Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 749 749 54 Blazing Fire_2

?Chapter 749: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire_2 Chapter 749: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire_2 Mayor Botar hastily made a polite gesture.

“What are you looking at?” Mayor Botar asked with a sycophantic smile.

“This?” Mr. Alpha lifted the notice in his hand, “The ‘Hostage Preparation Guide,’ Revodan sent it over this morning.”

The severed heads of the Terdun people were distributed to various villages and towns for display, along with the ‘Communication Bulletin’ and the ‘Hostage Preparation Guide.’
Because Shovel Port received a greater number of severed heads, there was no need for ‘head delivery’; only bulletins and guides were distributed.

In the special edition of the ‘Communication Bulletin,’ the Rebels fervently trumpeted their victory at Shovel Port to all the villages and towns in Iron Peak County and even the neighboring counties.

However, in the bulletin, the author deliberately blurred the lines between the “Shovel Port Government” and “Iron Peak County Government” … That’s probably the advantage of having control over the narrative.

“We fight to the death, and the Rebels take the opportunity to claim credit,” Botar cursed loudly, “It’s damn infuriating!”

“It’s not exactly claiming credit. Didn’t they also praise the people of Shovel Port?” Mr. Alpha gently tapped on the paper, “But this Hostage Preparation Guide is rather interesting.”

“Interesting?” Mayor Botar was a bit confused.

Mr. Alpha took out several previous bulletins and said with a smile, “Although I’m not certain who the scribe is, their skill at creating catchy rhymes is getting better and better.”

Mayor Botar was even more perplexed.

“[Hide your grain, prepare your gun; when Barbarians come, do not run]; [Avoid them, outmaneuver them, but do not engage in a head-on clash]; [If few Barbarians, encircle them; if many, hide from them] …” Mr. Alpha’s smile was nearly impossible to conceal, “Actually, these are tactics from the ‘Forest Beggars’ during the sovereignty wars, turned into catchy rhymes.”

“Oh.” Botar replied, half comprehending.

Botar knew about “Forest Beggars” and “tactics,” but when these two terms were put together, he was oblivious.

Yet, he understood the content of the guide immediately; it was nothing more than instructing the farmers to hide their grain and finances well and to flee into the forests when the Herd Barbarians came.

“Distribute it,” Mr. Alpha handed the guide to Botar, “Post it in all the villages.”

“Distribute it? Not intercept it?” Botar was shocked.

Prior notices sent by Revodan were all intercepted and not distributed in Shovel Port unless the Cavalry themselves delivered them to each village or town.

“No need to intercept this guide,” Alpha said with a mild smile, “I could never write something like this.”

…

The raging wildfire caused panic throughout the Terdun Tribe.

When the fire had just begun to spread, the people of Terdun, fifty kilometers away, noticed the signs — the Great Wilderness was flat terrain, and the billowing smoke could not be hidden.

The firemasters hastily convened all the Kota in the large tent for a meeting.

The marching style of the Terdun Tribe resembled migration; depending on the number of horses under their command, each Kota occupied an area several kilometers to tens of kilometers in width.

At this moment, the entire Terdun Tribe lay sprawled out like a long snake over a grassland stretching more than two hundred kilometers.

As a result, only a few leaders managed to arrive at the large tent in time, mostly the blood relatives and direct followers of the firemasters.

“Vile! Such a vile heart!” The firemaster’s uncle roared as he entered the tent, “Do those bipeds not fear that the fire will consume them too?”

For the Herders, arson was tantamount to cutting off the lifeline of all creatures, a crime as grave as quartering. The soil of the grasslands was inherently thin; once it burned and the winds blew, it would diminish even further.

The firemaster sat on the ground with a stony face, silent.

“Tie Chi, what’s the use of saying this now?” The old Translator rebuked the firemaster’s uncle, “Sit down first, let’s come to a reasonable decision.”

Tie Chi—the firemaster’s uncle—held some respect for the old Translator and, upon hearing this, no longer said anything, taking a seat grumpily.

Seeing that most were present, the firemaster spoke with an ashen face, “In this tent, if you’re not my kin, you’re my companions. You all are my whips, shadows, and arrows. Speak your mind directly; there’s no need to mince words.”

“What else is there to say?” Tie Chi bellowed with irrepressible anger, “The grasslands are scorched bare, what good is it to dawdle in our retreat? We either retreat, detour, or charge straight through!”

The other leaders in the tent murmured their agreement.

Without access to flour or gunpowder, the vitality of the horses was the most precious military resource for the Herders.

Even more valuable than cattle and sheep, a horse in poor condition could lose nearly a hundred pounds in as little as a week, a frighteningly swift decline.

To save the horses’ fat, the firemaster carefully controlled the marching speed to ensure that the horses could continue to eat as they travelled.

The firemaster even went as far as to prohibit the milking of mares—since milking too could lead to a horse losing condition.

Without horse milk as a source of food, the Terdun people were forced to drive out thousands of ewes from the winter pastures to follow the raiding troops. Moving with a flock also slowed down the pace of the Terdun Tribe.

And ewes were also precious livestock; inevitable losses would occur during a long and arduous journey. By taking the ewes out, the firemaster had no intention of bringing them back.

With thousands fewer ewes, the Terdun Tribe would be short tens of thousands of lambs in the coming years.

In other words, the cost of raiding at the end of November was far higher than that of raiding in mid-September.

The firemaster, and indeed the whole Terdun Tribe, were gambling heavily.

“Retreat, detour, charge,” the old Translator raised his voice, “Tie Chi is right, these are the only three options we have!”

The Translator turned the conversation, “Let’s talk about detouring first. Where can we detour to?”