Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 578 Siege (Thirty)

At night, on the other side of Margit Island, Winters and Mason lay behind the river bank, observing the river and whispering to each other.

"Colonel Scull," Mason said, using his old rank out of habit, and quickly corrected himself, "Oh, Brigadier General Scull."

Mason asked nervously, "Does Brigadier General Skull want to call off the siege?"

Winters had no concerns when talking to his classmate, unlike when communicating with Geisa, where he had to be careful about what he was doing.

He chuckled and answered bluntly: "Anyway, according to Brigadier General Skull Mecklen, he doesn't want to stop the siege, but hopes to 'save some of the forces' to deal with possible threats. At the same time, he will draw some cavalry to monitor the river mouths in the rear to prevent the federal fleet from invading the inland river..."

Mason digested Winters' words without much effort, but his tone became more hesitant. "Then, shouldn't we call a halt to the siege?"

"Let me put it another way so as not to hurt the other general's pride," Winters smiled again, but this time, his smile was a little sarcastic. "According to that general's personality, if Brigadier General Skoll had said he wanted to withdraw his troops, then this siege would have to be fought to the end."

There is no need to say who "that person" is.

Mason bit his lip and wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't respond to Winters's words. He was kind by nature and had a psychological barrier to criticizing others.

A little below, where Bud Shiring was standing guard next to Winters and Mason, he dared not speak even more.

Behind the river bank, there were three people, two of them kept silent, and the world suddenly became quiet.

After a moment, Mason broke the silence and asked in a low voice: "So that's why Brigadier General Skull invited you back?"

"No," Winters shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Although I also believe that if I come forward, the possibility of convincing that person is higher.

“But the reason why Skull Mecklen insisted that I come back was not to make him give up the siege—he really believed that the invasion of the United Provinces Fleet was imminent and could cut off your retreat at any time.

"He needs me because he wants to fight another battle, another battle where the enemy only exists in his mind for the time being."

Mason was silent for a moment, frowned slightly, and asked, "Do you support Brigadier General Skull's judgment?"

Winters spread his hands slightly in self-mockery, "Look where I am now?"

Mason was somewhat unwilling, and inevitably fell into self-doubt. He swallowed his saliva, moistened his dry throat, and asked hoarsely, "But... Commodore Skoll's guess is too... far-fetched. Just because he was harassed by a few warships, he gave up the siege of the Castle of the Kings? So much blood and sweat, is it in vain..."

"It hasn't come to that yet." Winters immediately calmed down the senior after noticing that he was a little upset. He explained, "I have reservations about Brigadier General Skull's judgment."

"Then why did you..."

"The key point is not whether the enemy will do this, but whether the enemy has the ability to do so," Winters explained his point of view. "It is true that the United Provinces Fleet has controlled the Jinliu River. It is also true that the United Provinces Fleet has been more active along the coast of Mirror Lake and Xilin Province.

"Although Skull Meklen is always overly cautious, we should indeed consider the possibility that the warships of the United Provinces will invade the Anya River or any navigable river behind us and cut off our retreat."

"But how can the Southern Army have so many troops?" Mason's breathing became rapid. "They only have..."

"Less than three thousand people," Winters said the last words almost at the same time as the senior.

Mason heard Winters' skepticism about the number, so he stopped talking and waited for Winters to continue.

"Less than 3,000 people. You know it, I know it, General Geisa knows it, General Skull in the rear knows it, and even that idiot who ran out to surrender knows it," Winters frowned, "So is this intelligence still credible?"

Mason thought for a moment and asked, "Since everyone knows about it, doesn't that just prove that this information is accurate?"

Winters coughed dryly.

Now it was Winters' turn to fall silent. After a while, he readily admitted, "You are right. If the information from all sides can confirm each other, then the fact that there are less than 3,000 people from the Federation in the city should be true."

But Winters still couldn't dispel the dark clouds in his heart. He unconsciously stroked his stubble, scratching his jaw without knowing it. "But I always feel something is wrong. The deployment of troops is related to the life and death of an army. How could such important information be handed over to us so easily? It's like, it's like someone handed it to us with both hands."

"There are no secrets in the city," Mason whispered a proverb.

"Where does the secret come from?" Winters asked.

This question stumped Mason, but only for a short while. After taking over the siege, he memorized all the documents he had seen.

After cross-checking, Mason bit his nails and slowly gave the answer: "The Southern Front itself."

"That's what I want to say," Winters finally saw the same dark cloud in the senior's eyes. He struck while the iron was hot and poured out all his doubts at once. "If it weren't for the fact that the Southern Front only had four battalions, we wouldn't have rushed to the Castle of the Kings without filling the vacancies.

“We will not launch a siege on the Castle of the Kings when the rear is still unstable.

"I would not have gritted my teeth and persevered until today despite the unfavorable situation in the early stage."

Winters' eyebrows were almost twisted into a knot. "However, the information that 'the enemy only has four battalions', the premise of all our actions, came from the enemy itself. This is too wrong."

Mason fell into deep thought. He bit his nails, stared at the slope of the river bank, and nodded instinctively.

Winters couldn't find any effective feedback from the senior, so he turned to the second battalion commander and asked, "What do you think, Bart?"

Bart Shiring, who was listening attentively at the side, obviously did not expect that he would be called.

But he was not at a loss. After taking some time to organize his words, Bart Xia Ling spoke calmly.

"I think you have a point," Bart Shiring agreed, then suddenly changed the subject and asked his centurion a dangerous question, "But is it possible that your doubts and uneasiness are actually due to your opposition to the siege of the Kings' Castle?"

Hearing this, Mason stopped biting his nails and looked at Winters.

Winters was so angry that he laughed, "You mean, because I opposed the siege of the Castle of the Kings, I found all kinds of excuses for myself and became suspicious of everything?"

"That's not quite what I mean," Bart Shiring said, modestly but firmly. "But that's pretty much what I mean."

As soon as these words came out, Mason immediately felt that it was a bit too much.

There is a trend in other people's impression of "Winters Montagne": the farther away they are, the more terrifying "Wolf's Blood" seems to them; the closer they are to him, the more easy-going they think "Mr. Montagne" seems to them.

However, when you get close to where Richard Mason is, the feeling is different.

The longer they spent together and the closer they became, the more clearly Mason realized that what Winters Montagne had never changed, despite all the hardships, was his fiery temper; that terrible rage had never subsided, but the "Blood Wolf" tried hard to bury it and only released it on his enemies.

So, Mason coughed lightly, frowned, and scolded him first, "Captain Xia Ling, please be tactful when speaking."

Bart Shiring immediately raised his hand in salute and bowed his head.

The three of them fell into a suffocating silence. Not only Bart Shilling, but even Mason felt like a thorn in his back. After a while, Winters let out a long breath, and the other two people's tense nerves finally relaxed.

Winters was a little frustrated, but he still admitted it openly: "Bart is right... I can't fool myself. I am really against the siege of the Castle of the Kings now."

Mason said "Huh", raised his eyebrows and asked, "Didn't you just say that you have reservations about Brigadier General Skull's judgment?"

"I have reservations about Brigadier General Skull's judgment," Winters replied softly, "but I oppose the siege of Kings Castle now, not because of Brigadier General Skull's reasons."

"Why is that?" Mason couldn't hide his curiosity.

Winters was silent for a moment, "I can't bear to see my people die in a place like this."

Mason and Bart Shiring were both horrified.

Winters looked at the dark Margit Island, which swallowed up many lives. "So many soldiers came all the way here, they didn't have to die here. They should have become the backbone of the New Republic's army and the heart of the New Republic, instead of being consumed in the trenches.

"The Castle of the Kings is just an isolated city. There are obviously better ways to conquer it. What if we leave it to the people of the Federation? As long as we take over Xilin Province, Donglin Province, and Beilu Province, as long as we can draw more strength from the Galloping Horse Country, as long as we advance steadily - the Castle of the Kings will be ours sooner or later."

Mason lowered his head. He knew Winters wasn't criticizing him, but the feeling of self-blame still overwhelmed him.

"There will always be casualties in war," Bart Shiring said calmly. "We know that, and your men know that, Centurion."

"But now, at this moment, at this moment," Winters' words were like a knife, stabbing at himself, "under these unsuitable, inadequate, and unstable conditions, storming the Castle of the Kings is not based on military considerations, but on damned politics.

  "Because Matthias Kerwin triumphed in the North Foothills;

“Because Geza Adonis doesn’t want Matthias Kerwin to go any further, he must capture the Castle of the Kings before Matthias Kerwin returns triumphantly.

"Because I allowed them to do this, to put their own selfish interests above the lives of others."

For the first time, Mason saw an expression of "pain" on Winters' face.

He had seen the word "pain" many times, but this was the first time he had seen the word "suffering".

Winters, he realized, blamed himself more than he did.

“I thought I was taking the right path,” Winters said sadly, “but now I regret it.”

"If you had chosen another path," Bart Shiring responded calmly, "there would have been the same number of casualties, perhaps even more."

"Are you making excuses for me?" Winters pursed his lips. "Bart Shiring."

"No, I am your subordinate, I am not qualified to excuse you," Bart Shilling said seriously and solemnly, "I just want to tell you that I have never blamed you. I wanted to say that no one blames you. But I don't know what others think. I only know that I understand and accept my fate. I am willing to fight for you, no matter where you lead us, no matter when death comes - even in the next second, I will not regret it, let alone blame you for it. So you don't need to blame yourself, you just need to guide the direction."

“There is no such thing as destiny,” Winters said.

"Yes," Bart Shiring's attitude was as usual, humble but firm.

Winters repeated, "No."

Bart Xia Ling stopped talking, but it was obvious that he had not changed his mind. He just didn't want to refute Blood Wolf anymore.

"So," Mason asked, "what should we do next? Should we withdraw our troops? Go south or west?"

"Even if it's a bad move, we have to keep going," Winters' eyes had become firm again. "If we withdraw blindly, it will be just like what you said - all that blood and sweat will be in vain. So, I have to go to the island first, to the front line, and take a closer look with my own eyes before making a decision."

"You can go to the island," Mason suddenly became nervous, "but we have agreed that you are not allowed to participate in the battle."

"Okay," Winters nodded.

"Absolutely not," Mason emphasized.

Winters nodded again.

Mason was almost crying. "You can't afford any mistakes right now. Why don't you understand?"

"I understand," Winters looked at the senior, "I promise."

Mason hesitated.

Winters turned to look at the second battalion commander again, "As for your question... yes, I am against the siege of the Castle of Kings now. However, I am sure that my doubts and uneasiness are not because I am against the siege of the Castle of Kings."

"That means the intelligence is indeed suspicious," Bart Shiring nodded decisively. "It must have been given to us by the enemy on purpose."

Now it was Winterston's turn to be speechless.

"If it was Tamas, he would just say 'yes'," Winters feigned anger and said angrily, "You, man, no wonder you are the second battalion commander."

Bart Shilling raised his head: "But only under your command can I become the 'Second Battalion Commander'."

Winters was completely defeated.

After a while, he looked at Margit Island in the dark night and said to himself, “I don’t know how to explain it to you.

"I had no idea of ​​Jason Cornelius's conducting style, and I knew as little about him as he knew about me.

"But this feeling is like an ink spot on a blank parchment. No matter how hard you try, it can't be wiped off. It stays there, making every inch of my skin, every tendon, and every bone itch..."

Hearing Winters' description, Mason also felt vaguely unwell.

Bart Shiring nodded repeatedly with a serious look on his face.

As he was speaking, a sentry came trotting over from the south, crouching on the river bank.

Seeing the sentinel, Winters, Mason and Bart Shilling all stood up.

The sentry walked lightly and made almost no noise until he came to Bart Shiring and reported a few words in a low voice.

Bart Shiring nodded and turned to look at the centurion.

"The boat is coming," he said.

  [There are only two updates this week, I'm very sorry, Orz]

[I am not worthy of being a human being]

[This chapter has too many monologues. I haven’t been able to sort out Winters’ inner world, so no matter how I write, it feels awkward, so I’m stuck. Plus, I’ve been busy with work lately, so I didn’t have time to sort out my thoughts until the weekend.]

[This version may not be the best, smoothest, or most reasonable, but he is indeed sad and regretful, and can't help but wonder if he could have a better outcome if he had been more resolute. If he hadn't been so obsessed with uniting all parties, could he have avoided these unnecessary sacrifices?]

[Let’s stop here and turn the page, let the story continue, let the sun rise again, and let the monsoon blow across the land of Palatine again]

[Thank you for your companionship and support]

[Thanks to every book friend for collecting, reading, subscribing, recommending, monthly tickets, rewards and comments. Thank you all]