Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 108 The Eve

   There are multiple high-level mages in the enemy formation. Although there is no direct evidence, the possibility cannot be ignored.

   What is the most powerful weapon against a magician?

   To get the answer, you need to understand where the greatest threat to the magician is.

   is not a spell ability. Because no matter how powerful the spell is, it is nothing more than a killing technique on the battlefield.

   One of the most important things in the army is the killing technique. Even if he stands still and lets the magician kill, how many people can he kill before the magic power is exhausted?

   Are there many kills with swords, bow guns and cannons?

   Do you have a fraction of the kills with swords, bows, and cannons?

   After facing the power of magic time and time again, the soldiers of the Cenas Alliance gradually realized that the greatest threat to the magician is not the ability of magic, but its strong concealment.

   You can destroy the enemy you can see, but how to destroy the enemy you can't see?

  A person with magical abilities has no external characteristics, no more than one eye or one arm less than ordinary people.

  If there were any visible differences between magicians and ordinary people, then it would not be so difficult to extract spell potential from the sea of ​​people.

   Therefore, every enemy may be a hidden magician, a young soldier who is still young, or an old man with a face full of vicissitudes.

   They can disguise themselves as ordinary soldiers and attack the enemy frontline commander when the two sides engage in war - in fact, this is the main mode of operation of the court mages during the sovereign war.

   They can also disguise themselves as enemy troops, swagger into enemy barracks, and silently assassinate high-value targets - Marshal Ned's best friend and comrade-in-arms, General Simmons, died inexplicably from magic.

   In fact, if it wasn't for the Empire's propaganda, the coalition would not even know that General Simmons died of an assassination, and everyone thought it was a sudden stroke that caused Simmons' death.

  So...what is the most powerful weapon against magicians?

   The answer is also simple:

   The most powerful weapon against the magician,

   is another magician.

  …

  …

  …

  War, war, war.

  War is tiresome, not only for the soldiers, but for the people behind.

   Within a week of the war, the war became the topic of everyone in Hailan City.

   High officials are talking about war, clerks are talking about war, coachmen are talking about war, merchants are talking about war, even prostitutes are talking about war. All people talk about is war, war and war.

   But after a week, the topic's temperature dropped rapidly.

Citizens' attention returned to food prices, firewood prices, and private rumours of the rulers; businessmen revisited the trend of commodities; the once deserted Lavender port was bustling again; men met to talk about horse racing and whether Donate a military job and take some credit; the ladies are chasing trendy clothing from the Republic of Palato.

  No one knows what kind of torture, fighting and pain the soldiers on the front line went through.

   On the outskirts of the sea blue city, in the splendid mansion of the Navarre family, a grand ball is going on.

  Although it is already night, the chandelier hanging from the dome makes the hall as bright as day, and the light adds a lot of romantic atmosphere compared to daylight.

   Madame Navarre skillfully arranged flowers in the hall supported by twelve marble columns.

   The scent of fragrant powder and burning laurel candles fills the air, as well as the dark scent of flowers.

Rose vines, coleus, geraniums, hydrangea, oleanders... Flowers and brocades subtly divide the space, leaving just the right place for guests to toast and chat, and at the same time make the banquet hall with a large span without a sense of emptiness .

   I really don't know how much thought Madam Navarre spent to clean up the "Twelve Columns" from the usually deserted and lonely stone hall so beautiful and pleasant.

  The melancholy and beautiful "Rorena" echoed on the dome of the hall, and young people in costumes were dancing on the dance floor.

Girls are everywhere here: gorgeous dresses with hoop swirls, beautiful slender legs looming; embroidered shawls seemingly casually draped over arms, but bare shoulders; peacock feathers gilded fans , with a thin silk polyester hanging on the wrist dangling.

When the song    ended, the girls raised their skirts with a smile, bowed their knees slightly to say goodbye to their male partner, but refused to agree to dance the second dance with the same man.

  Ana Navarre was sitting alone on the sofa, wondering what she was thinking. When a man invites Miss Navarre to dance to the next song, a stereotyped smile will appear on Anna's face.

  Bingshan beauty suddenly became angry, and this strong contrast made the hearts of every man who came to invite the dance suddenly shrank.

   But Anna smiled and declined all invitations, and when the men walked away regretfully, Miss Navarre quickly returned to a state of haunting until the next inviter appeared.

   Another Miss Navarre, Ana's younger sister, Catherine Navarre walked back towards Ana, her chic purple dancing shoes making a "clack-clack" sound on the stone floor.

  Catherine's cheeks were flushed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Playing three songs in a row made her body feel a little hot, she panted slightly and fanned herself with her hands.

"That Mr. Mitchell is really greedy. After the dance music is over, he still holds my hand and refuses to let go. I'm almost scared to death. Hmph, he doesn't even want to invite me for a second dance." Catherine was excited Sitting down beside Anna, he hugged her sister's arm affectionately: "Don't be unhappy, Anna."

   Katherine's innocent, lively and fresh appearance when she was beside Anna made all the young men beside her stunned.

  Anna was already a beauty, but sitting next to Catherine lost her luster.

  Because Anna's facial features inherited some of her father's tough lines, and Catherine's appearance is completely the shadow of Mrs. Navarre, even more eager to shine than Mrs. Navarre when she was young.

  Catherine is wearing a light green dress and Anna is wearing a blue dress. This pair of sisters eclipsed all the girls present, and among them, Catherine eclipsed Anna.

"Alas." Anna sighed, and lightly pinched Catherine's buttocks calmly: "You little bastard, this is a good time, you have focused everyone's attention here. Wait for you. Go dancing, others will bother me again."

  Catherine laughed and knocked off Anna's hand, and said nonchalantly, "Then why don't you dance too."

   "I don't want to dance today."

"Good Anna, just dance one, dance one. It's not easy to have a dance again. I've been suffocating these days, and I don't know when the next time will be." Catherine shook Anna's arm: "I really don't understand why we can't have a ball if we fight a war. How will we get to know the boys if we don't have a ball? How can we get married if we don't have the opportunity to meet the boys? If we fight for more than ten years, won't we all be successful? old girl?"

   "No, you will definitely not become an old girl, I have confidence in you..." Anna covered her face with a fan, her tone extremely helpless.

"Alas, many, many, good, good boys have gone to war. Without them, I don't think the ball would be very lively." Catherine also sighed and said unhappily, "Captain Wilson also went to war. Now, he dances the best, but he doesn't always step on my feet like today's dance partner. Anna, what's so good about fighting? Why do they all go to war? Stay in Hailan, we have a dance at our house, they come Dancing, isn't it?"

  Anna was caught up in her thoughts, and became distracted again.

   Catherine rolled her eyes when she saw Anna's appearance, bit her ear and laughed and said to Anna, "I know who I'm thinking about!"

   "What nonsense are you talking about?" Anna Huarong paled.

"Hmph, Mom doesn't know, but I know it all." Catherine suppressed her smile, straightened her face, and imitated a low, hoarse male voice and said, "I'm fine, eat well, sleep well, Maybe I'm really lucky."

   "Ah? Ah! You little girl!" Anna blushed all of a sudden, grabbed Catherine and asked, "You, you... You peeked at my letter!?"

   "I didn't peek at your letter." Catherine corrected proudly: "I only saw it when you didn't put it away on the dresser."

   "Isn't that just peeking?" Anna was angry and anxious when she heard the other party's shameless confession.

Seeing her sister's rare loss of proportion, Catherine was even more proud, she continued to bite her ears and chase after the victory: "I not only know about the letter, I also know that you have a sword hidden in the wardrobe... Ya Ya Ya, use gold as a scabbard , this taste is really vulgar enough."

  Anna's face was as red as an apple now, and even her earlobes started to turn red. She said incoherently, "You... are you going through my closet?"

"Don't we two always change clothes? Isn't it normal for me to look at your wardrobe?" Catherine quickly changed the subject and teased her sister: "Don't worry about whether I'm peeking, tell me who W.M is? Still using full abbreviations... Hmph, be careful, you must be a stingy guy."

   "That's not it!" Anna became very angry when she heard her sister say that W.M is stingy. Suddenly, she realized her gaffe, and quickly covered up: "I don't care about you!"

   "Oh, I'm so sad to leave my sister in the cold when I have a lover." Catherine covered her mouth with a fan and snickered.

"you…"

  Anna was anxious and shy, but Catherine was very proud.

  In the eyes of the others who quietly watched the sisters, there was nothing more beautiful than the young girls playing and playing, and Catherine became more and more attractive.

  The band suddenly played a cheerful prelude, and anyone could hear that the next song was a joyous and enthusiastic piece.

"Yeah! It's "Look! That Sailor Jonny!"." Catherine was suddenly surprised, and she happily pulled Anna up from the chair: "Dance! Anna! Dance! Dance until you can't move! This The first song has to be danced! It's a pity not to dance! Come on!"

As soon as the    prelude sounds, the man can invite the woman to dance.

  The men who were staring at the Navarre sisters came impatiently to invite the two ladies to dance.

   Confident or reckless men rushed to invite Catherine, and most of them were disappointed. Those who didn't invite Catherine felt that there were too many competitors... Miss Anna is not bad either.

Catherine quickly chose a dance partner, and before she left she bit her ear and said to Anna, "Anna, sister, believe me, if a man wrote you such a short letter, he certainly didn't like you very much. I received Your love letters are filled with large sheets of paper and sprayed with perfume. It’s not worth worrying about this kind of guy who sends you off with a single sentence, there are so many good boys! Come and dance!”

   Ana, who was a little lost in the first place, was shaken by this sentence, and her whole body was almost sluggish.

   She didn't know what she said or who she promised, anyway, she was dragged into the dance floor by a man she didn't know.

   The whole song "Look! That Sailor Jonny! "During the period, Anna, who was like a puppet, was just subconsciously cooperating with each other's movements, making frequent mistakes and stepping on her partner's feet many times.

After the song   , Anna's dance partner politely sent her back to her seat, not minding that Anna stepped on her several times, and invited Anna to dance again.

   However, when he looked up to see Anna's face, he found that Miss Navarre was full of tears and couldn't stop sobbing.

   The dance partner was also a little panicked. He took out the handkerchief and handed it to Anna, but Anna didn't accept it. She just buried her head in the fan, her shoulders were still shaking, and she was obviously still crying.

   The dance partner felt a little inexplicable, and he felt the pointing eyes of others behind him. He quickly said goodbye and left Anna alone in the corner of the hall.

   Councilman Mead of Hailan City saw that the atmosphere of the dance party was warm enough. It was time to enter the theme, so he walked into the dance floor and tapped the cup in his hand with a spoon.

   The crisp knocking sound spread throughout the hall, and the lively dance party fell silent in an instant, and everyone quietly waited for Senator Mead to speak.

   "Hainan hasn't been so lively in a long time." Senator Meade said with a smile.

   Everyone applauded, and there was applause and warm cheers in the hall.

   Congressman Mead waited for silence and continued: "Watching the children dance, it seems like I was back when I was young. We could have played more fiercely at that time."

   There was another burst of more enthusiastic cheers, and someone shouted loudly "Mr. Mead, dance!"

"If you want me to dance, I have to be the most beautiful female companion, but I still have to get down to business." Nabey Mead cleared his throat and spoke loudly: "First of all, we have to thank the women here. Master, Mrs. Navarre! It is Mrs. Navarre who graciously hosted this fundraising dance, so that we can have the opportunity to reunite and bring Hailan back to life and vitality."

   There was a burst of applause, and Madam Navarre smiled and nodded.

"The Taniria Federation has shamelessly attacked us. At this moment, our outstanding children are fighting bravely on the archipelago to recover our blood debt. Young people are dying for us, and we also hope to do our best to serve They do something they can."

Mead paused, waving his arms contagiously and speaking: "So, at this moment, I am asking you, asking you to donate your jewelry. I am not asking you to sacrifice, am I asking for your jewelry? No? It is Veneta who is asking you to make sacrifices, which are insignificant compared to our warriors on the front lines.

  Earrings look great on ladies' earlobes! How beautiful is the bracelet on a clean wrist! But these gold and gems can be exchanged for the children's food, ammunition and medicine. Many people here have sons, husbands, and brothers who are fighting on the front lines. We donate our jewelry so they can bleed a little less. bring it on! Start with me! "

   The final part of Congressman Mead's speech has been drowned out by a storm of applause and cheers.

  The invitation card received by each guest has stated that this is a dance party to raise funds for the front line, and everyone has been prepared in advance when they come.

  The two servants held up a large silver tray, Mead took off his solid gold cuffs and medals and put them on the tray, and walked up to Madame Navarre with a big laugh to invite a dance.

  Mrs. Navarre pursed her lips and smiled, took off her earrings, brooch, bracelet and necklace generously, put her hand on Senator Mead's hand, and walked into the dance floor.

   "Change a tune!" Congressman Mead yelled at the band, "'Daniela Cooper'!"

  Joyful, intense, bright, and catchy, "Daniela Kupol" cascades from the instrument.

  Na Be Mead clapped his palms twice, and began to beat with the rhythm, twisting his footsteps and dancing the "Trepak Dance".

   No one could have imagined that this nearly 60-year-old old man could actually dance so well, and he was still dancing the intense and gorgeous Trepak dance.

   But Mrs. Navarre, who was Mead's partner, danced better than Mead.

   Young people have never seen Madame Navarre's dancing skills, because Madame Navarre has never set foot on the dance floor since her husband passed away.

  Tonight, this pair of dancers was an eye-opener for everyone.

   Not only the guests, the entrance of the hall was even crowded with smiling faces of servants. The valet on one side and the maid on the other came to see Senator Mead and Madame Navarre, who were dancing happily.

  The men among the guests scrambled to take off rings, cufflinks, medals and put them on the tray, and then walked to the lady they liked and invited to dance.

  The invited ladies took off earrings, necklaces, bracelets, hairpins and put them on the tray with a smile, and went to the dance floor with the men.

   In this atmosphere, no lady would refuse an invitation. Catherine happily accepted a man she had rejected before, and the others could only sigh.

   Every time a donation falls into the tray, there will be a burst of applause and cheers.

  The number of people on the dance floor gradually increased, but no pair of dancers was as eye-catching as Mead and Madame Navarre.

  Anna began to feel uneasy. When everyone's attention was focused on Mead, Anna quietly wiped away her tears.

   Because she suddenly found herself with only one pair of earrings. It's not because she doesn't have jewelry, but because she's not in the mood to dress up today, so she just casually wears a pair of earrings.

   But this is her home. She has played here since she was a child, and she knows every corner of this hall very well.

   Seeing that no one has invited her yet, Anna quietly retreated from the crowd and pushed open a secret door from the corner of the hall to leave. She hurried back to her room, ready to pick up some jewelry and go back.

   But when she opened the closet, she saw the saber that Winters had given her, that tacky gold sheathed sword.

   "If a man writes you such a short letter, he must not like you very much."

  Catherine's words were like the whispers of the devil in Anna, and they were recalled in Anna's mind.

  Suddenly, Anna couldn't hold back her tears.

   Anna sobbed and picked up the golden sword: "Why are you doing this to me? Anything you say is my father's relic is fake! It's all a lie! You never liked me at all!"

   Anger and resentment filled her heart, and Anna threw the "Golden Sword" to the ground. The thought of revenge on that person scratched her heart uncontrollably, she picked up the "golden sword" and walked towards the banquet hall: "You give it to me, I will give it back to you, the two are cleared!"

   Anna cried as she walked, the more angry she cried, the sadder she cried. The music in the banquet hall was getting louder and louder, and the secret door was right in front of her. The moment she opened the door, Anna hesitated.

  The first meeting at the dinner party, the quarrel when asking for a painting, the bickering and mulled wine in the veranda of the guards, the sword learning at the back of the Parliament Square, the past events came to her one by one, and the face of that person began to become blurred.

   She couldn't remember that person's facial features, but she remembered that person clearly, and at the same time missed him immensely.

  Anna hugged the "Golden Sword" and huddled helplessly in the corner behind the secret door, sobbing uncontrollably: "Bad thing...why do you do this to me...where are you?"

   So where is Winters Montagne now?

   He is in the triangular fort in front of the city gate of Tacheng, the closest stronghold of the Veneta people to the city wall.

   He carefully wiped the pistol, and polished the steel cone and saber very sharply. Finally, he checked the gunpowder again to make sure that it was not damp or delaminated.

   After doing all this, he still could not meditate to sleep.

   Major Moritz, who was beside him, slept soundly amid the loud snoring of the big boss.

  Winters couldn't sleep, so he put on some clothes and got up and walked to the top of the Triangle Fort.

   After continuous heightening operations, this triangular fort has reached the upper limit of the height that the structure can support, which is the same height as the city wall.

   Now standing on the top of the triangular fort, you can look at the city wall. If you increase the height, you must increase the bottom area, otherwise the rammed earth will collapse.

   But what is more interesting is that the defenders are not idle. The defenders also built wooden watchtowers at the city gates, heightened the city walls, and blocked the view of the triangular fort.

  The sentry on the top of the Triangle Fort saw that Winters came up and didn't recognize the military uniform at first. After seeing Winters' face clearly, he hurriedly saluted.

   Winters stared silently at the city wall in the dark, with two lights on it, it seemed that the guard sentry was smoking.

   "Tomorrow, this will all be over," he thought.

   Long-distance relationship kills people.jpg

   In addition, the description of the banquet in this chapter is not my original, these descriptions are from "War and Peace" and "Gone with the Wind". Not exactly the same, with some rework.

   Because I really don't know what a dinner party was like a hundred years ago...but Tolstoy and Margaret Mitchell sure did.

Thanks to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation before, thank the book friends black computer accessories, the most in your life, writersblock, Tianshui has beautiful women, Jiangshan Lengmo, flying leaves r, justice and purity is koala, book friends 161120205936216, and the world In the same week, Dou Qi Storm, Ami, Book Friends 20190826203115410 recommended tickets, thank you for the monthly pass of Book Friends Day Lens, thank you all.

   (end of this chapter)