Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 166 Good News and Bad News

The scouts followed Hart's army all the way to the River Styx, bringing back both bad news and good news.

The bad news is that the pontoon bridge has been burned down.

The riverbank was littered with charred remains of small boats. The main camp on the west bank of the river was also burned down, and no survivors were found.

The wounded soldiers, merchants, and the Colin Hundred who remained in the camp all perished. Even those who returned to Palatine were unlikely to escape death.

The good news is that all signs indicate the enemy has crossed the river and the supply train is safe for the time being.

But... can this really be considered good news?

The old marshal once said, "The most difficult thing in war is to guess the enemy's intentions."

A seasoned general who has seen many battles may be able to easily see through the barbarians' intentions, but not just anyone has such an ability.

As the enemy made their move, Winters gradually pieced together the whole picture: from beginning to end, the Hed's goal was the pontoon bridge; they wanted to bring the war back to Palatine.

……

Once the war begins, the most important thing is how to end it.

Plato's desire to end the war did not hinge on conquering cities and territories.

Agricultural societies concentrate their wealth in cities, but the Hed people, being nomadic, had no cities for Plato's army to attack.

The Parat people's goal was to kill and wound soldiers, abduct people, and plunder pastures, to make the Hed barbarians suffer, cry, and submit.

The war will end immediately once the Heds surrender and migrate westward.

Furthermore, Palatul did not wage war against all the Heds, but only against the nearest one at a time.

Sometimes they would even exploit the conflicts between the tribes to hire the Hud to fight the Hud.

Although the Parat people are unwilling to admit that their ancestors were a branch of the Hed, there is no doubt that the war patterns of both sides are full of the shadow of nomadic peoples.

For nearly thirty years, the Hed family has been in disarray.

Whenever there was war, the tribes would often abandon their camps and flee far away, prioritizing the preservation of their strength.

At most, they would send small groups of light cavalry to harass supply lines, and the Paratists would retreat when they could no longer sustain the attack.

After all, the Parat people came and went, and the other tribes on the same wasteland were the real enemies.

Therefore, everyone, including Winters, assumed that the Centurion they encountered first was the vanguard, and regarded the Alaric troops that came in pursuit the next day as the main force.

However, in reality, the Hed people dispatched a truly large army this time, at least half of the Naiman [ten thousand men].

The Alaric Thousands, who fought the Paratians to the bitter end, were the true vanguard.

……

The worst-case scenario the officers had anticipated was that their retreat would be cut off by the Heds.

Upon learning that thousands of Hart's cavalry had crossed the River Styx, Lieutenant Colonel Caster nearly fainted from anger.

What lies east of the River Styx? A hundred-kilometer-wide uninhabited area. Yet beyond that hundred-kilometer stretch lies the homeland of Palatine.

The Hed people... headed towards Palatul, and no one could stop them.

Thirty years later, the iron hooves of the Hard raiders will once again tread upon the land of Plato.

Lieutenant Colonel Custer immediately dispatched communications soldiers to the front and rear.

However, with the pontoon bridge destroyed, the communications soldiers had to take a detour upstream to cross the river, but it was too late.

The news was so shocking that the Paratul people in the group were somewhat dazed, and even Winters felt dizzy when he first heard it.

The Paratites had been winning battles for so long that they had forgotten the Hid people also had teeth.

The last time the Hed invaded Palatour, Jishka was just a toddler, and most of the people in the camp weren't even born yet.

For the past thirty years, Plato has maintained absolute suppression over the Hade tribes.

The Paratul threw a punch, the Hed retreated, the Paratul threw another punch, and the Hed retreated again.

Through victory after victory, the Parat people built up their confidence in being invincible.

According to Winters, whether in the wagon formations or behind the camp walls, no matter how fierce the battle was, the Paratians never doubted their ultimate victory in this war.

Now, Winters is witnessing this confidence begin to crumble.

More than one deputies came to him, asking, either subtly or directly, whether to withdraw Plato.

However, Winters did not have the authority to make decisions on this matter.

……

The officers of the cavalry squadron and the supply corps held an emergency meeting to discuss the next steps.

The atmosphere at the meeting was heavy, and the officers remained silent with grim faces.

Seeing that no one spoke, Lieutenant Colonel Caster roared, "Are you all mute? Start with the lowest rank and speak one by one!"

After another moment of silence, Winters stood up; probably no one present had a lower rank than him.

“Alright, let’s start with you!” Castor slammed his hand on the table. “Then the one to your right.”

Andrei's face immediately fell.

“I think,” Winters said, as succinctly as possible, “we should head west to find the main force.”

The air suddenly cooled down.

"Reason?" Lieutenant Colonel Jessica's eyelids twitched.

"The pontoon bridge is destroyed, and there are only two ways to cross the river. Either go around upstream or build a boat to cross. Going around is too far, and building a boat will take too long. We don't know how many Harts are still wandering around here, so it would be safer to go find the main force."

How do you know the main force hasn't collapsed?

“Because the enemy soldiers crossing the river are still wearing lamellar armor and leather coats,” Winters replied. “The Heds don’t waste anything. If the main force ahead has already been defeated, they certainly have more than just those tattered clothes on them.”

“That’s right!” Caster immediately agreed: “How did the Heds manage to wipe out an army of 20,000? They must have taken a risky gamble and made a dangerous move. They haven’t lost this battle yet!”

The others present looked at Jessica; if he shared the same opinion, then there was no need for further discussion.

"You fight your way, I'll fight mine." The one-eyed lieutenant colonel suddenly shook his head with a wry smile: "This is the old marshal's strategy. When did the Heds learn it too?"

With the tone set, the officers discussed and decided to set off immediately, while simultaneously dispatching rangers to gather the other three squadrons of the Caster Regiment.

Because most of the supply camps along the route had been looted, Caster's cavalry would accompany the baggage trains, providing both supplies and protection. The merchants accompanying the trains were terrified and wanted to go home, but they had no choice at this point.

Fearing that the stray merchants would reveal the whereabouts of the supply train, the two lieutenant colonels forcibly requisitioned all the merchants' carts and draft animals, and also incorporated the men into the militia.

Unbeknownst to them, the mindset of the Paratites had quietly changed.

Before encountering Hed's army, the Paratites regarded their supply lines as their rear, only occasionally launching raids.

Now everything is different. It still looks like a vast wasteland, but in the eyes of the people who are setting off again, there are hidden dangers everywhere, and it seems that there are Hed soldiers lying in ambush behind every hillside.

The supply train changed its route, and Custer deployed his scouts twenty kilometers away. Everyone was on edge, and no one dared to light a fire during the day—because smoke from a fire was too conspicuous on the wasteland.

Regardless of whether they were soldiers or civilians, everyone had to cook using earthen stoves after nightfall.

However, the advantages of the iron furnace built by Berrian became apparent.

Iron stoves have no open flame, are concealed and safe, and leave no pit. Because they consume little fuel, they produce very little smoke.

The more senior the officer, the more he found the iron furnace to be indescribably wonderful.

For hungry, cold, and exhausted soldiers, nothing is more uplifting than a bowl of hot soup.

Lieutenant Colonel Custer thoroughly inspected the furnace inside and out, praising it repeatedly.

"Are you a blacksmith?" the lieutenant colonel suddenly asked Berleon.

"An apprenticeship lasts two years."

"Not married?"

"No, sir."

"Come work for me." Caster recruited Berleon generously: "I'll give you a sergeant job, and I guarantee you'll save up enough for a wife in three years."

Winters, standing to the side, never expected that a lieutenant colonel would directly poach his staff, and with such generous terms.

The meaning of "sergeant" varies slightly across different republics. In Venetia, "sergeant" is a synonym for "decimal."

However, in Plato, a sergeant was a highly desirable position, somewhere between a decaman and a centurion. Senior sergeants even earned more than junior officers.

Upon hearing Castor's words, Winters became somewhat nervous; he truly couldn't bear to part with such a good cook.

Berian paused for a moment, then replied woodenly, "I am honored by your kindness, but I have a younger brother at home, and I cannot bear to leave him."

Lieutenant Colonel Custer snorted. He had already given them enough face by personally recruiting them, so he couldn't say anything more.

Before leaving, Castor turned back and asked, "What's the name of this furnace?"

“Yes, it’s called the Soya Furnace.” Berleon’s eyes were a little red. “It was designed by my father.”

That evening, the blacksmith Berleon took the fire poker from the lieutenant and was honorably promoted to full-time cook in the officers' mess of the cavalry regiment and supply corps, completely freeing himself from duties and combat.

He immediately became the most heavily protected person in the team, even safer than the two colonels.

……

After three days of cautious marching, the scouts who went out ahead encountered friendly scouts.

Behind the friendly scouts were forty cavalry squadrons, totaling more than five thousand light and heavy cavalrymen.

Major General Alpard then rushed to the supply train with his personal guards to ask the two lieutenant colonels for intelligence.

The movement of the large contingent of Hed's men could not have been without leaving a trace. Upon noticing the enemy's movements, Palatine's army immediately dispatched all its cavalry in pursuit.

But it was too late. Three days after Hart crossed the River Styx, the pursuers finally arrived.

Upon learning that the pontoon bridge had been burned down by the Hed people, Major General Alpad flew into a rage.

Upon learning that the Hed raiders had crossed the River Styx and were heading straight for Palatul, Major General Alpad was nearly driven to his death by anger.

With his temples graying, Arpad berated the two lieutenant colonels mercilessly. If anger had a temperature, Jessica and Caster would have been roasted to a crisp long ago.

But the bridge was already destroyed, and it was too late to say anything.

Arpad could only rejoin the main infantry force before making any further plans.

While Jessica and Caster were being berated by the major general, their subordinates stood at attention behind them.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica's insults made Winters uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but say to the others, "They were the ones who failed to stop the Heds, but they're so quick to curse us!"

“That’s not how it is,” Cavalry Lieutenant Kossuth waved his hand.

Having worked together in the same pot for several days, the cavalry officers had become quite familiar with Winters and his men.

"That is how the matter?"

“Major General Alpad had already routed three Hed Thousands of Men on the way, otherwise he wouldn’t have arrived so late,” Lieutenant Kossuth explained in a low voice, adding, “I heard it from the men of the First Regiment.”

Winters' pupils suddenly dilated: "There are three more defeated centurions, plus the Heds crossing the river, that doesn't mean..."

“That’s right.” Kossuth wiped the sweat from his brow: “A Naiman, a real force of ten thousand.”

"Tens of thousands of cavalry! How could they possibly hide in the wilderness?"

“Needless to say? A coordinated attack from multiple directions.” Kossuth sighed. “The Hed’s specialty.”

……

The impatient Major General Alpad abandoned the slow-moving supply train and led his cavalry ahead to join the main force.

After another fourteen days of arduous travel, the JASKA supply train finally arrived at its destination.

The sun was setting in the west, and crimson clouds covered the sky.

Winters rode his strong horse slowly up the hill, and the Palatine camp came into full view.

Only now do I finally understand why this battle has dragged on for so long.

Right in front of the Palatul camp, a small earthen city stood quietly on the wasteland.

The barbarian Hed... built a city.

It's the weekend! My motherboard will be back soon too! Good things come in pairs.

Thank you to all the readers who voted for the book before, and a special thank you to those who voted for it in the last two days! Sending you love!
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(End of this chapter)