Iron Powder and Spellcaster

"How could General Serbity mutiny because of a few crazy words? Your Majesty knows this very well." In the slightly shaking cabin, Count Narzia took out two cups from the cabinet and poured wine while speaking. Ask easily: "I just don't understand why you are telling him this."

After the honey-colored liquid flowed into the glass, Narzia took a few ice cubes from an iron can covered with cotton cover, added them to the wine, and handed it to Lionel.

Lionel's demeanor was completely different from that in Antonio's study. Now he looked like the chief civil servant of the federal provinces who was known for his shrewdness, ability and courage to do his job.

The State Secretary took the wine glass, shook it a few times, and said calmly: "I have failed if I failed to convince Debella. The rest are just minor repairs, which will not help. They are all expected... The corrupt style of you nobles always surprises me. Isn't it too extravagant to use a court mage to make ice just to drink some ice wine?"

"It can't be said to be luxurious. After all, I am also one of His Majesty's most trusted 'legs.'" Count Narzia replied with a smile.

The day after the Secretary of State's surprise visit, the Virtue left Aquamarine City carrying the emperor's delegation. She would stop at Guitu City for supplies and then sail straight back to the Empire. It is a foregone conclusion that Venetta will send troops to the Tanilia Islands.

When the Virtue left the dock, an enlarged meeting of senior military officers attended by all Veneta generals was in progress. The atmosphere in the throne room of the Army Headquarters was extremely tense. The meeting had been going on all morning, but still no solution was discussed.

"...Mobilize three more legions to clear the outlying islands in one month, seize Golden Port in two months, and wipe out the Tanilia Islands in three months..." Major General Leighton, who was appointed as the commander of the First Reserve Corps, was full of smiles. Spraying saliva at the surrounding colleagues in a red light.

"Fuck you! If you can't solve the Federation in three months, will you commit suicide and apologize?" Another general sitting opposite Leighton said back unceremoniously: "You just want to mobilize three more legions, a total of five Legion, dig money out of your ancestral graves?"

Layton screamed angrily and drew his sword. Not to be outdone, the general on the opposite side drew his saber. Seeing that the military council hall was about to turn into a fighting arena, the officers on the side quickly held the two of them down.

The senior officers sitting further away have long been accustomed to this situation. In the more than thirty years since the founding of Veneta, more generals have died in duels than in battle. Seeing the internal fighting in the army, the naval officers watched the show calmly and enthusiastically.

"Disgraceful in front of friendly forces!" Zio, the army general and military governor, couldn't stand it anymore and angrily shouted: "Take off all their swords!"

The immediate boss was really angry, and Layton and his opponents did not dare to act recklessly. The two handed over their swords and sat angrily on their chairs, trying to burn each other to death with the rage in their eyes.

Another army general said: "What Leighton said is right. If you don't fight, that's it. If you want to fight, the Union must be beaten to death. It's better to dispatch five legions at once to plow the courtyard and clear holes, than to have one legion per legion. Send it to the top. The longer it is delayed, the easier it is for things to change."

"With the strength of five legions, can the Federation be defeated in three months?" Someone else retorted.

“The Federation is in disarray, why not?”

The rebuttal sneered: "The Pseudo-Emperor thought the same way. He claimed that he could eliminate us before the Spring Festival, but as a result, the Sovereignty War lasted for eleven years!"

"Why should those pirates and slave owners in the Federation be compared with us?" The general who supported Layton was also aroused: "And it was the Federation that chose the war, not Venetta!"

"Stop arguing!" General Zio interrupted the two people and called the other person's name: "Antonio, you say it!"

"I'd like to hear what other colleagues think."

"You say what you say! The main force attacking Tanirya is your third legion."

Antonio cleared his throat: "Then let me tell you what I think."

The conference room fell silent instantly.

"I agree with the point mentioned earlier. The longer the war against the Federation is delayed, the more detrimental it will be to us." Antonio said solemnly: "But I definitely do not support the idea of ​​a quick victory. After the war begins, the most important thing is The main thing is how to end the war. But now I have no idea how the ruling council wants to end the war."

As he spoke, Antonio left his seat, walked to the large inland sea map hanging on the wall of the military conference hall, pointed at the Tanilia Islands and said: "Where can this war end? Occupy the Golden Port? The Federation surrenders? Conquers the entire archipelago? Turns Taneria into a province of Veneta? Our task now is to figure out our strategic goals."

"Didn't Consul Debella say, 'The Tanirria Federation must be destroyed'?" Someone interrupted Antonio.

"Yes, but how can we destroy the Federation?" Antonio asked, "Hang the leader of the Federation? Disband the Federation? Arrest and execute all the members of the Federation? Also, after destroying the Federation, we What to do with Taneria? Maintain its independent status? Take over the rule of the Federation? Or turn the islanders into Veneta citizens?"

Finally, Antonio concluded: "Different strategic goals lead to different strategies. Without clear strategic goals, there is no real victory. In addition, Veneta should be prepared for a long-term war no matter what. War is the decisive factor that determines a country." In the most important matter of life and death, there should never be any luck mentality of quick victory."

Speaking of this, Antonio thought of the crazy words of Secretary of State Lionel, and added seriously: "Because our biggest threat does not come from Tanilia, but other... potential enemies."

At three o'clock in the afternoon that day, an order signed by Consul de Bella and four directors was sent to the Military Council of Thirteen:

“The war budget has been approved in full;

The Second Reserve Corps of the Army began to recruit and prepare plans for the formation of the Third and Fourth Reserve Corps;

Authorizes naval forces to attack any Tanirian Confederation-owned vessel;

Organize a retaliatory strike against the Tanilia Federation as soon as possible. "

The order was accompanied by a public statement from the ruling council:

“The noble Republic of Veneta and the Federation have entered a state of war and all treaties, contracts, and agreements are null and void.

Any Veneta who supports or assists the Federation will be considered a traitor.

Any Tanirian who supports or assists the Federation will be considered an enemy.

Captain Taneria and the Planters' Union must be destroyed.

Victory belongs to Veneta.

That night, Winters, Bader and Andre, who also served as trainee officers under Lieutenant Colonel Contel, received official orders: Bring all their equipment and gather at the West Camp at eight o'clock the day after tomorrow.

——Cut——

At night the next day, in Major Moritz's apartment.

The half-drunk Major Moritz hugged Winters tightly. No matter how Winters refused, the major was determined to teach Winters how to use the "deflection" as a farewell gift.

Three officers from the Military Police Division of the former Army Headquarters once again gathered in Major Moritz's apartment, but this time it was not a meeting, but Field and Moritz seeing Winters off.

"How can I use deflection?" Winters smiled bitterly and asked Lieutenant Colonel Field for help.

However, Field was so drunk that he couldn't understand what Winters was saying.

"Don't worry... don't worry... what I'm going to teach you is my original training method." Moritz let out a long wine burp: "The deflection technique does not require any explosive power, the key is precision... precision, do you understand? ?”

The major let go of his hand and turned around to look for something: "Where's the chair? Where's the chair?"

Winters didn't know whether to laugh or cry and quickly handed his chair to Major Moritz, although he had not figured out how to use the chair to practice deflection.

Moritz took the chair and stood on it unsteadily. Winters rushed to help the unconscious man, but Major Moritz reached out and took down a string from the rafter.

The deflection instruction suddenly turned into a hanging instruction, and Winters was so frightened that he quickly lifted the major out of his chair.

This string is very long, hanging from the rafters to the height of the tabletop. Moritz tied a small table knife to the end of the rope and told Winters to back away. He retreated until the rope was tightened, but the tip of the table knife was still a finger's width away from the tip of Winters' nose, and he could not go any further.

"Stand still, don't move." After Major Moritz said this to Winters, he let go of the knife in his hand.

Winters watched the table knife in front of his nose swing to the distance like a swing, and then swing back towards him from the distance.

The glinting tip of the knife drew an arc through the air, and was about to hit Winters' eyes. Winters turned his head and dodged to the side.

"Don't move, I won't hurt you." Major Moritz explained: "When the knife comes back, it will not exceed its original height. If you don't believe it, just look at it."

With that said, Major Moritz demonstrated it himself. I saw him holding the table knife against the tip of his nose, retreating until the rope became tight, and then let go.

The knife tied to the rope swung out and back again like a pendulum. Major Moritz did not move at all. When the knife came back, it was only a small distance away from the tip of the major's nose, but it did not hurt the major.

When the knife swung back again, it did not face Major Moritz head-on like last time. Instead, it deflected a distance and swung to the major's shoulder.

"Do you understand?" Major Moritz asked with a smile in his eyes.

"I...I kind of understand it now." Winters did not expect that Moritz was not acting drunk, but showed the real thing: "Senior, you are really a genius!"

The principle of deflection is very simple in nature, it is a horizontal flying arrow technique.

The real difficulty of this spell lies in the accuracy required.

The caster must accurately use the spell on an object that is flying at high speed; he must also be able to change the lateral speed of the object just before it hits him, causing it to deviate from its original trajectory.

A bigger problem than the difficulty of the spell itself is that there is no safe and easy-to-use training method for deflection.

Deflection itself is a very risky spell and can be used to save lives in critical moments. But even the most powerful kinetic spellcasters dare not completely trust this spell, because if they miss it, they will be shot.

Training with muskets is of course courting death, and the current training plan is to use bows and arrows. Use a light bow to shoot arrows at the trainer, and let the caster get started by practicing deflecting arrows, and then gradually switch to a harder bow.

But even when using arrows with the arrowheads broken off and wrapped in cotton, accidents often occur. The bigger problem is that it is difficult for the caster to tell whether the arrow missed the target or was deflected by the spell.

Using spells itself is a 'feel' just like archery, and the process of practicing spells is to deepen the feel. If a shooter doesn't know whether the arrow he shoots hits the target every time, how can he find the feel?

The training method designed by Major Moritz is very clever:

The weight tied to the rope will not exceed its original height when swinging back, and the trainer is in an absolutely safe position without any additional psychological pressure;

During the swing, the closer the weight tied to the rope is to the original position, the slower the speed, and the easier it is to use the spell, and you can practice it step by step;

The best part is that the caster can clearly know whether he has successfully used the deflection spell. If the pendulum deviates from its original trajectory, it is a success. Otherwise, it is a failure;

You just need to increase the success rate and wait until you memorize the feel of this spell before practicing with a bow and arrow. It is much easier than practicing directly with a bow and arrow.

"A genius? It's almost like being born with a disability, it's just some trickery." Major Moritz waved to Winters: "Try it yourself."

This time when the knife flew toward Winters' nose, Winters suppressed his fear and did not move away. As expected, the table knife did not touch Winters. It reached its extreme position very close to him and swung out again.

When the knife swung back again, Winters tried to use the flying arrow technique on the knife horizontally. However, the fast-moving table knife in the air and the stationary steel cone in his hand were not a difficulty at all. Winters failed several times in a row.

"You know what's going on. If you go back and practice more, it won't be easy to master the trick." Moritz stopped Winters: "It's better to come and have a drink!"

He patted Field's shoulder, who was lying on the table. The lieutenant colonel didn't respond at all: "Has one already fallen?"

Winters quickly helped Field, who was already asleep, to lie down on the sofa. He was worried that the Lieutenant Colonel would choke to death on his own vomit, so he moved the Lieutenant Colonel into a side-lying position.

Major Moritz watched Winters adjust Field's sleeping position and said with a smile: "You are thoughtful."

After saying that, he lay back on the swaying recliner, lay on his back and looked at the ceiling, and said softly: "You are a good young man, but you must not look like me... Haha, don't either Look like Field."

This sentence was a bit too heavy, and Winters didn't know what to say for a while.

After a long silence, Winters struggled to ask a question that he had always wanted to ask but had never asked out of politeness: "I don't understand why a powerful spellcaster like you drinks too much... Are you? One of the most powerful spellcasters I have ever seen...Why? Have you forgotten what Antoine Laurent said?"

"Any addictive substance is poison to the caster, I remember." Moritz sniffed, holding the bottle, his eyes bright: "But, Winters, you still don't understand, the only way to What keeps a rational soul from falling into the abyss is bad habits. Answer me, do you believe in God?"

"If you don't believe it, the caster should be an atheist."

"I don't believe it either. I have visited miracles, studied classics, and looked for evidence of the existence of gods. But the more I know about various religions, the less I can believe in the existence of gods. Winters, answer me another question, Have you ever lost someone close to you?”

"No." The parents, who had never met before, were obviously not close.

"That's a good thing. Have you ever thought about where people go after they die?"

"……No."

"The Normans believed that after death they could feast with the gods; the Catholics believed that after death they would go to paradise; the Celica people believed that after death they would enter a circulatory system and become new animals. You know why various religions Are they all describing the afterlife?”

"……have no idea.

"Because people are afraid of death, because humans hope that their death is not a real 'death', and hope that their souls can continue to exist. But for us spellcasters, these atheists, and these rational people, death is the complete completion of consciousness. Dissipate, everything that happens in the world after that has nothing to do with you, you can't feel it... No, death means that even the feeling itself is gone. The world reviles you, mourns you, commemorates you, it has no meaning to you... … Even the meaning itself is gone. When you die, there is nothing... Can you understand?”

The amount of information was too large, and Winters couldn't understand it for a while.

Moritz murmured: "One day you will understand that people will die, and one day you will also lose people who are important to you. You can't help but start thinking where have they gone? In the end You will get a cruel answer, they haven't gone anywhere, they just don't exist, gone..."

Winters sorted out his thoughts and asked: "Isn't it the case that people who believe in God die? Aren't people who believe in God deceived?"

"Of course he was deceived." Moritz replied softly: "But for a person whose consciousness no longer exists, what's the problem of being deceived? Anyway, he will not be angry, regretful, or unwilling. Since everything will disappear completely after death , it is better to be deceived in exchange for the peace of life.

"Then why are you still an atheist?"

"Me?" Moritz curled up on the recliner and said with a smile: "There is no point in pretending not to believe. People cannot deceive themselves. I am too sensible to be deceived by religion, but I am not brave enough to accept death calmly. I am now Living is just for living, it has no meaning. But I don’t want to die, so I have to live in confusion. You still have very important people, which means that your life still has meaning. Protect them and don’t become like me..."

Major Moritz's voice became quieter and quieter, and finally he began to snore softly and fell asleep.

Winters took the bottle from Major Moritz's hand and found a thin blanket to cover the major. After confirming that both Lieutenant Colonel Field and Major Moritz were asleep, he walked into Moritz's bedroom.

Opening the backpack he brought, Winters took out an exquisite spring gun. After confirming that the lighter could produce sparks, Winters began to skillfully load the ammunition.

Among the gifts brought by Count Narzia were a pair of spring revolvers of exquisite craftsmanship and luxurious decoration. The inside of the barrel is ground as smooth as a bronze mirror, and it can hit wherever you point within thirty steps.

Antonio gave one to Winters, who was now reloading it.

After loading the bombs, Winters quickly changed into a set of tight black clothes. He deliberately did not wear military boots today, but wore a pair of moccasins.

He inserted the spring gun into the holster on his right leg, tied a long dagger to his left leg, and finally slung the belt with the steel awl inserted over his shoulder.

After confirming again that the other two officers in the living room were drunk, Winters pushed open the window of Moritz's bedroom and climbed to the roof.

He didn't quite understand what Major Moritz was saying, but he would protect the people he cared about at all costs, and he didn't need the major to teach him this.

[Winters Montagne’s alignment changed from lawful good to neutral good]

Thank you to book friends who have voted for recommendations before, thank book friend writersblock for their recommendation votes, thank book friend Douqi Storm for their recommendation votes, thank book friend Yanyunsan for their recommendation votes, thank book friend Ami for her recommendation votes, and thank book friend 20181013204343295 for their recommendation votes. Recommended votes. thank you all.