came to life again.

New grass sprouts from the ground beside the dead leaves, covering the earth with a green veil; pine and oak trees sprout green buds, giving the forest a completely different color.

Even in the depths of the Jinding Mountains where the snow has not yet melted, there are patches of light yellow flowers that are the first to bloom in the white wasteland despite the frost.

However, the fate of the people living on this land has not changed in any way with the arrival of spring. Instead, it has been shrouded in the clouds of new war.

The Maplestone Incident ended in an extremely tragic way: General Adams committed suicide and was martyred, and a large number of officers of the New Reclamation Corps were killed or killed. Only those who chose to surrender at the first opportunity survived.

The legion-affiliated troops stationed in Maple Stone City were recruited by the victors, and the few New Reclamation officers who were lucky enough to break through allowed everyone to know about the murder that occurred in Maple Stone City.

However, the fire of rebellion did not sweep across the land as quickly as some people expected.

As the news of the Maplestone City Incident spread more and more widely, the New Reclamation Province fell into a strange atmosphere of silence.

No one stood up to shout or raise a flag of rebellion. The garrison stations and garrison troops in each county did not express any stance, as if nothing happened.

Red Rose, who occupied Maplestone City, made no further moves. They did not issue orders to the counties or rush to gather power. They only issued an obituary for General Adams in the name of the New Reclamation Corps.

However, everyone knows that everything at the moment is just the calm before the storm.

Red Rose is racing against time to reorganize the newly-organized troops directly under the New Reclamation Army. The remaining members of the New Reclamation Army, who were filled with anger due to the Maplestone City massacre, are also working hard to strengthen their troops and contact their allies.

The calmer the current situation, the greater the accumulated strength of both sides will be, and the more tragic the war will be once it starts.

A new wave of refugees broke out in Maplestone City. A large number of wealthy businessmen and manor owners fled to the interior of Plato in droves with their families and carriages filled with belongings.

Those who cannot escape can only look at the dark clouds in the sky with fear and pray that war will not come.

…

…

[Tiefeng County]

[Gewardin]

"I'm sorry, Major Meyer, I'm really sorry - oh, and, Major Nievitz, I'm really sorry." Mason stood alone in front of the messenger of the red rose, piling up a hundred and twenty points of sincerity and sincerity. Smiling, he kept apologizing: "Captain Montagne is not in Gevaudan at the moment. Please wait a few more days."

"Not in Gevaudan? Then where is our Captain? Captain Mason, do you still want to use 'relapse of old wounds' to prevaricate us?" Major Meyer casually leaned on the negotiation table and said calmly: " As far as I know, Captain Montagne has recovered from his old injury - he was seen in public just three days ago."

Mason knew in his heart that the other party was implying that he was not completely ignorant of Gevaudan's situation. This means that either there is someone in the city of Gévaudan who is secretly communicating with the other party, or the other party's spies have successfully penetrated into Gévaudan.

"Major, I'm really sorry. Captain Montagne's old injury has indeed healed, but he is indeed not in the city now." Mason explained innocently: "He is out of the city."

"Leaving the city?" Major Meyer raised his eyebrows and asked with interest, "What are you going to do out of the city?"

Mason scratched his hair: "Handle private matters."

…

After struggling to deal with the messenger of Red Rose, Mason left the former's residence and hurried towards the other end of the city of Gevaudan. The words of Major Meyer before saying goodbye were still echoing in his mind.

"Captain Mason." Major Meyer's attitude was gentle, but with a warning: "If you still want to return to the regular army, then I can tell you that this is your last chance."

Major Meyer stood up and patted Mason on the shoulder: "The war will eventually end, and smart people should stand on the side of the winner - so I advise you to think clearly before making a decision."

Mason considers himself not good at negotiating because he doesn't like dealing with people, and people always tell half-truths and half-falsies. In contrast, mathematics does not lie.

So as he rode, Mason, as was his custom, silently and mathematically evaluated Major Meyer's message.

"The threat score can be given to 7. Although Maplestone City's troops do not have an advantage, the strength of the Kings' Castle far exceeds that of the New Reclamation Army. From a probability perspective, the Kings' Castle is more likely to be the winner." Mason thought to himself: "However, the honesty score can only be given to 3. Once we lose value, according to the behavior style of the King's Castle, most of the promises we made will be invalid."

Generally speaking, the attitude of the envoys from the King's Castle was relaxed and confident. They did not urgently ask for help from Tiefeng County, nor did they threaten Tiefeng County into losing their faith.

It seems that Red Rose doesn't care which side Tiefeng County is on, as if to them, Tiefeng County is like the last dessert - it's a meal with it, and it's a meal without it.

"But... maybe this is their negotiation strategy, who knows?" Mason thought exhausted, "Let Winters figure it out."

Riding through the city, Mason arrived at the door of a large house at the other end of Gevaudan.

The guard guarding the door stepped forward and helped the captain hold the horse's bit.

"The guests are still inside?" Mason jumped off the horse and handed the reins to the guard.

"Still inside." The guard raised his hand in salute, took the reins, shrank his neck, and replied in a low voice, "But they started to curse, very loudly!"

Mason's breath hitched and he waved his hand. The guard looked at the captain with sympathy, saluted again, and led the horse to the stable.

After the Maple Stone City Incident, Tiefeng County's situation in the New Reclamation Province became delicate.

On the one hand, judging from the actual actions of the "Montagne Gang", there is no doubt that they are rebels who have committed rebellion;

But on the other hand, Winters Montagne has never publicly raised a rebel flag, and several "rebel officers" have not yet been expelled from the New Reclamation Corps. Even on the books, the Legion is spending their salaries on a quarterly basis.

In the new reclamation province where undercurrents are surging, an independent force that does not belong to any party will naturally become the object that both parties want to fight for - of course, it may also be the object that they want to get rid of quickly.

So there were not one but two missions coming to Gévaudan.

How to receive envoys from both sides at the same time without letting them know or come into contact with each other also gave Captain Mason a headache.

Looking at the dark front door of the mansion, Mason carefully arranged his appearance, took a deep breath, forced himself to cheer up, put on a 120% smile and apology again, walked to the door, and knocked on the door knocker gently.

The door creaked open a small crack, revealing half of the face of a fully armed lieutenant. After seeing the identity of the visitor, the lieutenant put down his short gun, silently raised his hand in salute, and opened the door completely.

Across the long corridor and another door, Mason could clearly hear the "dong-dong" sound of military boots hitting the floor from the living room at the end of the corridor.

Mason swallowed his saliva and reluctantly walked to the living room. He stood in front of the door and knocked three times: "Report!"

The sound of boots behind the door stopped, followed by a stern order: "Come in!"

Mason carefully opened the door and met the eyes of a one-armed old soldier.

"Why is it you?" The one-armed old soldier's eyes were as sharp as knives. He asked in a bad tone, "Where is that little bastard Winters?"

In addition to the one-armed old soldier, there were also several accompanying lieutenants and guards in the living room. Seeing that Mason finally arrived, everyone who had been afraid to show off before finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, Colonel." Mason walked into the living room, carefully closed the door behind him, and solemnly raised his hand in salute: "Captain Montagne is not in the city now - he is out of the city!"

"Out of the city? Out of the city?!" Colonel Bode's roar almost overturned the roof, and he asked angrily: "What does he want to do by avoiding me? What does he want to do? If he wants to take refuge with Red Rose and Magnus, then what? He is a poisonous snake, just let him come to me! Say it with your own mouth! Let him get out of here!"

Mason's face was sprayed with saliva, but he couldn't reach out to wipe it. He could only say nice things in a low voice: "Captain Montagne is not trying to avoid you, Colonel... How could he be avoiding you? He is really out of the city. ...I guarantee that if he knew you were coming, he would have waited two more days no matter what... We all respect you very much, how could we avoid you on purpose?"

Colonel Bode's anger did not subside with a few good words. He sneered and asked, "Oh? Didn't you avoid me on purpose? Then tell me, what was he doing out of the city?"

Mason's Adam's apple rolled and he couldn't laugh or cry: "Go to the wedding."

…

[Tiefeng County]

[Wolf Town·Dusa Village]

One after another, the drunken and confused Dusak staggered up to Winters and wanted to toast to the "Blood of the Wolf", but they were all blocked by the playful and smiling old Sergei.

Looking at the old Sergey who was also unconscious, Winters turned around and called Vashika over, and asked calmly: "Will your father get into trouble with drinking?"

"Sir, don't worry!" Vashika let out a long wine burp and chuckled: "Where are we now?"

Winters smelled the smell of alcohol on Wasika's body, and with a slightly serious expression on his face, he asked, "Have you been drinking too?"

"Just one cup." Vashika replied softly.

Winters didn't know what to say.

Seeing the look in Winters's eyes, Vashika slapped herself without saying a word, patting her chest and promising: "I won't drink again! Don't worry, I won't drink if anyone comes to me from now on."

Winters nodded, turned to look at the people singing and dancing at the wedding, and clapped their hands in harmony. Vashika wiped his mouth and stepped aside.

"I think Vashika has gotten a little smarter," Bud said with a smile, sitting next to Winters.

"Really?" Winters was dumbfounded. He thought for a while: "The boy's head was hit hard before, so it might have something to do with it."

Bud laughed and reached for another beer.

"Thank you, Bud." Winters whispered as he looked at the people at the wedding.

"You never need to thank me." Bud took a sip of beer and said seriously: "But you really need to thank Senior Mason."

Winters felt a sharp pain deep in his skull. He pushed Bud and said to him, "That pie looks good. Get a piece of it for me."

You can never figure out how many good things are hidden in the homes of the Dusa people. The unstable world and cunning survival wisdom make every Dusa family dig holes like field mice to save.

Even after a round of war and a round of famine, the reserves of Dussa Village in Wolf Town still seem to be far from bottomed out.

At least Winters saw with his own eyes old man Dussac digging out buried grain from under the stable, grinding it into flour, and baking it into bread. Others drove carriages into the forest and brought back barrels of ale from the secret wine cellar. Cattle and sheep hidden in the wild were also found, slaughtered and cooked.

Everyone gathered in the threshing floor was like a festival, wearing their best clothes and looking colorful and beautiful.

And all this effort without asking for anything in return is for a wedding.

But it wasn't Winters' wedding, it was Pierre Giladnovich Mitchell's wedding.

The groom is currently wearing a traditional Dussac-style white robe and blue lace trousers. He is sitting in the center of a long table filled with delicious food, smiling and accepting the congratulations of his relatives and friends.

Mrs. Mitchell sat on the left hand side of the groom, also wearing the attire of a Dussac woman for the first time, and happily accepted people's congratulations.

However, the face of Gilad Mitchell, who was sitting to the left of Mrs. Mitchell, was not so good-looking. The old man was still sulking. He smiled reluctantly in the face of people's congratulations, and then poured one glass of wine down his throat.

There are many reasons for Gilad's depression, but the most direct reason why Dussac was still drinking on his son's wedding day is actually only one:

At this moment, the bride sitting on Pierre's right hand, wearing a wedding dress and veil, receiving congratulations from everyone, is none other than Mrs. Medellin, the unfortunate widow and the maid taken in by Mrs. Mitchell - no, to be precise Says she is now "Mrs. Mitchell."

Winters looked at the Mitchell family from a distance, sipping his non-alcoholic apple juice, and couldn't help but feel amused at the wonders of life.

He did not expect that Mrs. Mitchell, who had a serious personality and seemed to have the strongest sense of dignity, actually easily accepted her son's choice to marry a widow with a daughter;

On the contrary, Gilad Mitchell, who is cheerful, generous, open-minded, and seems not to care much about anything, is quite disappointed with the reality of his son marrying a widow.

But no matter how dissatisfied Girard is, he can't change Pierre's choice. Little Dusak convinced the old Dusak in just two sentences.

The first sentence is: "Dad, I am already Dusak, I can be responsible for my own choices."

The second sentence is: "Dad, I don't know how long I can live. Maybe I will die tomorrow, so please bless us."

So all of Girard's objections came to nothing, and he could only get himself drunk at the wedding scene. It's a pity that he drank so well that he is still sober even now.

As for Winters, he happily blessed the couple. He actually didn't know Mrs. Medellin very well. Although he knew that Pierre had an affair with the young widow, he didn't expect that Pierre would choose to take responsibility to the end. This gave him some inexplicable anxiety.

Looking past the wild and dancing people, Winters looked at the bridesmaid's seat on the other side of the wedding venue. Perhaps because of a tacit understanding, Anna, who was sitting in the bridesmaid's seat, also looked at Winters, and the two looked at each other through the intertwined figures.

Winters lowered his head as if he was electrocuted and continued to sip the apple juice.

As the rhythm of the banjo and tambourine gradually accelerated, the dancing of the people in the center of the venue surrounded by long tables became more and more intense, and the atmosphere of the wedding gradually reached a climax.

A drunken Dussac, holding a saber and shouting, climbed onto the table and jumped into the venue. The others shrieked and moved away, but instead of stopping him, they made room for him.

In front of everyone watching, Dussac, who was holding a saber, threw away the scabbard and began to dance the "Sword Dance". He danced his saber with a whooshing sound, drawing arcs of light around his body.

Although alcohol made him stagger, it did not prevent him from dancing. Sometimes he squatted and sometimes jumped up, his posture was funny and interesting-if you didn't take into account that the saber in his hand could easily cut off his arm.

The onlookers clapped and cheered for the sword dancer. Soon, other Dussac walked into the field holding sabers and danced sword dances like a competition. The most powerful one even held a saber in each hand.

The dangerous and exciting dance stimulated people even more excitedly, the cheers and whistles became louder and louder, the music rhythm became faster and faster, and the dancers' movements became more and more intense.

Until the last high-pitched sound, the dance, music, and sword flash all came to an abrupt end.

After a brief silence, the crowd burst into deafening cheers. The dancers proudly accepted the wine offered by others and were escorted out of the stage.

Then the gentle strings and tambourines sounded again, and people continued to drink, laugh, and dance.

"Perhaps the more difficult the time," Winters couldn't help but think to himself, "the more people need a chance to celebrate to make themselves happy."

If you follow the serious Dussac tradition, getting married is a huge event. It is not only expensive, but also includes a set of strict and cumbersome processes such as matchmaking, making an appointment, welcoming the bride, seeing off the bride, banquet, and returning home. Both the groom's family and the bride's family must be prepared to bleed money.

However, the current times are bad, and the bride is not from Dussa, and is even a widow without a natal family, so many procedures are saved.

Pierre dressed up, led his companions, and drove the equally dressed-up bride from the old Sergei's house - the old Sergei volunteered to donate his own house as the bride's natal home - to the Mitchell Manor in a carriage. Even after completing the entire wedding process.

Next comes the essential part of any celebration, big or small - a big meal.

Because the Mitchell Manor was "ransacked" by someone, it was no longer able to hold a banquet.

However, without Girard and Ellen opening their mouths, the people of Dousa dug out the wheat buried deep in the dark cellars, drove back the cattle and sheep hidden in the fields, and drove carts to the Mitchell Manor.

Slaughtering livestock, grinding flour, baking pastries... the men and women in Dussa Village also naturally integrate into the preparations for the wedding, and organize the wedding together in a lively manner.

Not only the people of Dussa, but also people from several other villages and even neighboring towns heard that little Mr. Mitchell was getting married, and they also traveled a long way to send congratulatory gifts. Because they did not want to burden the Mitchell family, many people did not stay to attend the banquet after sending gifts and congratulating them personally, and turned around and started the long way home.

Even hunters living deep in the forest came to the Mitchell Manor with their best furs and venison - Winters and Girard didn't even know where they got the news. of.

In the corner of the wedding venue, a group of Dusak boys gathered together, plotting something.

After a while, Angelou - the former ponyboy and now the cavalry captain - came to Winters carrying a huge horn cup and was surrounded by other Dussac.

The horn cup contained a colorless liquid that was almost overflowing.

"Why are you joining in the fun?" Winters couldn't laugh or cry: "I can't drink today."

"The best wine is dedicated to the most distinguished guest!" Angelou shouted with a smile: "Centurion! Please drink this wine!"

The attention of everyone at the wedding was attracted by Angelou's shout, and people gathered around the long table where Winters was sitting.

The men either slapped the table or stamped their feet, making neat sounds. The women looked curiously at the young and heroic tribune.

The bride and groom also came over, and Pierre and his wife held hands and looked at Winters expectantly.

Now, even old Sergey, who had been blocking Winters' drink, stopped helping.

"My lord." Old Sergey whispered: "You must drink this glass - this is the most important wine. Only you can drink it, and you must drink it."

Winters took the horn cup bravely.

"You have to do it in one go." Old Sergey reminded quietly from behind Winters again.

"Drink, drink..." The crowd surrounding Winters sang Dussac's toast: "Distinguished guest..."

Ana hid among the crowd, covered her lips and smiled softly. Bard on the side was also applauding vigorously, rarely showing the two emotions of fearing that the world would be unstable and gloating about misfortune.

Feeling the burning gaze, Winters looked at the overflowing wine in the glass, thought for a moment, raised his head, and looked at the people who had gone through all kinds of hardships and finally had the opportunity to laugh.

"I only know one Dussac proverb, but this one is most appropriate today." Winters smiled sincerely and spoke slowly: "Real gold must be smelted with fire, good people must be smelted with real gold, and men—— Then it must be smelted with women.”

He looked at Pierre and the bride: "Mr. Mitchell, Mrs. Mitchell, bless you! Bless everyone! May we have eternal peace, prosperity and tranquility one day!"

After saying that, he took a deep breath, picked up the horn cup, and poured it down his throat.

A cheerful melody flowed from the musician's fingertips, and with astonishing willpower, Winters drank a whole horn glass of spirits.

Then he stood on the bench, raised his arms high, and showed the empty horn cup to everyone.

The people surrounding Winters, men and women alike, cheered.

"Okay, okay! Let the tribune rest for a while." Old Sergei dismissed the gathered people and returned the wedding to its original atmosphere: "Who else wants to toast to the tribune? Everyone is here. I come!"

The crowd dispersed like a school of fish and continued drinking, dancing, and flirting.

Winters sat back, his hands on his knees, his head hanging—his stomach was churning.

Anna walked through the crowd, walked to Winters, put her hand on Winters' shoulder, and asked worriedly: "What's the matter?"

It was okay that Ms. Navarre didn't touch Winters. As soon as her fingers touched Winters' shoulder, Winters, who was on the verge of reaching his limit, spat out "Wow".

"Drink some water, drink some water." Old Sergei ran over with a water bottle and patted Winters on the back. Old Dussac kept praising: "You are such a tough guy, you actually did it all in one go."

At the end, Old Dussac added in a guilty voice: "Actually, if you master the technique well, you can spill half of it."

Bud, who was holding Winters' shoulders, laughed.

Winters rinsed his mouth, drank the last water in the kettle, took a long breath, stood up on his knees, and looked at the people around him: "It's time for me to set off."

Bud put away his smile and nodded solemnly: "Leave this to me."

The heavily armed Vashika came over, holding Winters' saber.

Winters took the saber from Vashika, and just as he was about to tie the saber to his belt, a pair of slender, soft hands replaced his palm.

Anna wordlessly tied the waistband for Winters and carefully tucked the corners of his clothes: "Come back safely."

Winters nodded and waved: "Let's go."

After that, he led the guards towards the gate of the manor. When passing a row of long tables at the wedding venue, he casually patted a thin man in military uniform who was sitting alone at the end of the long table, drinking silently: "It's time to go."

"Okay." The thin man stood up, spat indifferently, looked at Winters provocatively, and asked with a sneer: "I see you vomited badly, are you okay?"

"I have no problem." Winters responded tit-for-tat: "On the contrary, you have been drinking. Are you okay? Major Seb."

Major Seb Carrington of Plato's army, who was famous for being fearless to the point of being crazy, smiled sternly, revealing two rows of sharp wolf-like teeth: "I'll be fine if I drink as much as you two more."

"Then let's go."

After that, Winters took the lead and walked towards the gate of the manor.

He left Mitchell Manor and rode along the road toward the center of Wolf Town. Then cross the river from the center of town, follow the trail through the forest, and continue riding northwest until you reach the Bighorn River.

A campsite between the forest and the river suddenly appeared in front of him. Next to the camp was a newly built pontoon bridge.

Outside the camp, a thousand-man light cavalry force was ready to go.

This cavalry includes old Dussac who has experienced hundreds of battles, young people tempered by the blood and mud battle, and a small group of non-commissioned officers recruited from the rescued prisoners.

Facing the best of the best, Winters didn't need to explain anything.

He galloped onto the high platform next to the camp, glanced at his subordinates who were waiting quietly, raised his whip and pointed at the vast wilderness across the river:

"Fighters! You already know why you have been summoned by me - there, in the west, deep in the wasteland, the remnants of the Firebringer are ready to move!"

"They refused my request for a prisoner exchange and even tortured our comrades inhumanely. They dug out the prisoners' eyes and cut out their tongues, and then sent our comrades back just to humiliate us!"

"They are still trying to launch another robbery - the fiasco of the Blood Mud Battle is not profound enough for them, they are roaring and roaring for more blood!"

"Since they want more blood!" Winters put on his helmet and coldly announced the fate of the enemy: "Then we will give them more blood!"

The soldiers shouted in unison in reply, the forest trembled, and countless birds were frightened.

"Major." Winters turned to look at Saber Saber and said coldly: "No matter what you think, you don't owe me anything, so you don't need to repay me anything. However... I can't give it to you either. Anything or any promise, do you still want to come with me?”

"Why don't you go?" Saber Saber licked his teeth, his eyes full of madness: "As long as I can cut down the Hurd Barbarian, I can do it too."

"Then let's go." Winters said no more nonsense, raised his hand and pointed directly at the western horizon, blowing the war horn:

"The enemy is in the wilderness!"

"Set off!"

[The toast was from the movie "Munich". The toast was also very insightful and the movie was very nice. ]

[Didn’t expect that? The first shot at the new land was fired by someone from my wife.jpg]

[I was supposed to pack and send out the first batch of souvenirs today, but updates should take priority]

[I'm going to pack the souvenirs now, but I won't be able to finish them today, so I may not be able to send them out until tomorrow]

[If the winning book friends and book friends on the list have not provided their delivery information, please provide the delivery information as soon as possible (づ￣ 3￣)づ]

[Thanks to book friends for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation votes, monthly votes, rewards and comments, thank you all]