Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 522 Calming the Raging Spirit (Part 4)

“Pierre,” Bell said, hands on his knees, his expression serious, “can you just tell me straight up, what exactly is the purpose of your coming to the ‘Newly Reclaimed Lands’ as the ‘Overseer’?”

Pierre replied somewhat hesitantly, "Of course, it's just like the literal meaning of the position—overseeing military affairs and protecting the borders and people."

"Supervise military affairs? What military affairs?" Bell was determined to get to the bottom of things.

"To enable newly reclaimed lands to defend their own military affairs."

Fearing the young hunter might misunderstand, Pierre quickly added, "It doesn't mean that from now on, newly reclaimed lands will have... uh, no... no army from the rear..."

Bell gave a kind but helpless smile, indicating to his friend that there was no need to hold back: "'A child without a mother,' hey, why do we need to be like this? Say whatever comes to mind, go on."

Pierre looked apologetic: "I didn't mean that the newly reclaimed lands will have to rely on themselves from now on—if the Teldun tribe or any other barbarian tribes dare to invade again, Your Excellency will certainly send troops to give them a good beating."

Bell nodded in agreement.

Pierre continued, "But that's unlikely to happen now. The main 'work' in the newly reclaimed lands right now is border patrol, apprehending fugitives, and protecting the trade routes to the Red River region."

"These miscellaneous tasks, though not as life-threatening as major battles, still require a large number of men. Your cavalry is invaluable and should not be wasted on such tasks."

"Therefore, Your Excellency plans to establish a cavalry force in the newly reclaimed lands, so that the newly reclaimed lands can handle border duties on their own, instead of relying on the cavalry of 'Iron Peak County' as they are now."

Bell nodded again, but this time it was less of an approval and more of an invitation for Pierre to continue.

Pierre hesitated for a moment, then added a piece of gossip: "Moreover, the 'New Army Reorganization' is imminent, and it is said that the entire cavalry will be reorganized into several cavalry regiments. At that time, the 'Iron Peak Cavalry' will no longer be the cavalry of Iron Peak County. Even if Your Excellency wants to send cavalry to the newly reclaimed lands, it won't be so easy."

"Wait, what is this 'new army'?"

Pierre was momentarily speechless: "Well... it's a long story. In short, we are now the 'New Army of the Republic of Palatour'."

Bell scratched his head: "So you're saying you're going to recruit and train soldiers from the Wenduoer tribe, and then use them... What does 'protecting the borders and ensuring the safety of the people' mean?"

"To prevent the Chihe tribe from infiltrating the south bank of the Jinliu River, and to guard against the resurgence of the Teldun tribe."

"Um, any more?"

After a brief moment of deliberation, Pierre replied seriously: "In fact, Your Excellency's expectation of the Outer New Territories is not merely that they 'can defend themselves' and not have their power restrained or dispersed—You expect the Outer New Territories to become the source of your power."

Although his friend spoke in a very formal manner, Bell still understood. He let out a long sigh: "Isn't this your main purpose in coming to the new lands? To turn the Vendors into Dusa and then collect blood taxes."

“I’m here to collect blood tax,” Pierre readily admitted, noticing a hint of resistance in the young hunter’s voice. He countered, “What’s wrong with blood tax? What’s wrong with it? There are people who want to pay, but haven’t had the chance yet… Ah, I’m sorry, I’m not…”

Realizing he had misspoke, Pierre slapped himself hard across the face.

To be honest, Bale didn't feel anything special when his friend said, "There are people who want to befriend me, but I haven't had the chance yet." It was Pierre's act of slapping him that made Bale a little unhappy.

The young hunter, unable to stop him in time, sulked for a while, then sighed deeply, looked up at his friend, and said sternly, "I'll only ask you one question: Did the centurion tell you these things?"

“Yes,” Pierre answered firmly, but then added a second later, “but it wasn’t you who told me ‘personally’…”

Bell frowned.

Pierre gestured as he explained, “Your Excellency has been very busy lately, extremely busy, so busy that you’re practically never on your feet. You’re not working in Maplestone City most of the time. When I learned of the appointment, Your Excellency was inspecting the arsenal in Ghevodan. So, ‘these words’ were told to me by Tribunal Mason. What Sir Mason said is essentially the same as what Your Excellency said.”

Bell shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.

Pierre continued, "In fact, my appointment has not been officially issued yet, and I even received this letter of appointment in advance—things are different now than before; everything has to go through procedures, which is very troublesome."

Bel thought he had learned everything he needed to know, so he slapped his knee and said gruffly, “Well then, Pierre, you might as well think of me now as a herdsman who lives on the grasslands all day long, fighting wild beasts and bad weather, a ‘barbarian’ in the words of the Paratists, someone you’re going to collect blood tax from, an ordinary Hudman.”

“You—Pierre Gerardnovich, a big shot from the horizon, the governor of the newly reclaimed lands—how do you expect me to obey your orders?”

Bell's gaze fell on the letter of appointment between the two men, and he asked with a deliberately provocative tone, "Just this piece of paper?"

"What?" Pierre's gaze turned stern. "They dare not acknowledge Your Excellency's authority?"

“Of course they will obey Batu’s authority!” Bel said firmly. “They have all broken arrows and sworn oaths! If anyone breaks his oath, the centurion has the right to kill him and leave his body in a deserted place.”

Pierre waited patiently for the young hunter to say "but".

“But,” Bell changed the subject, picking up Pierre’s letter of appointment, “they won’t recognize that so-called ‘National Assembly,’ nor will they recognize you, much less this piece of paper you brought.”

After a moment of silence, Pierre had to admit that Bel Ralfnovich was right.

Upon learning of his upcoming appointment, Pierre felt anger, elation, and fear.

The anger stemmed from the fact that he was once again sent far from the "main battlefield." This was true before the Battle of Blood Mud, and it was true before the Battle of River Valley. He always shone brightly in the first, second, and third acts, only to regretfully miss the fourth, be mentioned briefly in the fifth, and make a brief appearance at the final curtain call. Despite being one of the main characters, despite contributing no less than anyone else, he could only watch from the sidelines as others received cheers and applause, and even be mocked by some shady characters for only getting to the stage and take the curtain call through nepotism.

He knew that this was not because he was not valued, but rather because he was highly regarded and was always assigned to tasks that could only be entrusted to him.

He never complained or slacked off, and always did his best to complete the mission assigned to him.

But he would still feel angry about his fate.

Along with anger comes a sense of entitlement and a heartfelt ecstasy.

Finally, he got a chance to prove himself.

A tough, important, yet unrestricted, real opportunity to prove oneself.

This was exactly what he had been dreaming of.

He was so ecstatic that he wanted to laugh and shout; he wanted to jump onto the bell tower of Maplestone Cathedral so that everyone could hear his voice.

Finally, there was fear.

He was apprehensive because he understood the weight of the appointment as "Supervisor of Newly Reclaimed Lands".

This position was granted almost unlimited power, and all matters concerning the newly reclaimed land could be decided with a single word.

What kind of military governor is he? He's basically just a "deputy king".

However, with unlimited power comes unlimited responsibility and high expectations.

He couldn't help but doubt whether he could shoulder this heavy responsibility.

He became even more suspicious that, as some people said, he had obtained this extremely important position because of nepotism.

Anger, ecstasy, and fear mingled together, giving Pierre an impulse—he didn't want to ask anyone for help or guidance; he wanted to take the hardest path, to accomplish something no one else could achieve with just a letter of appointment, and to shut up all the snide people.

This impulse became uncontrollable from the moment it was born.

So Pierre came to this camp, to this tent, and to the little hunter.

However, at this moment, Pierre Gerardovich Mitchell's reason ultimately prevailed over his impulse.

In truth, he had always understood that his stubborn act of refusing to accept anything, carrying only a letter of appointment, and riding alone into the wilderness was perhaps too arrogant. His attempt to prove his point was also too hasty.

He just doesn't want to face it.

“Sigh, I know, you’ve been held back… so you’ve been holding back all this time…” Bell looked at his silent friend, and thinking of the torture Pierre had suffered in Arpard’s prison, he felt very sad. He gently comforted him:

"The centurion knows this, which is why he entrusted you with such an important task. He won't just give you a piece of paper; he definitely has other plans for you. So go back and talk to the centurion. Consider this visit as a pre-appointment visit to get a head start and understand the situation before the official appointment is issued..."

As Bell was speaking, Pierre slapped himself hard across the face again.

"Hey!" The little hunter rushed forward and grabbed Pierre's hand, asking angrily, "What are you doing now?"

Compared to the bewildered young hunter, Pierre appeared quite calm.

“I should not put my own demands before my mission.” Pierre said, as if he were sentencing himself, word by word: “This is unforgivable.”

“Nobody blamed you at all!” Bell was so angry she almost laughed.

"I will explain the difficulties to you and request your assistance..."

"That's right."

"But I won't just leave like this."

Bell was taken aback: "Huh?"

Pierre declared firmly, "Since I've come to understand the situation in the newly reclaimed lands before the official appointment is issued, how can I be qualified to leave without knowing anything about it?!"

Bell raised his eyebrows slightly.

“Take me to know the new reclamation lands, Bel Ralfnovich, take me to know the people of this land, and besides…”

Pierre smiled and said, "I haven't seen the little one yet."

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