Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 807 807 75 Storm

?Chapter 807: Chapter 75 Storm Chapter 807: Chapter 75 Storm In Iron Peak County, Shizhen.

Within the mountain path, a messenger holding a red flag hastened on horseback.

“Red flag!” The sentinel on the watchtower saw the rapidly approaching red flag from afar and shouted loudly, ringing the alarm bell: “Red flag!”

The sound of the alarm bell reached the town center ahead of the horse hooves, and the company commander of the Seventh Unit stationed in Shizhen, Li Wei, rushed to the town square.

Three warhorses frothing at the mouth stopped in the square, the leader, a blue warhorse, suddenly reared up, its hind legs buckling as it collapsed.

Amidst the gasps of the others, the messenger tumbled off the saddle, nearly crushing his left leg on the spot.

“Military orders?” Li Wei strode meteorically to the side of the messenger.

The messenger immediately reached for the saddlebag, but it had been pressed down by the warhorse, and the exhausted messenger couldn’t pull it out no matter what.

Li Wei pushed the messenger aside, steadied his footing, and with a surge of strength from his waist and legs, he forcibly lifted the several hundred jin horse corpse.

A nearby gendarme swiftly removed the saddlebag.

Li Wei snatched the saddlebag, pulled out the military order, and tore open the lacquer seal. There were no letters on the note, just a red cross smeared with blood.

Li Wei was illiterate, but he couldn’t mistake this symbol.

Shizhen had no separate town or village districts; everyone who could still walk was mobilized.

The booming sound of explosions echoed through the canyon. The dam blocking Huiqing River was dismantled layer by layer, and the river water, full of potential energy, roared down to the downstream.

…

In Iron Peak County, Revodan New Town.

As the slanting sun set in the west, the vanguard, Ivan, stood on the arrow tower, watching for any stirrings on the horizon, with moist heat seeping from the palm of his hand.

He was waiting for news from Panto River.

Revodan was situated on solid ground in the middle of the valley, surrounded by flat plains; apart from the moat fortification works under construction, there were no natural defenses.

The main force of the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment had all rushed to Panto River, and Revodan’s defenses were now entirely taken over by the city guard.

Whether Ivan liked it or not, as a former city guard sergeant, he once again took up weapons.

Ordinary people who knew nothing of war could easily develop blind trust in the Civil Guard Officer Montaigne.

But Ivan was different; he had experienced the most fickle side of war and feared it deeply.

Moreover, he was well aware that the outcome of this battle hinged not on Revodan but on the fierce battles a hundred kilometers away.

However, Ivan didn’t know the situation at Panto River—no one did. Citizens of Revodan and refugees alike were anxiously awaiting the new issue of “War Communication.”

Ivan’s peripheral vision turned toward the central square of the new town. There, men and women who had finished a day’s labor were lining up to receive their pay—food.

Richard Mason was also in the square, accompanied by his assistant; he walked past the food distribution stalls, randomly taking bread for inspection.

At first, following tradition, the people involved in the works were paid with food.

But the refugees who had come to Revodan had neither mills nor cooking utensils; receiving grain, they had to exchange it for bread, fattening the millers and bakers in the end.

After much consideration, Mason decided to adopt the method of the Second Unit’s army rations: uniformly producing the bread and distributing the “pay” in the form of bread.

One problem subsided, and another arose.

The uniform bread production model seemed to benefit the people, but it also gave weevils the opportunity to shirk their duties and engage in fraud.

Another might have been deceived, but Captain Richard Mason, more proficient in statistics than artillery, was not fooled.

Mason urgently recruited students from accounting schools to Revodan and began implementing a new, computationally demanding inspection method in bread production—statistical sampling.

The increase in scale was an opportunity for the weevils, but it was also a chance for Richard Mason to practice his statistics. The larger the total and sample size, the smaller the statistical sampling error.

The weevils, ignorant of mathematical tools, were repeatedly exposed, although there might still be some that slipped through the net. But the corpses dangling from the gallows sufficiently deterred the petty criminals for a while.

Yet another cart carrying baked bread crossed the wooden bridge, and Mason saw who it was and quickly walked over to meet them.

Mason took the horse by the bridle and apologetically said, “I’m sorry to have you come personally; I’ll send a driver for you.”

Driving the cart were two ladies. Scarlett, dressed as a boy, held the reins, while Anna, wearing a large top hat, sat beside Scarlett.

Anna nodded slightly, and Scarlett gave Captain Mason a somewhat comical military salute.

The flames of war had not spread to Revodan, the eye of the storm, enjoying the last peace of Iron Peak County.

Yet, Revodan ultimately failed to implement a male and female segregation system. However, with the aid of the church, Mason had temporarily placed all the women and children among the refugees in the Old Town.

Baking bread required a lot of manpower, and the women and children housed in the Old Town also took on a significant part of the baking work.

Mason knew what Lady Navarre had come to ask personally, and his apology deepened, “Sorry, there’s still no news of Winters.”

A hint of disappointment rose in Anna’s eyes, but she quickly brightened, smiling sincerely, “I think, no news might be good news.”

Scarlett also seemed disappointed, but Michel tried not to show it. She gazed into the distance and asked, “Captain, is the city wall finished?”

“A total of 128 work sections, 113 of which are completed,” Mason answered precisely.

“If the city wall gets finished and the Herdmen ultimately don’t come,” Scarlett said with slight regret as she sat back in the driver’s seat, “what a pity that would be.”

Mason smiled faintly and shook his head, “Miss Michel. Preventing the Herders from coming here—that’s the very purpose of building this new city.”

“`
…

Iron Peak County, Hammer Fort.

Hammer Fort town had two Hammer Forts in total, with the Old Hammer Fort being an aged wooden tower fort.

The New Hammer Fort, constructed under the direction of Captain Richard Mason, served the purpose of fending off the assaults from Vernge County and was situated further north.

The new and the old Hammer Forts, one in front of the other, stretched across the main thoroughfare between [Vernge County-Iron Peak County], firmly guarding the gateway into Iron Peak County.

However, both the new and old Hammer Forts had a design flaw: due to the lack of connecting wall structures, the forts could only block the passage of large forces but struggled to fend off smaller groups of enemies.

At this moment, the commander in charge of defending Hammer Fort, the “Birthmark” Lieutenant, crouched beside a pile of horse manure, his brow deeply furrowed.

“There must have been Herd Barbarians that got through,” old Sergeant Dusack poked the horse manure, “It’s frozen solid, definitely from last night. Judging by the hoof prints, not many people or horses, probably Herd Barbarians chased into our territory from Vernge County.”

“Light the beacon fires,” ordered the Birthmark Lieutenant tersely, silently thinking, “Even Iron Peak County is no longer peaceful.”

…

Lower Iron Peak County, beside Big Horn River.

Samujin’s fleet not only captured the ferry crossing but also seized a large number of sheepskin rafts.

With small boats and the confiscated sheepskin rafts, Major Ronald led the militia and women and children across the Big Horn River, setting up a camp on the West Bank.

A curious reversal of fortunes unfolded:
The people of Lower Iron Peak County, who originally lived on the East Bank, were now establishing a camp on the West Bank;
While the people from Terdun who came from the West Bank, left without boats, were standing on the East Bank, helpless and bewildered.

After leaving behind a portion of sheepskin rafts, Samujin took his fleet and hurried to the downstream battlefield.

Before departing, Samujin informed Major Ronald, “The right wing army of Terdun Tribe must have seven to eight Thousand-Men Squads.

The fire tenders have left at least two Thousand-Men Squads on the West Bank as a constraint, and although this part of the Terdun people has been repelled, they may gather for a comeback at any time.

Civil Guard Officer Montaigne wishes you to be aware that you must guard not only against enemies from the East Bank crossing the river but also be wary of surprise attacks from the Terdun people on the West Bank.”

…

Great Wilderness, Terdun Tribe’s winter grazing field.

The Terdun Tribe’s fertile and lush winter grazing fields have now turned into a hellish scene of bloodshed and fire.

In the wilderness, the wind direction is unpredictable on a small scale, yet on a large scale, the rules of the monsoons are inexorable.

Spring-Summer monsoons blow from east to west, Autumn-Winter monsoons blow from west to east—this ironclad law between the two mountains hasn’t changed for thousands of years.

Andrea Cherini and Tang Juan led the Cavalry, initially charging westward with ferocity, slaughtering Terdun cattle when hungry, and milking Terdun sheep when thirsty, seizing Terdun horses when theirs died from exhaustion.

Then, turning back, they used the power of the seasonal winds to set fire to the grazing lands as they passed.

Like a spark falling into a haystack, with no rain and dry conditions of winter, once the flames spread, they became uncontrollable.

Dense smoke engulfed the skies over Terdun Tribe’s winter fields, with the scattered Terdun people desperately herding cattle and sheep, and carrying belongings as they fled.

But where could they run to?

If the fire didn’t kill them, the smoke could suffocate them. Even if they luckily escaped the flames, the winter pastures were left charred and barren.

Watching the infernal scene he helped create from the hillside, Tang Juan’s face was slightly grave, “Maybe we went too far; even if the Herders have nothing to eat or drink, they’ll come back next year.”

“They would come back even if they had food and drink,” Andre replied in a subdued tone, “Let’s go, we’ll skirt the fire and head home.”

…

Central Iron Peak County, Panto River ford.

The river at the ford was once again stained red with blood, a strategic location that had again changed hands.

The Terdun people stationed nearly a hundred armored soldiers to defend the Panto River camp, while Winters personally led four main infantry companies along with the militia auxiliary forces to encircle and annihilate them.

Compared to the Terdun people’s previous strategy of hit-and-run or fleeing if the battle turned, the defenders at Panto River displayed remarkable resilience.

The nature of the war, no longer a low-intensity conflict quickly resolved with one decisive strike and disengage, was revealing a far more brutal face.

“We’ll establish a camp here,” Winters switched to a fresh Warhorse, calling Lieutenant Bart Xialing to his side, “I’m giving you two companies and four Hundred-Men Squads. Do not let a single Terdun get away, nor allow one to enter.”

Bart Xialing, with his right arm wounded, saluted awkwardly using his left.

“The water’s rising!” Xial, galloping in, shouted excitedly, “The water’s rising!”

Xial rushed up to Winters and Bart Xialing, panting heavily, “The water has exceeded the second stone pillar!”

Twenty years earlier, when the Panto River was regulated, masons placed five stone pillars downstream from Shizhen, to indicate the water level.

Once the water surpassed the second pillar, it meant that the gorge paths exposed by the dry water level would be sealed once more by the rising water.

“Have the fourth company reinforce the horse barriers in the gorge!” Winters ordered without hesitation, “Since they’ve gone in, don’t let the Terdun people come back out.”

Xial and Bart Xialing looked at each other, unsure in what form to convey this military order.

“Xial, you go. Just relay my command,” Winters donned his helmet again.

Xial saluted and rode off.

“`