Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 117 Wolf Town
"Alright, that's enough for now." Winters patted Andrei's arm. "It's not like we'll never see each other again."

"I never thought this shepherd was even more of a bastard than the mud-covered man!" Andrei said, tears welling up in his eyes. "If you have connections, get them to bail you out. Whoever among us has the connections can go; it's not disloyal. But we really can't afford to waste time with this shepherd..."

"Shepherd" is a derogatory term for a Paratist. Andrei, having lost control of his emotions, spoke without thinking. Andrei had his fill of venting, but there were other people around them.

Upon hearing the term "shepherd," the Palatine soldiers responsible for "escorting" Winters and his companions couldn't help but glance at them.

Winters quickly comforted Andrei and persuaded him to leave. As Andrei walked towards the town, he kept looking back with reluctance.

After setting off again, Winters apologized to the Palatine cavalrymen beside him, saying, "Lieutenant Cellini has always been careless, but he meant no harm. I apologize on his behalf."

Lieutenant Kevin Wojk, who was leading the team, forced a cold smile and nodded.

The group rode their warhorses at breakneck speed. The plains beside the road stretched out as far as the eye could see, with the dark blue mountains rising on the horizon.

Looking around, there was nothing on the wasteland except for a vast expanse of green.

Galloping across this vast expanse of land is exhilarating. But Winters was completely listless. Seeing the desolate landscape before him, he finally realized where he had been taken.

This is the frontier of the Republic of Palatul, the westernmost part of the Union. If Guitu City is the heartland within the heartland, then this place is the frontier within the frontier.

The story begins two weeks earlier, when Warrant Officers Venetta and his men finally escaped from the carriage, only to be immediately placed under house arrest again. It was only then that the Warrant Officers Venetta learned two things:
First, they are now second lieutenants;
Secondly, they are now second lieutenants in the Republic of Palatour.

The Paratians treated Winters and his companions well, providing them with food, drink, and bathing. However, they still restricted their freedom and forbade them from meeting with Venetia's officials stationed in Paratia.

When gods fight, mortals suffer. To the provincial military, this was just a trivial provocation, but it completely disrupted the life trajectories of lieutenants Winters, Andre, and Bud.

For these young people, the path ahead was originally clear: receiving a rank, taking up a post, accumulating experience, waiting for promotion, retirement...

But now their path has been completely disrupted by the sudden "assignment," as tangled as a ball of yarn played with by a cat.

In Veneta, they were promising young men, but in Palatour, they were nothing.

With no connections, no relatives or friends, and not even a penny to their name, Winters and his companions were escorted to Kingsburg, and none of them had a single silver coin on them.

They were all alone, cut off from all news. They knew no one and knew nothing. Right now, they were nothing more than the lowest-ranking professional officers in the army.

It is unclear how the negotiations took place, but after three days of house arrest, the Parat people made new arrangements for their fate.

In a sunny office, Colonel Palatour, with a warm smile on his face, handed Winters a letter of appointment.

Completely bewildered after receiving the letter of appointment, Winters was immediately ushered out of the office. He only remembered the colonel saying, "...The Republic looks forward to your efforts and struggles; you will make great contributions in the vast world..."

This desolate wilderness... it really is a damn "vast world"!

Recalling the colonel's enthusiastic smile, Winters couldn't help but curse inwardly.

After speeding along the dilapidated dirt road for several hours and crossing a shallow riverbank more than ten meters wide, the group arrived at their final destination.

Before us was a small town that could hardly be called a "town". Two dirt roads, each about twenty meters long, ran horizontally and vertically, forming the main thoroughfare. At the intersection of the dirt roads was a small church.

Along the roadside are several houses built of logs, which seem to be the only shops in this small town.

Winters had thought that the places Andrei and Bader were assigned to were desolate enough, but compared to the town in front of them, the town Andrei and Bader went to was simply lush and bustling.

“Look, this is Wulfthorpe,” Lieutenant Voick pointed with his riding crop. “Come on, I’ll take you to see the mayor.”

Winters followed Wooey to the front of a house opposite the church. Apart from the church, this wooden house was the largest in the entire town; it seemed to be the town hall.

Before even entering the room, Winters heard a loud… snoring sound?
Lieutenant Wojc was also a little puzzled. He and Winters exchanged a glance and then walked into the town hall first.

Upon entering, there is a small cubicle, with a wooden wall dividing the entire house. A table is placed in front of the door, where a thin, clean-shaven old man is writing and calculating.

"Are you the mayor?" Voick asked bluntly.

The old man squinted at Woik and answered unhurriedly, "I am the town's clerk. May I ask who you are?"

“I am Lieutenant Wojk from the military.” After introducing himself, Wojk pointed at Winters with his riding crop: “This is Lieutenant Montagne. We need to see the mayor.”

“Oh, then please follow me.” The gaunt old man spoke in a rather strangely refined manner. He stood up and opened the door to another room in the partition wall: “This is the mayor’s office.”

Looking through the door, the first thing Winters noticed was the soles of his shoes and... a beer belly?

The man with the beer belly was fast asleep on the bench by the window, snoring deafeningly loudly. His snoring was so loud and unusual that each breath seemed to choke him.

"Sir, wake up... A military officer from the city wants to see you." The old clerk tried to wake the man who was snoring loudly.

No matter how gently he patted the mayor's shoulder and arm, the mayor remained unconscious. The old man gritted his teeth and slapped himself hard across the face.

The middle-aged man, who was in a deep sleep, suddenly woke up with a start. As if he had been greatly shocked, he rolled to the ground and looked around in horror.

Upon spotting Wojker and Winters, the middle-aged man paused, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, stood up sheepishly, and asked with a smile, "Huh? What's wrong? Who are these two?"

The old clerk reintroduced Wojc and Winters, allowing Winters to get a good look at the man before him.

The mayor of Wolftown was short, a full head shorter than Winters. But he had a thick neck and an even thicker waist, so if you only looked at his upper body, you might think he was taller than Winters.

Supporting his heavy upper body were two short, thick, bow-legged legs—a leg shape that most people wouldn't have—clearly indicating he was a good rider.

His thick, brown curly hair was streaked with silver, indicating that he was not young. Yet, his two blue eyes still held the carefree spirit of a young man.

His blue eyes were set in a round face, below which was a large nose and a wide mouth. His laughter was hearty and genuine, without a trace of pretense, and he possessed a rugged yet vibrant spirit.

At first glance, Winters felt a great deal of liking for this burly man.

"Haha, please excuse my poor appearance!" The mayor of Wolf Town chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I am Gerald, Gerald Preninovich Mitchell. The villagers elected me as mayor because my home is close to town. Please tell me what you need."

Without saying a word, Wojc handed an official letter to the mayor.

Girard chuckled and scratched the back of his head, then handed the letter back to the old clerk: "I don't know many words. Panvich, let's read what's written in the letter."

The old clerk—now we know his name is Panvich—took the document and read it carefully. Then he looked up and pointed at Winters, saying, “Sir, this Lieutenant Montagne is the newly appointed garrison officer.”

"Hey! Great! Finally, we have a resident officer!" Girard slapped his thigh with joy, laughing as he grabbed Winters' arm. "What a fine young man! How wonderful! Our Wolftown finally has a resident officer! Great!"

Girard suddenly realized the young man in front of him wasn't his son, quickly letting go and laughing, "Sorry, sorry! I'm just so happy! Our Wolftown has had a resident officer position for years since it was established, and now we finally have one, and such a fine young man at that! It's a wonderful thing!" Woick clearly didn't want to linger, so he took out a money pouch and gave it to Winters: "This is your salary for this quarter. The resident officer's duties are simple, all written in his letter of appointment. The army's communications officers will come here regularly, and they will be responsible for delivering your salary from now on."

Winters silently accepted the money bag and saluted.

Looking at Winters, Woick felt a pang of pity. He led Winters out of the town hall, sighed, and said, "In Palatour, the resident officer is essentially the military's representative in the newly reclaimed areas. He just manages security and the militia; it's easy, not much work. Just bear with it; once this is resolved, you can go home."

Winters knew this was true, nodded, and gave a solemn salute.

Lieutenant Wojc patted Winters on the shoulder and led his cavalrymen away.

Three days ago, all Lieutenant Vineta received their letters of appointment. They were appointed as garrison officers in their respective towns and ordered to take up their posts immediately without delay.

Perhaps it was a way to break up Lieutenant Veneta's group, or perhaps there was another purpose. Winters didn't know the decision-making process of the Paratul military, but they had clearly made their stance clear: they would not let Lieutenant Veneta go home until the Paratul were satisfied.

Lieutenant Vineta's units were mostly stationed in the "newly reclaimed areas".

If the Republic of Palatul is the outermost edge of the Alliance's territory, then the New Reclamation Area is the outermost edge of the Republic of Palatul's territory. And Wolf Town—the town to which Winters was assigned—is the outermost edge of the New Reclamation Area's territory.

Winters has now reached the very edge of the edge of the Cynas Alliance's territory, perhaps even the very edge of "civilization".

Therefore, further west from here lies a vast, uninhabited area spanning nearly a hundred kilometers, and further west of this uninhabited area lies the land controlled by the savage Hed tribe.

These newly reclaimed areas' "towns" were almost all established within the last decade through the merger of villages, and were sparsely populated with poor communication. Almost no military officers would be willing to serve in such places, which is why the resident officers of the newly reclaimed towns, including Wolf Town, have remained vacant for so long.

It's now being used to house these uninvited guests from Venetta.

Looking at the desolate border town before him, Lieutenant Montagne suddenly felt an indescribable loneliness.

Fifty-six kilometers further north, Lieutenant Andrea Cellini shared the same sentiment.

At this very moment, in the small town that stretches along the Paratul frontier, every Vineta lieutenant is thinking about one thing: going home.

But how can I get home?

run?
Where are you going?

Dereliction of duty makes one a "traitor" and a "deserter" in the legal sense.

Wait?
When will this end?

……

While Winters was lost in thought, Girard walked out of the town hall with a beaming smile and the clerk, Panvich.

As Girard walked, he instructed, "Go back and tell Ellen that today must be a grand affair. On your way back, invite the Wilkes and Benting families over and have them bring a couple of bottles of good wine..."

Upon seeing Winters outside, Girard exclaimed excitedly, "Lieutenant Montagne, we absolutely have to have a big drink tonight! It's been so long since we've had such a joyous occasion. By the way, do you have a place to stay? Our town is small, there are no hotels, so you can stay at my place! And don't let the small size of our town fool you, the people here are all very kind..."

The warm hospitality of Girard suddenly made Winters a little flustered, but it also made him feel a sense of warmth. He smiled and agreed, expressing his gratitude.

Seeing that Girard and Warrant Officer Montagne were having a lively conversation, the old man Panvich went to the back of the house to fetch his horse.

Gerard suddenly noticed something. He looked at the empty hitching posts in front of the town hall, scratched his head, and called Panviche back.

"Master, what are your orders now?"

"Panviche, go back."

Pan Viche said with a bitter face, "This is far from home, sir."

"You lazy bum, why don't you just go to Benting's house and borrow a horse from Frank to ride home?"

Pan Viche muttered to himself as he reluctantly and slowly walked toward the west of the town.

Winters didn't understand at first, but he was quick-witted and soon realized that Girard was asking Panveche to give him a mount.

Winters arrived in Wolftown riding a government warhorse, which Voick took with him when he left.

He had nothing in this unfamiliar land.

He had no warhorse, no sword, no uniform—Winters was still wearing his cadet uniform… If he hadn’t received his quarterly salary, he wouldn’t have had a single penny.

Winters had never been so destitute in his short life.

But then he suddenly remembered Bader—Bader's post was forty kilometers north of Andrei's post—and he suddenly realized that his current situation was actually the same situation Bader had always been in.

He's only temporarily poor, but Gerrard's Buddy has always had it tough.

“If someone can do it, then I can do it too.” With that thought, Warrant Officer Winters Montagne rallied his spirits: “Since I’m here, I might as well make the best of it. I need to find a way home.”

……

……

"Excuse my bluntness, but since you neither allow me to meet with them nor have you appointed them to positions without prior notice, I see no sincerity whatsoever. What do you expect in return for the release of our officers?" Turaño, the chief advisor to Venetta in the Fortress of Kings, demanded, barely suppressing his anger.

Marco, the head of the Paratu Army's external liaison department, replied with a smile: "Your Excellency, I must correct your wording. These lieutenants are not officers of 'your' Veneta, but professional soldiers of our Paratu. Therefore, outsiders have no right to interfere in how we assign them."

"Stop with the word games!" Turaño trembled with rage. "You and I both know what happened. It was all the work of the United Provinces! We should be united against this enemy, but you've been aiding and abetting them! Is it our responsibility that your people were sent overseas as part of the military?"

"So it's our responsibility to send your people to Palatour?" Marco retorted sharply.

"Stop talking nonsense, just tell me what you want in order to agree to release them?!" The chief advisor slammed his hand on the table.

“My words will not be recorded in writing, nor will the Republic of Palatul officially recognize them.” Marco leaned back in his chair, his tone indifferent: “Whenever our replacement officers return to the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, that’s when your replacement officers will be able to go home.”

"Your people traveled by boat, understand?" Turaño said angrily. "The United Provinces sent their fastest communication ship, which they couldn't catch up with! A round trip would take at least a year. If your people can't return in a year, are you going to detain our people for a year?"

Marco replied, "Your Excellency, if I were you, I wouldn't be complaining here; I would already be on the fastest boat chasing after them."

Thank you to all the readers who voted for this book before, especially the following readers: Black Computer Accessories, 20180419043006173, Jiang Xue Diao Weng, Your Life Has the Most, writersblock, felixyf0124, Yu Shi Tong Zhou, Tian Xia [Square] World, 54 Months, Wu Jiu Shi Xiao Gao, Ami, Calmly Gray, and Justice and Purity Are Koala. Thank you everyone.

(End of this chapter)