Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 742 742 52 s Contact

?Chapter 742: 52 chapters Contact Chapter 742: 52 chapters Contact For Winters, it seemed like less than a second had passed before he was awakened by Xial.

“Bro!” Xial shook Winters anxiously, “Wake up, quick!”

Winters’s head ached, and his breathing was labored, “What is it? How long did I sleep?”

“The beacon fires of Shovel Port have been lit!” Xial helped Winters up, “You’ve slept for less than two hours.”

“Shovel Port?”

“Yes!”

“Beacon fires?”

“Yes! It’s definitely beacon fires! I’m sure of it!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Winters lay back down on the bed, “Go to sleep.”

Xial was stunned for a moment but Winters was already back asleep.

“Bro!” An anxious Xial tried to wake Winters a second time, now both worried and angry, “That mayor might not be a good guy, but Shovel Port is our ally no matter what! If Shovel Port falls, wouldn’t that be like letting the Herders in? Please, wake up…”

Roused forcefully twice in succession, Winters sat up from the bed slowly, like a puppet.

Xial didn’t dare to speak again.

Winters, supporting his forehead with his knees, let out a pained grunt from deep within his chest, “Water.”

Xial hurriedly brought water, and Winters drank it all at once.

The cold water made Winters’s stomach uncomfortable, but his consciousness became much clearer.

“Don’t worry about the beacon fire at Shovel Port,” Winters lit the oil lamp with a flick of his wrist, his voice somewhat hoarse, “It will go out by itself.”

Just as Xial was about to ask, heavy footsteps sounded from downstairs.

The newcomer strode quickly up the stairs and headed straight for Winters’s room, first knocking and then entering — it was Heinrich.

“Commander,” Heinrich reported calmly, “The beacon fire in the direction of Shovel Port has just been extinguished! I fear the beacon tower there has been removed.”

“How could it be removed?” Winters chuckled helplessly, “That was the people of Shovel Port putting it out themselves.”

Not just Xial, but Heinrich too looked puzzled.

“Are the beacon towers along the way still there?” Winters asked.

“They are.”

“They will be extinguished one by one,” Winters leaned against the head of the bed, looking decidedly uncomfortable but with a firm expression, “And next, a messenger from Shovel Port will come to inform us that [the Revodan Barbarians have been annihilated, and Shovel Port is unharmed], rest assured.”

Seeing Xial and Heinrich standing silent and stunned, Winters sighed and pointed to the bed and chair, “Sit.”

They obediently took their seats.

“Have you seen how a pack of wolves hunts?”

Xial nodded, Heinrich shook his head.

“In the winter when prey is scarce, wolves must hunt larger animals together to survive,” Winters explained patiently to his most trusted ‘Attendants’, “But the pack doesn’t just recklessly charge in. Instead, they get as close to their prey as they can, then watch and select their target — usually a weaker, frail individual, and only then do they attack.”

Xial was quick to catch on, “So you mean… Monkey Butt Face is probing us?”

“Whether it’s a probe or not, there won’t be many soldiers,” Winters yawned, “Otherwise, Andre and Mr. A wouldn’t have no news.”

Xial eagerly countered, “But what if something goes wrong with Captain Cherini’s side? Or worse, if they’ve been annihilated…”

“That’s possible, and good thinking,” Winters propped a pillow behind his back, reminding them with satisfaction, “But don’t rush, before thinking about how the Terdun Barbarians fight, think about how they maintain their army. Do you know how the Herders rally their forces?”

This time Xial and Heinrich both shook their heads.

“No different from the Empire’s nobility, a small Kota with his guards, vassals, and slave attendants goes to look for intermediate Kotas, who then take their men to seek the big Kota — that is, Monkey Butt Face. How much time does this process take?”

Xial and Heinrich shook their heads again.

“I don’t know either,” Winters chuckled.

Xial caught his breath, and Heinrich’s face went a little red.

“But it won’t be easy because the Herders have to bring their own provisions,” Winters’s expression quickly turned serious, “Now, as the weather cools and the grass turns yellow, the horses will lose condition from eating all day, not to mention during a march. And the drier the grass, the more land each horse needs every day. If you were Monkey Butt Face, would you concentrate many warhorses in one place?”

“No,” Xial shook his head.

“And you?” Winters asked Heinrich.

Heinrich spoke with some difficulty, “I wouldn’t either.”

Winters guided them, “Then if you were the fire lighter, what would be your best strategy?”

“Spread out the horses to graze,” Xial rushed to answer, “The more horses in one place, the less they will eat. And you’d have to move slowly so as not to tire the horses out. Ideally, you’d eat as you move — like herding!”

Heinrich silently nodded.

“So do you think the Barbarians encountered by Shovel Port are the main force of the Terdon Tribe?”

Xial hesitantly answered, “They probably… aren’t, right?”

Without agreeing or disagreeing, Winters continued to question his two Attendants, “If you were me, how would you make your first move?”

“Strike at them while they’re scattered, before they can rally, by crossing the river and hitting them first?” Xial asked tentatively.

Winters sighed deeply and knocked on Xial’s head hard, “What did I tell you to think about first? What the Terdun lack most, we make them lack even more!”

Xial covered his head, tears streaming down from the pain.

“Destroy the grass,” Heinrich answered softly.

Winters sat up suddenly, nodding approvingly, “Good, how to destroy?”

“Fire.”