Iron Powder and Spellcaster

[South of Artemis City]

Old Tasuo stood by the roadside, randomly fanning the smoke raised by the horse's hooves.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at the "rebel" officer riding away, admiring the latter's handsome and capable riding posture.

"What a Dussac! He talks and acts like a man in everything." Old Tasso said to himself in confusion: "But why did he get involved with the rebels..."

Also stretching his neck and staring intently at the back of the "rebel" officer was Mathia Raul.

But unlike the admiration and hatred in old Tasso's eyes, Raul's eyes were full of envy, longing and dissatisfaction.

Raul's eyes were looking into the distance, but he still wanted to argue pointlessly: "How did you know he was Dussac?"

"Do you still need to look at it?" Old Tasso was startled for a moment, then laughed so hard on the horse that he pointed at himself: "I can smell it with my nose!"

Raul stopped talking, but his cheeks were still bulging.

Old Matia and Old Tasso exchanged silent glances - Raul's symptoms were all too familiar to the two of them.

When a "little calf" who is not afraid of heaven and earth meets a person whom he sincerely admires, but unfortunately that person happens to be an enemy and rival, he will naturally become like this.

In turn, it also shows that this "little calf" is naturally aggressive, bold and restless.

Old Tasso scratched his chin, turned the words in his mouth three times, and finally said it: "I said at the beginning that if you have to make a future, you should send this kid to the army instead of His brother... Madam is just too soft-hearted and doesn't want to let her little son suffer. You are too, you are too soft-hearted towards Madam, so you can only let her. In the end? It will delay the two brothers. "

It took Raul a while to understand the hidden meaning of the old servant's words.

When he learned that there had been such an argument among his elders, he couldn't help but look at his father in shock, his lips opening and closing together, but no sound came out.

Old Ma Jiya still had a granite expression, looking at the "rebel" officers going away in silence.

Although they encountered an unexpected situation at the checkpoint in the previous series, the three members of the Majiya family still managed to pass without any danger.

The "rebel leader" named Lannis also stopped the light cavalry passing by the checkpoint, and enthusiastically asked them to escort these three unlucky guys who had unfortunately exposed their wealth to Artemis.

Raul almost fainted with excitement when he learned that the riders in front of him were the famous "Wolf Cavalry" who had conquered seven towns.

Now, since they have arrived outside the city of Artemis, the most important thing is to save people.

"I will explain to you the matter of Chen Sesame and Rotten Millet later." Old Tasso patted Raul's shoulder and asked the owner in a deep voice: "What should we do now? Where to go? Who to look for?"

Old Madiya suddenly raised his arm and pointed at the back of the "rebel officer", then stabbed the horse's ribs hard and galloped away like an arrow.

Old Tasso and Raul were surprised and hurriedly rode to follow.

A group of three people ran around the city wall, following the "rebel" officers, and finally stopped in the northwest of the city.

The sight before them stunned them:

The old small mounds in the northwest of Artemis City have completely changed their appearance, the green surface has been uncovered, exposing the dark soil;

Thousands of men and women are digging trenches, hauling earth and rock, while tower-like construction machinery lifts and drops huge boulders;

A steady stream of horse-drawn carriages connected the rivers and forests, delivering a steady stream of cut boards.

Wherever you look, everyone and everything are serving the same goal. The construction process is like a sacred and solemn ceremony, and the "rebel" officer is walking towards the "altar" - the earthen ground in the center of the construction site overlooking everything. mound.

"It seems..." Old Tasso exclaimed: "It seems like he is one of ours!"

Raul followed the sound and was surprised to find that many of the workers were wearing light gray coarse cloth jackets and military trousers - the "uniform" of the Wargne County garrison.

He grabbed the reins hard, and his words became stumbling: "Dad, Pal... Pal may be here!"

Old Tasso frowned and looked at his "employer" solemnly.

Old Ma Jiya looked at the mound in the center of the construction site and could vaguely see the "rebel officer" talking with two other people.

Judging from the posture of the "rebel officer", Old Majiya was convinced that the other two people on the mound were the targets he must visit during this trip. However, the soldiers guarding the construction site had noticed the suspicious behavior of the three of them, and kept casting vigilant glances at them. If you ask for a meeting by force, you may be thrown into jail without even being able to make a sound reach the other person's ears.

Old Ma Jiya made up his mind and waved his hand: "Go to the city first."

After that, he pulled the reins and walked towards Artemis without looking back.

Raul looked at old Tasso unwillingly, and the latter gestured to Raul to be safe, and the two of them followed the family leader into the city in silence.

…

At the same time, at the dusty construction site, Matya Pal was half-hunched over and staring blankly at the road south of the construction site.

The sweat and loose soil mixed on his skin, almost turning him into a clay figure; the soaked clothes were more like straw paper that had absorbed moisture, clinging tightly to his back.

With a "clang" sound, the shovel fell from Mattiya Pal's hand to the ground.

"I...I seem to see my father...and my brother..." Mattia Pal pointed to the distance tremblingly, with a cry in her voice: "But...but they left again..."

"Lieutenant Matiya!"

In the dust, another man who was also in a state of embarrassment slammed the pickaxe into the soil, straightened his back, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He glanced at a junior student sitting on a small dirt bag in the center of the construction site and spat angrily:

"meter!"

…

If people's eyes really could emit light, then Major Sandel could set someone's shirt on fire all by himself.

But unfortunately, "eyes" is just a figure of speech, and Winters Montagne naturally cannot be stung by the angry glare of a senior senior.

On the contrary, Pierre's return put a smile on Winters' face unconsciously.

The travel-worn Pierre first greeted Winters and then saluted Tribune Mason.

"Thank you for your hard work." Mason pulled the brim of his hat and nodded in return.

Winters took out the kettle and handed it to Pierre, and asked curiously: "Didn't you go back to Wolf Town to take a look?"

Pierre took the water bag, but did not drink it. He answered solemnly as if facing a question: "I only rested for one day in Gevaudan."

Winters shook his head helplessly and said with some emotion: "If you have a chance to go home, go back and see more. Maybe from now on, it will be difficult to see each other again."

Mason couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Yes." Pierre answered at attention. Then he opened the document bag at his waist and took out a pile of lacquer-sealed letters and presented them: "These are the replies from Mr. Ballian and Mr. Boltain, as well as Mr. Chauchat, old Mr. Pliskin, and Gévaudin. Letters entrusted to you by your gentlemen."

Winters took the letter in his hand, but did not open it to read it. Instead, he asked Pierre with a smile: "What do Balian and Boltain say about the order for barrels?"

"Mr. Balian didn't say anything, only that he would try his best. On the contrary, Mr. Boltan was very excited and wanted to gather people to start work immediately. Mr. Boltan also wanted more prisoners and labor." El paused and added cautiously: "The letter should be more detailed."

Winters glanced at the thick stack of letters in his hand and coughed slightly: "I will read it."

Pierre carefully took out a letter in an envelope from his arms and presented it: "This is the letter that Ms. Navarre asked me to forward to you."

Winters immediately became energetic. He calmly stuffed all the letters in his hand into Senior Mason's arms, took Anna's letter and opened it on the spot.

Pierre glanced at the blue veins on Tribune Mason's forehead and knew that the latter was full of anger, but it was inconvenient for him to be present. Seeing that Tribune Montagne was concentrating on reading his mind, he resigned very wisely.

"Go." Winters put down the letter and ordered, "Pay attention to rest."

Pierre raised his hand in salute, mounted his horse and left.

When Pierre walked away, Mason immediately rolled up his sleeves: "Are you too lazy to read the letter now?"

"These are official documents." Winters carefully put away Anna's letters home: "Of course it is up to you to open them and file them."

"Official document?" Mason laughed angrily: "Do you think I can't tell the difference between public and private?"

Winters asked in confusion: "Otherwise? Do you think they would talk to me about daily trivial matters? If exchanges of interests and courtesy greetings are not official documents, what else can they be? If I open and read them by myself, there will be suspicion of private exchanges. So not giving it to you for archiving is called not distinguishing between public and private matters."

Mason couldn't think of anything to say in reply.

Winters more coherently stated what Mason had been vaguely thinking. In fact, he agreed with Winters that all information received and sent out by decision-makers should be recorded and archived by a dedicated agency, especially for military decision-makers.

"Just this once." Winters struck while the iron was hot and sincerely promised: "Just this once!"

"Okay." Mason put a thick stack of letters into his saddlebag. At the same time, another thing occupied his mind, so he pretended to ask Winters casually: "Why do I always feel that Mr. Mitchell has become more reserved and not like before..."

Winters smiled tolerantly: "You might as well ask directly - why are Pierre and I no longer close?"

Mason did not expect Winters to break the window paper so bluntly. He asked hesitantly: "Yes, weren't you two very close before? You brought him out hand in hand."

"The child has grown up." Winters pretended to be old-fashioned: "You can't ask him to act coquettishly, act good, and perform his talents for the guests, right?"

Mason laughed.

Winters put away his smile and said seriously: "Pierre is already an adult - I don't just mean an adult in terms of age, not only in terms of mentality, but also in terms of rights and status. What he needs is not love and care, but respect and recognition from one adult to another, so he will naturally act serious and restrained in front of me."

"But does this mean we are no longer close?" Winters paused for a moment, looked into the senior's eyes, and smiled again at the corners of his eyes: "On the contrary, I feel that Pierre and I are closer now than in the past. . Because I know that he has become an 'adult' and no longer needs my 'care'. I can fully trust him and entrust him with heavy burdens. If this is not closeness, what is it?"

After listening to Winters' long speech, Senior Mason pondered for a long time before commenting with a complex expression: "I now believe that Mr. Mitchell was brought out by you hand in hand."

"Thank you for the compliment." Winters took off his hat and saluted exaggeratedly.

"And I believe in Bud's point of view even more now." Mason couldn't laugh or cry: "You are indeed a little too partial to Mr. Mitchell."

"Where is that?!"

While he was talking, a rider led the horse and ran out of the city gate, climbed awkwardly on the horse's back, and ran all the way to the mound in the center of the construction site.

The horse was so tired that it was foaming at the mouth and blowing air from its nose.

Hodel on horseback was also dripping with sweat, and his clothes looked like they had just been fished out of the water.

"Sir." Hodel jumped off the swinging saddle and reported breathlessly: "That... that... not a single one was sold today."

Winters had a straight face and pretended not to hear clearly: "What?"

"Not a single one was sold..."

Winters emphasized his tone: "What?!"

"Report!" Hodel stood at attention, with a sad face, and shouted in reply: "Your plow trucks! Not one of them was sold today!"

Winters nodded expressionlessly: "That's how you answer the question. Whether it's good news or bad news, you have to say it clearly."

"Yes." Holder grinned.

However, the next second, His Excellency the Tribune asked again: "Why haven't even one of them been sold?"

Hodel was dumbfounded. He huddled his shoulders and neck helplessly, and looked at Tribune Mason for help.

Mason couldn't bear to see this, so he reminded softly: "Tell the truth."

"I don't know." Hodel replied quietly.

"What?" Winters asked with a frown.

"Report." Hodel shouted bravely: "I don't know."

"Okay." Winters waved his hand: "Go find someone else."

Houdel couldn't hide his ecstasy. He hurriedly put his stirrup on his horse and fled immediately, even forgetting to salute.

"Did you see that?" Winters' cold face melted. He smiled and said to the senior: "This is a 'minor'."

Mason looked at Holder's pitiful and funny back, and recalled Winters's friendly attitude towards Pierre. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Holder: "Why do you always scare him?"

"This kid can easily get carried away and must be strictly restrained." Winters didn't take it seriously: "Besides, when we entered school, didn't the teachers and seniors also joke with us like this? And..."

Suddenly, Winters felt a huge grip on his arm. He turned his head and met Senior Mason's glare.

"Promise me something." Mason said word by word.

Winters unconsciously became respectful: "You...please speak."

"If you have children in the future." Mason said solemnly: "Ms. Navarre must be responsible for their education."

"Why?"

"Don't ask why! Just promise me!"

"You have to tell me the reason?!"

"Promise me! Promise me!"

"..."

"..."

…

While the two tribunes were still arguing over the method of education, old Matya, who successfully entered the city, met his old friend and close friend, Artemis Municipal Councilor Fayeka.

"Don't count on it." Upon hearing the purpose of his old friend's visit, Fayeka immediately replied: "There is no way the Blood Wolf will let you ransom Matyya Pal."

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