Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 57 Duelist Club
The Duelists Club's usual activities are held at Colonel Bozuhoff's villa.

Colonel Bozukhov was very famous; Winters had heard of this notorious playboy and duelist in the army since he was a child.

In the wealthy city of Hailan, an officer's meager salary was nothing. However, Colonel Bozukhov was an officer from a wealthy merchant family who had inherited a large fortune, which he could squander on his hobbies as he pleased.

Because of his kind-hearted nature, superb swordsmanship, and substantial wealth, Colonel Bozuhoff became the manager and organizer of the Duelists Club, and generously provided his villa as a venue for club activities.

In other words, he provided Major Moritz with a list that was partly true and partly false, which forced Winters to "get" the real list on behalf of the two officers.

“Moritz has already been exposed, and I’ve never participated in the Duelists’ Club activities. Bozuhoff will be very wary of both of us, but no one will notice you, a trainee officer. Nobody cares where a warrant officer is on his train.”

Lieutenant Colonel Field explained why this task could only be assigned to Winters: "Besides, you've just returned from the United Provinces, you enjoy swordsmanship, and it's perfectly reasonable for you to participate in the Duelists' Club activities."

The lieutenant colonel patted Winters on the shoulder and said emotionally, "You are the person Moritz and I trust the most. Apart from you, there is no other officer in the entire army worthy of our trust, which is why we entrusted this mission to you. Are you going to betray our trust?"

Now, the sun has set. Most of the city is shrouded in darkness, but Colonel Bozukhov's villa is brightly lit.

Winters and his two companions had just arrived at the entrance of the villa.

"What the hell?" Winters cursed inwardly. "How could I have agreed on a whim?"

Newcomers to the workplace are easily forced to do things they don't want to do because they don't know they can say "no," and Winters is a case in point.

"Wow! That's quite extravagant." Andrei clicked his tongue in amazement, then handed the reins to the servant in the gatehouse: "This Duelists Club is certainly well-funded."

While wealthy families may not necessarily light many lamps, families that can light many lamps are definitely very wealthy. This is a simple and straightforward way to tell.

"It's not that the club is rich, it's that the sponsors are rich," Lieutenant Colonel Contel explained to Andrei with a smile.

The best way to legitimately enter Colonel Bozuhoff's villa and "take" something is to participate in the Duelists Club's activities every Wednesday and Friday night.

Colonel Bozuhoff had clearly become wary of Major Moritz, and Winters certainly couldn't have joined the club through Moritz's introduction.

Therefore, he used his connection with António to find Lieutenant Colonel Contaire of the Third Army Corps to act as his introducer, and also brought Andrei over to provide cover.

As for Bard? Bard, who was admitted from outside the school, had very mediocre swordsmanship and was not interested in duels at all.

Winters took two candies out of his bag and fed them to Qiangyun. The horse snorted happily twice and licked Winters' hand with lingering satisfaction.

"Tie this horse to one side and don't let it be with the other horses," he instructed the Bozukhov servant, handing him the reins.

The servant in the striped uniform nodded and led the three horses away.

"What's wrong with good luck?" Contel asked curiously.

Winters sighed and replied helplessly, "A few days ago, it seemed to have smelled a mare and then started fighting with the other horses in the stall, biting them until their mouths were full of mane."

Andrei laughed heartily: "That's the downside of having a girl."

The three of them chatted and laughed as they entered the Bozuhof Villa.

It wasn't until he actually stepped into the Duelists Club that Winters noticed the unusually relaxed and natural atmosphere. There were no introductions, oaths, or other fraternity ceremonies; after registering in the guestbook at the entrance, one was free to move around as one pleased.

No wonder Major Moritz said that he just drank and chatted at the Duelists Club, because most people in the club were eating, drinking and chatting, and quite a few brought their female relatives.

This is quite different from Winters's imagined scene of a group of serious men fiddling with muskets and swords in a secret room.

“Brother Contair! It’s been a while since you’ve come over.”

Before I saw the person, I heard his voice first.

A ruddy-faced, tall man with brown curly hair walked over laughing and gave Lieutenant Colonel Contel a bear hug.

“I didn’t just come by myself; I brought two ‘fresh blood’ with me—Winters and Andrea.” Lieutenant Colonel Contel pointed to Winters and Andrea and introduced them: “Both are pure Venetas, warrant officers who returned from the United Province this year.”

Lieutenant Colonel Contel patted the brown-haired man's arm again: "This curly-haired bear is the owner of this place, the organizer of the Duelists' Club, Colonel Bozuhoff."

The word "colonel" was deliberately drawn out by Kontel, causing Winters and Andrei to instinctively salute. Bozukhov stopped them, punched Lieutenant Colonel Kontel on the shoulder, and laughed heartily, saying, "What's with the salute? Kontel and I were just born a few years earlier. This is a place for sword enthusiasts to get together and have some fun, regardless of rank, only swordsmanship matters. How about it? Interested in a match tonight?"

"What's going on? These two junior students are here for the first time, and you're already making them fight in the fencing arena? Isn't that bullying newcomers?" Contel said to Bozuhoff, "Shouldn't you at least let them get used to the atmosphere?"

Bozuhoff laughed heartily: "Sword skills are best right after graduation, don't you know that? Then you, as the introducer, should take responsibility and show them around."

He then looked at Winters and Andrei: "Don't be shy, make yourselves at home here. If you need anything, please come to me."

"Speak," Bozuhoff said, nodding to the three men before returning to the living room.

"Come on, let's take a tour of this mansion. The toilets here are quite hard to find. If you find this place interesting, you can come back on your own later... You're welcome to bring your female companions." Lieutenant Colonel Contel handed Winters and Andrei two glasses of wine and led the two warrant officers on a tour of the first floor of the mansion.

Conteier wasn't exaggerating; the toilets at Bozuhof Villa were indeed very well hidden.

Winters noticed that Contair was very familiar with the place and secretly guessed that the lieutenant colonel must also be a core member of the Duelist Club.

In the hall, Lieutenant Colonel Bozukhov tapped his silver spoon against a wine glass, the crisp sound drawing everyone's attention. The club's guests spontaneously cleared a space in the hall and formed a circle around it.

Two swordsmen in full armor stepped out and stood in the open space in the center of the hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce the two fencers for the first match tonight." Bozuhoff stepped between the fencers and introduced the two in a loud voice.

Winters wasn't paying attention to what Bozuhoff was saying. When everyone's attention was focused on the center of the field, he knew his chance had come.

"I'm going to the restroom," he whispered to his two companions.

"Can you find your way?" Lieutenant Colonel Contel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, we won't get lost."

To avoid arousing suspicion, Major Moritz did not attend tonight. The major drew up a complete floor plan of the Bozuhof villa for Winters, including not only the first floor but also the second floor.

The first floor of this villa is used as a reception room and activity area, where all guests can move around freely. However, the second floor, separated by a floor, is not open to the public, and the staircase leading from the first-floor hall to the second floor has been renovated and sealed off.

Downstairs is the bustling city that never sleeps, welcoming all guests, while upstairs is Bozuhoff's private space. There is a reception room, Bozuhoff's office, and several bedrooms—although Bozuhoff's family does not live here.

Winters' target was Bozuhoff's office, where all the Duelists Club's documents were kept.

Lieutenant Colonel Field chose the method of "robbing undetected" because the Bozuhof villa was entirely a functional building, containing no valuables. Its defenses were similar to, or even worse than, those of a private residence, practically undefended.

Winters left the hall without making a sound, silently reciting Lieutenant Colonel Field's words: "Third-rate thieves wear night clothes to steal, first-rate thieves wear dresses to steal. The more composed and natural you appear, the safer you are."

After repeating it three times to himself, he grabbed onto a protruding piece of wood on the exterior wall of the house and climbed up.

"What a joke! If anyone sees me climbing the wall, I'd be arrested even if I were wearing a crown!" Winters cursed Lieutenant Colonel Field inwardly. After the renovations, there was only one entrance to the second floor of the villa, guarded by a servant, and only guests very close to Bozuhoff could pass through. So Winters had no choice but to climb the wall.

Thinking too much was pointless. Regardless of whether anyone was watching, Winters gritted his teeth and used all his strength to climb upwards. This was the most dangerous part of the whole plan; if he was discovered halfway up, he would be finished.

Fortunately, Winters did not hear anyone scream until he climbed onto the balcony.

Everything was going smoothly, but Winters' heart was pounding so hard he could hear it. He took a few deep breaths and carefully surveyed the balcony.

Just as Lieutenant Colonel Field had anticipated, the wooden door to the balcony was locked from the inside. Winters, as planned, pulled a thin dagger from his boot, slipped it under the door, and easily pried open the latch.

Recalling the floor plan drawn by Major Moritz, Winters walked down the corridor to Bozuhoff's office. The office door was secured with an iron lock, which Winters pried open with brute force.

Lieutenant Colonel Field had no intention of rapidly developing Winters into a skilled lock-picker, nor did he plan to stealthily copy a list. The colonel wanted to tell Bozuhoff, "If you won't give it to me, I'll get it anyway."

So Winters used brute force to pry open the lock, eventually managing to open the drawer of Bozuhoff's file cabinet. The Duelist Club didn't have a true "list of core members," and Bozuhoff wouldn't have copied the names of those core members one by one onto parchment.

Field wanted the Duelists Club's financial statements, donation records, meeting minutes, and all other documents that listed the names of people closely involved in the club.

Winters took out a polished copper plate and, under the faint green light emitted by the Light spell, searched through the documents, putting away all the ones that seemed useful.

Things were going so smoothly that Winters felt his fingers twitching with excitement.

We've got the stuff; now it's just a matter of figuring out how to leave.

Three minutes later, at the entrance to the second floor of the Bozuhof villa, the doorman opened the door for Winters with great courtesy. Winters nodded and went out.

This was the part of the whole plan that tested luck and shamelessness the most. Field was certain that these gatekeepers would only pay attention to those going in, not those going out. As long as Winters remained calm and composed, he could walk out openly and legitimately.

Winters went out into the garden and picked up a bundle of documents from the bushes. He brought out all the relevant documents, but they were too thick to carry close to his body and were too conspicuous to hold.

In a moment of inspiration, he tied the documents into a bundle and threw it out the window into the bushes in the garden.

Everything went perfectly according to plan. Winters slipped quietly into the stables, where the groom was fast asleep at the door and didn't notice him at all. He found Strong Luck, put the documents in the saddlebag, and even gave Strong Luck a piece of candy.

Now, Winters can simply return to the lobby on the first floor as usual, explain why he spent so long in the toilet by saying "I just went to check if the horses were tied up separately," and then leave with his two friends after killing some time. He can then take the documents away without anyone noticing.

Just as he was whistling as he left the stable, a man wearing a peaked hat and brown hunting attire entered. The man kicked the groom's leg, waking him up, as if to fetch the horse.

Winters subconsciously glanced at the man. The man was shorter than Winters, and the upper half of his face was covered by a hat, so Winters could only see the part below his nose.

The man's beard was messy and not the kind of beard that was deliberately grown and trimmed; it looked like he hadn't shaved for seven or eight days.

Winters thought the chin looked a bit odd, but it wasn't until he had walked about twenty steps away that he realized what was wrong: the color was off.

The man's jawline was an abnormal color, not because of the dim lighting, nor because he had grown a beard. It was a color Winters recognized very well; he had seen it on himself many times before—the bluish-purple bruise from a severe blow to the body.

Winters immediately turned and went back to the stables, striding over to the man in hunting attire. He patted him on the shoulder and asked with a smile, "Friend, is your chin injury healed?"

A normal person would turn around and look when tapped on the shoulder, but that person was startled, remained silent, and neither paid any attention to Winters nor looked back at him.

Winters then smiled and said to him, "Your sword and gun are with me. If you want them back, I can send them to you."

Winters kept a close eye on the other person's hand, and after he finished speaking, the other person clenched his fist.

Winters was initially unsure of the man's identity and was merely testing him, but upon seeing the man's reaction, he understood everything.

Without another word, Winters swung his long arm and delivered a powerful punch to the back of the other man's head. He was now certain that the guy in front of him was the assassin whose chin he had kicked.

The assassin hadn't expected Winters to suddenly attack, and was struck hard on the back of the head, instantly making him dizzy. But he had a backup plan; he turned around and forcefully threw what he was holding at Winters' face.

Winters, who was about to press his advantage, was hit in the face with grass clippings and straw fragments. Foreign objects got into his eyes, and tears streamed down his face. He couldn't see anything at all.

While Winters was speaking, the assassin secretly grabbed a handful of scraps from the manger and tricked Winters.

The coachman watched in horror as the two gentlemen began fighting before they could even finish three sentences.

Winters couldn't open his eyes; they were stinging terribly, but his fighting spirit was ignited. He lunged towards the assassin, wanting to engage in close combat, but missed.

Someone reached out and grabbed his arm, and Winters immediately tackled the person to the ground and punched them.

"Ouch, I'm the coachman, I'm the coachman!" the man who was beaten begged for mercy.

Winters had heard the assassin's voice before, unlike the one pleading for mercy. He asked, panting, "Where is that person?"

"That old man has left."

"Where did you go?"

"I don't know where it went... You'd better blow on your eyes and stop rubbing them, or something serious will happen."

The groom ran to fetch some clean water and helped Winters rinse his eyes, muttering, "No bleeding, no bleeding means it's nothing serious. Never rub your eyes if straw gets in them, those little pieces are as sharp as knives, rubbing them will ruin them..."

After the foreign object was washed away, Winters' vision finally returned. With red eyes, he asked the coachman, "Where did that person go?"

The groom shrugged: "I saw that gentleman run out of the stable."

Did he ride a horse?

"No."

Upon hearing this, Winters rushed out of the stables without saying a word and headed straight for the hall.

Bozukhov's villa is in the suburbs, and you can't go anywhere without a mount. The other party is currently in the villa.

Contel and Andrei looked on in surprise as Winters returned with wet hair and red eyes, having said he was going to the toilet.

"What's wrong with you?" Andrei asked bluntly, "Did you fall into a cesspool?"

"I..." Winters nearly died of anger: "I..."

A loud crash interrupted him as the main entrance to the hall was slammed open, and a man rushed in, shouting in panic, "We've been attacked!"

To all the readers who voted before, I bow in gratitude. Thank you to reader 20181013204343295 for the recommendation vote, thank you to reader 烟云散 for the recommendation vote, and thank you to reader 袁鸿渐 for the recommendation vote. Thank you so much!

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(End of this chapter)