Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 501 87 Strong Luck

Three days.

From the moment Paratu engineers started shouting their chants while carrying the first pile-driving boat into The Styx to the timber transportation convoy being ambushed, it all happened in less than three days.

Eighty piles were driven into the ground, and less than twenty meters of bridge deck was laid before the White Lion's countermeasures arrived.

The attack on the convoy was like the crack of a starter's pistol, as the Herders' Cavalry dispersed and began their unrelenting assaults on the Paratu lumbering teams.

The Paratu Piaoqi fought nine battles in one day, chasing and clashing with the Herders in a "dog chasing a rabbit" fashion, yet still unable to prevent the enemy from penetrating the coniferous forest.

Winters's team also suffered an ambush.

About two dozen Herder light cavalry, guiding their warhorses, crept toward the logging site, only to run into the scouts Winters had dispatched.

The sentinels sounded their whistles, sacrificing their lives to buy time for their comrades.

Seeing their surprise attack had failed, the Herders simply mounted up and charged, only to clash head-on with the raging fury of Centurion Montaigne.

He had been chopping trees when he heard the alarm, donning just his undershirt, he grabbed his axe, mounted his warhorse, and charged over.

The leading Hong Lingyu was cleaved to death by one swing of the axe, and the remaining Herders were chased to the edge of the forest, being hacked all the way.

The Herders didn't leave a scratch on Winters, but their wild gallop through the woods did mark him up.

When Winters returned to the logging site, his clothes were torn to shreds by needles and branches, his upper body covered in what looked like scratch marks from a cat.

Xial hurriedly boiled water, dissolved some salt in it, and used it to clean Winters's wounds.

The body of the warning sentinel was retrieved; he was a simple and honest farmer's boy, his head and body separated by a curved blade.

"Chop them down!" Winters was beyond fury, "Chop all the Herders' heads off for me! Hang their corpses in the trees! Nail them! Nail them all to the trees!"

The militias sprang into action, filled with intense hatred, they chopped off the heads of the Herder dead, burning them with fire.

They followed their Centurion's orders to the letter, driving thick iron stakes through the chest spines, nailing their fallen enemies to the trees.

A row of headless bodies was nailed from the logging site to the forest's edge.

After that, Montaigne's lumbering teams were never attacked again.

But not every lumbering team was so fierce and skilled in battle.

Some lumbering teams repelled the Herders;

Some engaged in chaotic skirmishes that ended with the Herders retreating on their own;

Others were completely overwhelmed and by the time reinforcements arrived, only the dead were found scattered around.

The next day, two battalions of infantry and two squadrons of cavalry entered the "bridge forest."

[Note: The soldiers named it the bridge forest because the wood from this forest was used to build a bridge]

The commanding officer of this detachment was an acquaintance of Winters—Colonel Robert.

Winters was called over by Robert right away; the colonel wanted to understand the specifics of each lumbering team and also to hear Winters's thoughts.

"We should establish a forward camp in the center of the bridge forest, and have each lumbering team set out from the camp, fanning out in all directions for logging," Winters had little to add, essentially repeating what he had said before, "As the teams cut down trees along the way, they will leave a path behind them. In this manner, no matter where an alert comes from, the cavalry can rapidly come to support."

Colonel Robert nodded repeatedly, asking, "You've clashed with them, what about the barbarians' will to fight?"

"That's just how it is. A scale of two squads of ten is ideal for the Herders' tactics. But ultimately, they're small in number; as long as the lumbering teams are resolute in their defense, the Herders can't do much. The key is that the auxiliary troops' morale was shattered at the battle of Nameless Valley and is now utterly useless. The militiamen who did not participate in that battle, on the other hand, still dare to fight a bit."

Colonel Robert pondered, then asked, "What about assigning two tents of soldiers to each lumbering team?"

At first listen, Winters found it absurd: wouldn't this be dispersing their forces?

But after some thought, maybe it was feasible.

Compared to the Herder attackers, the lumbering teams had a clear numerical advantage.

But they needed a backbone to make use of their advantage in numbers.

There were still eighteen lumbering teams left; assigning two tents of soldiers to each team would not even total a full battalion, and there would still be one battalion left to defend the camp.

Even if reinforcements were needed, it would be the cavalry dispatched, not the infantry.

"Yes, I think it's a good idea!" Winters expressed his agreement, adding, "Select capable sergeants to lead the soldiers into each team; with them holding the line, the militiamen won't collapse at the first blow."

"Good, let's do it that way," Colonel Robert clapped Winters on the shoulder, his voice solemn, "No matter what tricks the barbarians pull, we'll meet force with force, fill the breach with earth. We'll thwart their every move."

In front of a superior he was fairly familiar with, Winters still couldn't hold back. He vented his dissatisfaction, "Headquarters should have sent troops over sooner!"

Colonel Robert placated him with good words, "The old man needed to build bridges and also be wary of the barbarian main force. If I were him, I wouldn't be keen to risk dividing my troops. Different positions mean different concerns. Besides, didn't he send me here?"

"Any big movements from the Herders?"

"None," Colonel Robert shook his head, "They've encamped thirty miles away, very cautiously. Their scouts are spread all over, and our reconnaissance cavalry can't get through."

Only Robert and Winters were in the military tent; their conversation was private.

Winters tried to be as calm as possible—but he still came off a bit annoyed, "I'm just a Centurion, and a Venetian at that, so nobody takes me seriously. You have clout in the army, there's something I want to discuss with you."

Colonel Robert replied earnestly, "Why would nobody take you seriously? Alpad even gave you his wine flask. Jeska, that guy who 'offends people with two out of every three things he says,' can't stop singing your praises. You can speak freely about whatever is on your mind."