Iron Powder and Spellcaster

The glow is shining brightly, and the war flag is flying.

Major Sandel, the Wargne County garrison officer, rubbed his eyes vigorously.

The garrison troops in each county either fly a red-striped flag with a white background or a four-pointed flag with a blue background. The only army using the dark blue flag in the newly reclaimed land is the Tiefeng County rebels, and there is no semicolon.

The door was slammed open.

Sandel jumped towards the saber hanging on the hanger.

But the person who broke into the bedroom did not shout "surrender without killing", but reported with a cry: "It's not good! Major! The rebels are coming! The rebels are on the city wall!"

Sandel threw away his saber upon hearing the sound, picked up his pants with his backhand, raised his legs and got inside.

"I saw it!" the major replied in a deep voice, and then sternly scolded the visitor: "Manner! Lieutenant Majiya!"

The lieutenant who was called trembled, stood at attention hastily, and gave a crooked salute.

In the previous battle to suppress Tiefeng County, the garrison in Wargne County was completely wiped out, and the original officer corps was wiped out.

Thanks to the rebels, when the new Reclamation Corps headquarters rebuilt the Wargne County garrison, it had to hire a large number of commissioned officers to fill the command level - and at the same time raise military expenses.

Mattiya Pal was "lucky" to join the officer class during this military expansion. Because he donated so much money, he was even directly appointed as a lieutenant.

Sandel didn't know much about this subordinate's resume.

But the major knew very well about Lieutenant Majiya's abilities.

Therefore, Major Sandel did not want to waste words with a guy who used money to buy an official position, so he directly asked the latter: "Where is Captain Qiuko?"

Ma Jiya shook her head desperately: "No... I don't know."

Sandel was furious. Qiuko was the only official officer in the city besides himself, and was the major's deputy. Failure to contact Captain Qiuke meant that half of the command system was paralyzed.

"Who is on duty tonight?" the major asked again.

Ma Jiya was stunned, swallowed, lowered her head and replied: "No... I don't know."

An angry growl came from Sandel's throat. He buttoned the last few buttons meticulously, tightened his belt, and picked up the saber from the bed.

"Let's go!" The major waved his hand and strode out of the bedroom without even looking at the lieutenant.

Outside the house, the garrison camp was in chaos.

The alarm bell was ringing like a reminder, and the sharp whistle sounded louder and louder every time.

Disheveled soldiers stumbled out of their barracks and poured into the playground in disarray.

It was already broad daylight, but there were still people clamoring for a fire. The ordnance sergeant wanted to issue ammunition but didn't know where the key to the arsenal was.

In the distance, the sound of war drums rolled like thunder.

Outside the gate, the defeated soldiers who had escaped from the city wall were crying and beating on the camp gate.

The uproar of noise and the scene of earth-shattering all hit Major Sandel as he stepped out of the barracks.

Major Sandel suddenly had a severe headache: "Why are the rebels in Artemis? Aren't they attacking Maple Leaf Castle? What does the guard post do for food?! What does Skull do for food?!"

"I don't know, Major." A weak voice floated from behind. Majiya took the major's words as a question to himself. With tears in his eyes, he answered tremblingly: "I don't know."

Seeing the lieutenant's miserable appearance, Sandel couldn't bear it.

"Demeanor." He said coldly: "Lieutenant."

Ma Jiya hurriedly wiped away her tears.

Major Sandel led the lieutenant and climbed up the camp wall in three steps and two steps at a time.

Looking at the navy blue military flag planted on the top of the city, and looking at the sun, the major suddenly woke up.

"Damn it." The major, who had repeatedly stressed his manners, couldn't help but yell: "Damn the rebels, they are from Gevaudan!"

…

Major Sandel's judgment was not wrong, but it was incomplete.

Because not all the "rebels" who appeared outside Artemis were from Gevaudan, at least not the ones on horseback.

When the soldiers from Jevaudan used baskets filled with earth and rocks to fill the trenches and pushed the ladders up the city wall, a large number of cavalry from Maplestone City were waiting eagerly outside the city.

On a hill less than a mile behind the Iron Peak County Cavalry, Winters Montagne was also waiting.

The war had an immediate impact on the newly cultivated lands.

In the past, only a small number of old colonies that were older than the newly settled provinces still had the city walls built to protect them from Hurd raids.

Now, faced with the imminent threat of war, almost all towns and cities have rushed to build defense facilities in panic.

Even settlements with just a dozen homes are surrounded by wooden walls.

"Artemis" is a classic example.

She was born in the new era and grew up in peace. She has never experienced war, and naturally she will not be prepared for the disaster of weapons.

Artemis therefore has no clear boundaries, with buildings of stone and wood extending outward from the city's starting point, transitioning naturally into the suburban farms.

But now, a high wall suddenly divides Artemis into two parts: the inner part of the city and the outer part of the city.

The wall is about four meters high and two meters thick. It was built by filling the space between two layers of wooden walls with hay and clay and then tamping them down. There are wooden scaffoldings on the inside of the wall to increase the width of the city head.

Farmhouses and warehouses near the city walls were ruthlessly demolished to avoid being used by attackers.

The builders also very cleverly moved the water from the Anya River into the moat on higher ground, and upgraded the dry moat into a moat.

The original military barracks located in the city were also renovated and reinforced to make them defensive, forming an "inner and outer city" structure with the city wall.

In this way, it not only increases the depth of defense and avoids the situation where the city wall is completely defeated once it is breached, but also can deter some residents in the city with evil intentions.

However, the various efforts of the builders only turned "very poor" into "poor" in Winters' view.

The builders paid little attention to the artillery carried by the siege party, and all designs were designed to deal with light infantry attacks.

Even judging from actual combat performance, Artemis's city defense facilities cannot even cope with light infantry raids.

Looking at the city wall flashing with gunfire in the distance, the alliance's most notorious spellcaster tapped the hilt of his sword, looking down from time to time to check the Nulon Clock in his hand.

Under him, Changfeng seemed to be infected by his master's emotions. He looked around restlessly, trying hard to bite something.

However, both humans and horses in the accompanying guard knew that the blood wolf's foal was a very bad-tempered and aggressive guy, so they all stayed away.

Only Hodel was still unaware of Changfeng's danger, and he gently whipped the gray-haired mare assigned to him and stepped forward.

"Your Excellency." Hodel asked alertly: "Do you want to... visit the front line in person again?"

Winters glanced at Holder, who shuddered unconsciously.

The long wind also snorted loudly, causing the poor gray-haired mare to retreat to the side in fright.

Holder secretly wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in, but it was his duty to protect the blood wolf, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue to delay for time.

"Your Excellency, before departure, Tribune Mason spoke to us." Hodel did not dare to dissuade him directly, so he adopted roundabout tactics and launched moral kidnapping. He said pitifully: "He can't do anything to you, but he has many ways to deal with us. .”

Changfeng "Xilulu" exhaled a breath of hot breath. Although it was aggressive, it would not bully a little mare.

Winters was so angry that he laughed. He put away the Newlon Bell, looked at Hodel, and asked carefully: "Then tell me, why can't I go into battle in person?"

Hodel wanted to answer without thinking: "Of course because I'm afraid that something might happen to you!"

But before he could say anything, he realized something was wrong - how could the invincible blood wolf make a mistake?

Since the blood wolf is invincible, the reason to prevent Montagne tribune from going into battle is not valid;

If Tribune Montagne went into battle and could die like an ordinary soldier, then he was not the invincible blood wolf that the Tiefeng County soldiers believed.

Hodel couldn't figure it out for a while and simply threw all the reasons aside.

He lowered his head and whispered: "You don't know, just that time in Hehe Valley Village, I felt like the sky was falling."

"Which time?" Winters didn't react at first, but the pain in his ribs reminded him: "Oh, that time... it won't happen."

"No? That's it! That's too much!" Hodel retorted eagerly: "You don't know how scared I was at the time! I had one thought in my mind at that time, 'It's over, it's all over'. The same goes for other brothers, what about that word? To put it bluntly - oh, yes! Everything is in despair!"

Winters burst out laughing. He patiently explained to the preparatory students: "The army has a very complete system and will not collapse just because of the loss of a commander. Even if I really die in battle, the command can be extended downwards, and Mason will protect the people." Both the officer and the tribune Cellini can take over my command of the battle."

"Your Excellency! Don't mention that word!" Hodel covered his ears, his expression became distorted and painful, as if he was trying his best to erase the word "killed in action" from his memory.

"It's different." Hodel shook his head desperately: "It's different."

Winters looked at Holder - he had not had such a conversation with his subordinates for a long time.

Winters himself could feel without being reminded that his position in the military was becoming more delicate.

He was not like Andre, whom the soldiers feared and wanted to please;

He was not like Mason either. The soldiers were not afraid of Mason at all, but they loved him.

Deep down, Winters was vaguely envious of his companion, because the gaze he felt was different from what Mason, Andre, and everyone else felt.

He had no doubt that his warriors would carry out his orders without hesitation and fight to the death;

But he also clearly realized that everyone would never be able to get along with him as intimately as they did with Andre and Mason.

The eyes directed at him were not only full of respect, but also contained expectations.

People hope that the "blood wolf" in their eyes is exactly what they see in their hearts.

He cannot be lively and happy, but must be deep and solemn. It is best to grow a beard and be bald, as if he was born with a majestic appearance.

Therefore, Winters had not had such a conversation with his subordinates on an equal footing for a long time.

Winters didn’t want to ruin a rare opportunity for networking. So he asked Houdel teasingly: "Are you implying that Tribune Mason and Tribune Cellini are incompetent?"

"I...when did I say that?" Hodel became anxious.

"Then you'd better make it clear." Winters stretched his already stiff back and said with a smile, "What's the difference?"

Hodel fell into silence. He lowered his head and thought for a long time before replying in a low voice: "In the battle at River Valley Village, before we went into battle, Battalion Commander Tamas told us, 'If you don't know why you are fighting, just tell yourself that you are fighting for blood. 'Fight for the Wolf'. He didn't say fight for the Tribune of Mason, or fight for the Tribune of Cellini, he said 'Fight for the Blood Wolf'."

Hodel paused and continued with some choking: "I was confused at the time, but I figured it out later. What Battalion Commander Tamas actually meant was, 'There is a battlefield ahead, and you can be gone in the blink of an eye. It's a small life. But it doesn't matter, even if we die, our death is valuable. We die for the blood wolf, not in vain."

Winters never thought that the preparatory students in front of him would give such an answer, and he fell silent.

"Some people say that we go to war to allocate land, and some say we go to war to get promoted. But no matter how much land is allocated, no matter how high the official position is, what's the use if your life is lost? Fighting against the Hud people, fighting against the officers and soldiers, and now We are fighting for you when we fight in Warnie County. We are fighting for you. So, I want to ask clearly." Holder mustered up his courage, looked directly into the blood wolf's eyes, and asked word for word: "What are you fighting for?"

There was silence on the hillock, Changfeng lowered his head and lowered his ears.

"I want to give you an answer, but I feel that the answer I am going to give you is too broad and too hypocritical." Winters said softly, and he murmured to himself: "Is there real altruism? Or am I just being satisfied? My own vanity?”

He was speechless for a while, then raised his head and looked at Hodel, pleading: "Give me a little more time, I will find the answer."

Hodel wiped away his tears and nodded blankly.

Ahead, as the flag of the New Reclamation Corps on the gate tower was pulled down, the suspension bridge at the south gate of Artemis City crashed to the ground.

The Tiefeng County cavalry who had been waiting for a long time suddenly burst into cheers that resounded through the sky.

Before the cheers dissipated, the Tiefeng County cavalry units entered the city in batches in an orderly manner under the guidance of military flags.

Winters took out the Newlon Clock and glanced at it—it was taking longer than expected, but still within the plan.

"Can you still ride?" Winters asked Holder.

Hodel was stunned for a moment, then took a deep breath of snot, swallowed the sadness and tears together, and answered decisively: "Yes!"

But then he complained with a grimace: "But, Sir, I really feel that my balls have been broken."

Winters couldn't help but smile: "I told you, don't 'sit on the saddle', but 'crouch in the stirrups'. Learn to lift up with the horse's back, and then fall down naturally..."

Hodel nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Forget it, you will understand naturally if you ride for a while. If it doesn't work, go and stand for two days." Winters took out the small notebook and graphite strips he carried with him, hurriedly wrote a few lines, and then tore off the entire page. He handed it to Houdel, and then put a saddlebag in Houdel's hand: "Now there is a more important thing for you - go into the city, find Lannis, and give him this warrant and this saddlebag."

Holder raised his hand in salute and followed the last group of cavalry into Artemis.

The city was in chaos and chaos.

The Tiefeng County cavalry rampaged through the streets, capturing prisoners everywhere. The defeated troops of Wargne County who retreated from the city wall fled towards the military camp en masse.

Hodel asked whoever he caught, and finally found Lannis, the commander of the fifth battalion, who was escorting the prisoners down the tower at the north gate.

He stepped forward directly, saluted, and handed the Blood Wolf's warrant and saddlebags to the fifth battalion commander.

When the brother troops went to participate in the battle to decide the ownership of the newly cultivated land, the fifth battalion silently stayed behind in Jevaudan.

Although the responsibility of guarding the home is heavy and relatively safe, when the good news was returned to Tiefeng County, the commanders and combatants of the 5th Battalion could not help but feel a sense of loss of being abandoned and forgotten.

Therefore, everyone in the fifth battalion was working hard to attack Wargne County this time.

Seeing Lannis frowning after receiving the warrant, a company commander couldn't hold it back and asked worriedly: "Is it because the tribune is worried that we will suffer a loss and asked us to gather our troops and wait for reinforcements?"

When the other company commanders heard this, their eyes also showed disappointment and helplessness.

For a city, the strength of one battalion is still too small.

According to the original plan, as long as the fifth battalion can capture the city gate in a surprise attack, it will be the first success, and the attack on the military camp in the city will be handed over to the follow-up troops.

"No." Lannis took a deep breath, solemnly opened the saddle bag, and unfolded the brocade inside.

The three company commanders of the fifth battalion and Hodel subconsciously held their breath.

Because Lannis was holding a flag in his hand, a flag that was originally cyan but was dyed dark red by blood. Her edges were curled due to being burned by fire, and her surface was damaged due to hundreds of battles. Every red spot on it represents a bloody battle, every bullet hole a victory.

This is the flag of the Blood Wolf, a sacred object of the new army of Tiefeng County.

"The blood wolf saves us from waiting for reinforcements." Lannis's arms trembled slightly. He cast his gaze towards the military camp in the center of the city, with fire burning in his eyes: "At one go, take all Artemis!"

…

When the new Tiefeng County troops invaded the last stronghold of the Warnie County troops, an uninvited guest also broke into the Leiqun County military camp located on the border of the Maple City Municipality.

"You won't let me in?" Major Seb Carrington glared, looked over the duty lieutenant's shoulder, and yelled directly at the Chinese army camp: "Then call Skoll Mecklund out!"

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