Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 200 Strong Luck
Three days.

From the moment the Paratul engineers carried the first piling boat into the River Styx with shouts of encouragement to the ambush of the timber convoy, less than three days had passed.

Eighty wooden stakes were driven in, and less than twenty meters of bridge deck were laid before the White Lion's countermeasures came into play.

The interception of the convoy was like the sounding of a starting gun; the Hed cavalry broke into smaller units and began a relentless barrage of attacks on the Palatour logging team.

Paratu's cavalry fought nine battles a day, chasing and fighting the Hed people like dogs chasing rabbits, but still could not stop the enemy from infiltrating this coniferous forest.

Winters' team also suffered a surprise attack.

Twenty-odd light cavalrymen, leading their warhorses, stealthily made their way to the lumberyard, only to be discovered by sentries sent out by Winters.

The sentry sounded the alarm, risking his life to buy time for his comrades.

Seeing that their sneak attack had failed, the Heds decided to mount their horses and launch a full-scale assault, only to run headlong into the furious Centurion Montagne.

The latter was chopping down a tree when he suddenly heard the whistle. Wearing only a thin shirt, carrying an axe, he mounted his warhorse and charged over.

The leader, Red Feather, was killed with a single axe blow, and the remaining Hed people were chased and hacked all the way to the edge of the forest.

The Heds didn't leave Winters with any wounds, but he did get injured while galloping through the woods.

When Winters returned to the logging camp, his clothes were torn to shreds by pine needles and branches, and his upper body was covered in cat-scratch-like bloodstains.

Charles quickly boiled water and dissolved salt to clean Winters' wounds.

The body of the sentry who gave the warning was recovered. He was a very honest and kind farm boy, and his head and body had been separated by a scimitar.

"Chop them off!" Winters was furious. "Chop off all the Hed's heads! Hang the corpses on the trees! Nails! Nails them all on the trees!"

The militia sprang into action, filled with the strongest hatred; they chopped off the heads of the dead men in Hed and burned them.

They strictly followed the centurion's orders, hammering large iron nails into the thoracic vertebrae to nail the dead enemy to the trees.

The headless corpses were nailed all the way from the logging camp to the edge of the forest.

After that, the Montagne logging team was never attacked again.

But not every logging team is so brave and skilled in battle.

Some logging teams repelled the Hud people;

Some logging teams got into a melee, and the Hed people withdrew on their own.
The logging team was completely destroyed, and when the reinforcements arrived, they found only dead bodies everywhere.

The following day, two infantry battalions and two cavalry squadrons entered "Qiaolin".

[Note: Because the timber in this forest was used for building bridges, the soldiers called it the Bridge Forest.]
The commander of this detachment was an acquaintance of Winters—Lieutenant Colonel Robert.

Winters was immediately summoned by Robert. The lieutenant colonel wanted to understand the specific situation of each logging team and also wanted to hear Winters' thoughts.

“Build a forward camp in the center of the bridge forest, and the logging teams will set off from the camp to cut trees in all directions.” Winters didn’t have much to say, he just repeated what he had said before: “The logging teams will leave a path behind them as they cut down trees. This way, the cavalry can quickly provide support wherever there is an alarm.”

Lieutenant Colonel Robert nodded repeatedly and asked, "You've fought them before, what's their fighting spirit like?"

"That's about it. The size of two ten-man squads is just right for the Hurds to use. But they are outnumbered after all, and as long as the logging team is determined to resist, the Hurds can't do anything about it. The key is that the morale of the auxiliary troops was shattered in the Battle of Nameless Valley, and they are now completely useless. The militia who did not participate in the Battle of Nameless Valley are still willing to fight."

Lieutenant Colonel Robert pondered for a moment, then asked, "What do you think about assigning two tents of soldiers to each logging team?"

At first glance, Winters found it absurd: wasn't this just a way to disperse troops?

But after thinking about it carefully, it might actually be feasible.

The logging team had a significant numerical advantage over the Heard raiders.

However, they need a leader to take charge in order to leverage their numerical advantage.

There are now eighteen logging teams left. Each team is equipped with two soldiers, and the total number is less than one battalion. There is still one battalion left to defend the camp.

Even if troops are needed for rescue, cavalry will be deployed, not infantry.

“Okay, I think it’s a good idea!” Winters agreed, adding, “Selecting capable sergeants to lead troops into each unit will keep the militia in place and prevent them from collapsing at the first sign of trouble.”

“Alright, that’s settled then.” Lieutenant Colonel Robert patted Winters on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, “No matter what tricks the barbarians have up their sleeves, we’ll meet them head-on and deal with whatever comes our way.”

In front of his more familiar superiors, Winters finally couldn't hold back and said with dissatisfaction, "Headquarters should have sent troops a long time ago!"

Lieutenant Colonel Robert reassured him gently, "The old man has to build a bridge and defend against a large barbarian army. If it were me, I wouldn't be willing to risk dividing my troops either. Different positions have different considerations. Besides, didn't he send me here?"

"What big move have the Heds made?"

“No.” Lieutenant Colonel Robert shook his head. “They set up camp thirty miles away, very cautiously. Their scouts are scattered everywhere, and our scouts can’t get past them.”

Only Robert and Winters were inside the tent, and their conversation was private.

Winters tried to remain calm—but a hint of anger still lingered: “I’m just a centurion, a Venetian, and nobody listens to me. You have influence in the army, and there’s something I want to tell you.”

Lieutenant Colonel Robert said sternly, “How could no one pay attention? Alpad gave you his flask. Even Jessica, that guy who ‘offends two out of three sentences,’ speaks highly of you. You can say whatever you want.”

The branches crackled in the brazier, bringing a rare touch of warmth in the winter.

Lieutenant Colonel Jessica was praising him behind his back? Winters found it hard to believe, because even the one-eyed colonel rarely gave Winters a friendly look to his face—to be precise, Lieutenant Colonel Jessica didn't give anyone a friendly look.

However, Winters was concerned about something else, so he simply said, "Lieutenant Colonel, you Paratu people lack awareness of 'water,' and even more so of 'navy.' You are used to riding horses, but Paratu also has many large rivers. If you had brought a fleet, you would never be in this dangerous situation today."

Colonel Robert was both confused and thoughtful after hearing what the Venettas said.

Winters slammed his fist into his leg, speaking rapidly: "The most urgent task isn't building a bridge, it's building boats! The Styx not only blocks us, but also cuts off the Hards' movement. The Hards don't have a single sampan. Even if we only have twenty small boats, the Hards on the other side will be a lone, desperate army! We're trapped on the west bank, we're afraid. The Hards are trapped on the east bank, aren't they afraid?"
Don't forget, the Heds have cannons! The legion headquarters is currently focused on building the bridge. But what's the point of building the bridge quickly if we can't control the water and the Heds on the west bank manage to get their cannons to the east bank? That would be a disaster!

Lieutenant Colonel Robert was slightly taken aback: "Didn't we destroy the barbarians' artillery?"

“Who knows if they still have any?” Winters grew increasingly impatient. “The water is less than two hundred meters wide. Even a one-pound rotary cannon, like a large musket, could easily be fired from the east bank to the west. If I were a Hurd, I would spare no expense to transport the cannons to the east bank! Right across from the bridge! I would bombard the piling boats day and night, sinking them all! Those dilapidated rafts, one after another, we’d sink them!”

A cold wind blew into the military tent, and the flames in the iron basin rolled violently, just like Winters' mood.

"I'm glad you're not a barbarian," Lieutenant Colonel Robert asked with a wry smile. "You didn't tell headquarters any of this?"

"I submitted a report to headquarters the day before yesterday, but it disappeared without a trace, and I haven't received a reply."

"Didn't you tell Jessica?"

“I was sent out to cut down trees the day before yesterday. If you hadn’t come today, I would have gone to find Lieutenant Colonel Jessica.”

Lieutenant Colonel Robert, hands on his knees, said earnestly, “If the Hurds move their cannons to the other side, then the bridge won’t need to be built. Don’t worry, I’ll go directly to Colonel Bod and have him see the old man.” “With you here, I’m not worried,” Winters said, his breathing becoming slightly easier. “We don’t have any boats, and neither do the Hurds. We don’t need many; twenty small rowboats will be enough to control the water.”

"Unfortunately, I know nothing about naval warfare. When you have the chance, you must tell me more about naval warfare and ships."

“Actually, I don’t know either.” Winters thought of another old friend: “The Venetian Navy has a captain named Spyr, who is the expert in galley warfare. If there is an opportunity, I would like to introduce you to him.”

“Alright.” Lieutenant Colonel Robert laughed heartily. “It’s a deal.”

……

The Parat people first cleared a space in the forest, and then used the felled trees to build a forward camp—also known as the Bridge Forest Camp.

With building materials readily available and eighteen logging teams arriving to help, the construction of the Qiaolin camp progressed rapidly, and it was almost completed in just one day.

Because of the extensive use of timber, the fortifications at Qiaolin Camp were even more robust than those of the main camp, which was primarily constructed of earthen walls.

The logging team, along with two infantry battalions and two cavalry battalions brought by Lieutenant Colonel Robert, totaled more than 3,000 men and over 500 horses.

[Note: Warhorses, as well as packhorses and chariot horses]
The camp was built to the standard size of a legion camp, more than enough to accommodate these men and women.

In addition to the camp itself, Lieutenant Colonel Robert also planned to build a series of watchtowers to provide early warning.

But we'll have to talk about that tomorrow.

After a long day of work, Winters was exhausted and all he wanted to do was get a good night's sleep.

The Qiaolin camp was largely completed, and the various logging teams moved into the camp from the field.

Although we were still setting up tents, the presence of trenches and walls around us made us feel safer than sleeping in the wild.

After inspecting the camp once more, Winters hurried back to his tent.

It was already night. Winters mustered his energy, hastily wrote "Miss Navarre, I've been cutting down trees all day again" and then quickly crawled into the blanket.

Winters fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down.

……

Winters walked into a bathroom, where several classical beauties with indistinct faces and slender figures gracefully approached and reached out to undress him.

He was startled and clung tightly to his bathrobe.

Seeing that she couldn't get Winters' clothes off, the beauty leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"Don't do this!" Winters tried desperately to lean back, but there was a wall behind him, preventing him from moving.

The beauty began to lick Winters, starting from his chin and slowly moving towards his cheekbone.

Winters had only one thought in his mind: "My God! How can she drool so much?"

He reached up to wipe his drool, then woke up from his dream.

Winters was terrified when he woke up and almost unleashed a Disintegrate spell.

Something he didn't know was licking him.

Winters drew his dagger and cast a light spell, revealing a horse's face before him—literally a horse's face.

He was all too familiar with that face shape, that fur color, and that star-shaped marking on its forehead.

"[A horrified exclamation]!" Winters was on the verge of a breakdown: "How did you end up in my tent! Luck?!"

What kind of bullshit beauty is she? No wonder she's drooling so much!

The horse gave a soft hum and nuzzled Winters with its nose.

"I have no sugar! How did you get out of the stables?" Winters crawled painfully onto the cot: "Get out of here, I'll take you back to the stables!"

Upon hearing this, Strongy roared and shook its head, lifting Winters' tent off its roof.

One tent peg after another was pulled out, and a bone-chilling wind swept across Winters' body, taking away his precious body heat.

Winters involuntarily shivered, his body trembling from his toes to his chest.

He was really angry.

"You brat!" Winters grabbed Strong Luck's mane. "Get back to the stables!"

Strong Luck, however, seemed unwilling to give up, biting Winters' blanket and dragging him outside.

The horse's eyes blinked, as if it were trying to say something.

Strong momentum continued to drag Winters outwards.

Winters gritted his teeth, grabbed a blanket, wrapped it around himself, and mounted his horse.

There was no saddle; he rode on the bare back of the horse.

"Go!" He gently spurred the horse. "Tell me what you want to say?"

Strong Luck led Winters out of the camp.

The sentry at the gate saw Centurion Montagne wrapped in a blanket and riding a horse without a saddle. Although he was curious, he did not dare to stop him.

Before Qiangyun had gone very far, Winters understood what he wanted to say.

A faint smell of smoke drifted in on the west wind.

"Damn it!" Winters' face drained of color: "Fire!"

At Bianli, Palatine's army set the White Lion on fire.

Tonight, the white lion returned the favor.

This chapter is the update from December 27th [Sunday].

[His companions all rode horses given to them by their mistresses, but his horse was a gift of luck. And luck, in this case, is the best mistress.]
I feel like I'm trying to say something in the author's words, but I can't remember... Ugh.

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(End of this chapter)