Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 62 Guards' Loggia
"Wow! It's a Sabine woman statue! How did the ancients manage to carve stone with the texture of gauze?" Anna, sporting a comical little mustache, strolled happily through the mercenary gallery. "And this one too, look at the lines of her body, so beautiful!"

However, Winters seemed somewhat distracted at this moment, responding to Anna's every word with "uh-huh," while he leaned on the hilt of his sword and protected the girl disguised as a man.

The Loggia dei Guard is a long arcade adjacent to Parliament Square, built during the imperial period. In the past, the emperor's messengers read out decrees from the top of the arcade, and petitioners were received inside.

Because this loggia symbolizes the emperor's majesty, it was not only built to a very high height, but also contains several sculptures created by famous artists. Next to the loggia was the former barracks of the royal guards, hence its name, the Loggia of the Guards.

After the War of Sovereignty, the Republic of Venetia inherited this promenade. Although some important public ceremonies—such as the swearing-in of governors—are still held here, it is now simply a place for citizens to relax and cool off; it is no longer an inviolable royal forbidden ground.

Elizabeth, always eager for chaos, readily agreed to be Anna's messenger. As payment for providing the designs, Anna instructed Winters to arrive at Madame Anguisola's studio at nine o'clock sharp that morning with two horses.

And so Winters was greeted by Miss Anna, dressed in men's clothing and sporting a mustache.

"I skipped class!" Anna's big eyes were full of excitement. "Take me to the Loggia! Did you bring the horse?"

“I brought it, but I didn’t bring the lady’s side saddle,” Winters said apologetically. “Why don’t you wait while I go find a carriage?”

Sitting with legs spread wide on a saddle is considered very impolite for a lady, hence the existence of side saddles specifically for women. But Anna happily mounted the horse: "No need, I've been wanting to try what it feels like to sit upright for a long time."

At this moment, in the guard corridor, Winters looked at Anna admiring the statue and suddenly felt a sense of unreality, as if the fierce battle at Haidong Port the night before last was just a dream.

On the street, a wheelbarrow worker and a mule cart vendor were arguing fiercely; in a carriage rumbling by, a lady curiously pulled back the curtain to look around; and a well-dressed gentleman ignored them and rode by slowly.

Pedestrians were busy making a living, while Anna was engrossed in her sculpting. It was another ordinary day in Blue City, but the soldiers could already smell the increasingly pungent odor of gunpowder and blood.

When the battlefield was cleared the night before last, more than 600 corpses were counted. The attackers who were entrenched in the shipyard tried to escape to the sea in small boats, but most of them were caught up by the cavalry and killed from behind.

Without any torture, the prisoners uttered a name: Captain Drake. A prominent member of the Plantation Owners' Union, Captain Taneria, and a fearsome pirate on the Inner Seas.

This was a premeditated attack. The pirates took advantage of the high tide to sail ashore in small boats in batches and hid in the forest east of Haidong Port. Two days later, on a night with a howling south wind, they launched their attack.

A group of pirates launched a feigned attack on the dock. While the defenders of the Duck's Beak Fortress went to reinforce the dock, another group of pirates, who had been lying in ambush outside the fortress, seized the opportunity to capture it.

Subsequently, the two groups of pirates attacked from both sides and together defeated the defending troops.

Immediately afterwards, the pirates set fire to the docks and seized the warships anchored in the harbor.

After the warships returned to their home port, most of the sailors had gone ashore to rest. Only a small number of crew members remained on the warships, and in their panic, they were unable to organize any effective resistance.

The brave sailors on the three warships repelled the pirates and attempted to sail their ships away from the harbor. Two of them were sunk by the heavy cannons of the Duckbill Fortress at the narrowest point of the bay's exit, while the third was ambushed by pirate ships hiding outside the bay after sailing out and its whereabouts remain unknown.

The sailors on the other warship held out in their cabins, unable to sail away, and the pirates dared not disembark. The brutal pirates eventually set the warship ablaze.

Two warships in the dock were towed ashore to have barnacles removed from their hulls. The pirates couldn't drag them back into the sea, so they simply burned them as well.

The pirates killed all the sailors on the remaining four warships and, taking advantage of the strong south wind, sailed the four warships away from Haidong Port.

Within two hours, of the ten warships in the East Harbor of the Venetta Navy, four were captured and six were burned.

The last intact warship in the harbor was none other than the Imperial warship "Virtue," which Winters had been responsible for welcoming that day. Dozens of loyalist soldiers remained on board the Virtue, much to the dismay of the pirates who sought to seize it.

Meanwhile, the captain of the USS Merdeka calmly assessed the situation and did not blindly leave the bay. Since the fortifications had changed hands, most of the gun emplacements were now facing the bay entrance, with fewer pointing directly at their own port. The captain of the Merdeka decided that rather than plunging headlong into the open sea where the enemy situation was unclear, it was better to maneuver the fortifications within the bay.

In fact, by the time the officer cavalry unit that had set out from the Eastern Camp arrived at Haidong Port, most of the pirates had already fled. Capturing even a real warship was a huge windfall, and any pirate who boarded a naval vessel had only one thought: to get rid of it.

The pirates who remained in the shipyard were the abandoned foes who hadn't boarded any ships. They were still looting and setting fires in the harbor when they turned around and found that all the ships had sailed away. Most of them were trapped in the shipyard, while a small number remained at the fortified position.

That's how Winters witnessed the scene: a lone warship exchanging fire with the Duckbill Fortress in the bay; a warship burning fiercely on the dock, with sailors battling the enemy in the shipyard.

Antonio told Winters, "War is a means, not an end."

But now, there is no other option but war.

The entire city of Aquamarine is now aware of the attack on the naval port. Soon, the entire city of Veneta, and even the entire Allied Nation, will know the news.

In just one night, the Venetian navy lost half its ships. This was an undeclared attack, and regardless of whether the Federation instructed Captain Drake, the Venetian regime had already concluded that the Tanilian Federation had attacked East Harbor.

For the first time since the War of Sovereignty, Veneta has reconvened a general assembly of all citizens' representatives. Messengers race along the main roads, carrying the news that citizen representatives from various cities are gathering in Aquamarine City.

The governor will speak at the general assembly of citizens, but everyone already knows what he is going to say.

"war!"

The prices of iron, copper, sulfur, and nitrates are skyrocketing, with a new price every minute;
The navy is forcibly requisitioning all armed merchant ships it can find, offering high daily wages to recruit sailors, and conscripting all available prisoners.

The Army Reserve received a call-up order, and officers who had been placed in various sinecure positions were assigned to new posts in the military.

The Third Army Corps was quickly replenished from half its usual strength to full strength; a reserve army corps had already established its officer corps, waiting only for the reserve soldiers to be replenished.

The pro-war faction originally intended to use the dockside assassination to pressure the ruling council, but that is no longer necessary. The dockside assassination and the functions of the headquarters guards have been transferred to the Blue City Garrison Headquarters, and the Army Headquarters Military Police Department has been abolished.

Lieutenant Colonel Field, Major Moritz, Warrant Officer Winters, and many other officers who had been sidelined were reassigned to new posts. Lieutenant Colonel Field and Major Moritz went to the Reserve Corps to lead troops, while Winters was sent by Antonia to the Third Corps for training.

Venetta's war machine was already in motion, and all officers were merely cogs in it. No one could control their own destiny, not even a lowly warrant officer.

As the whirlpool began to turn, Winters found himself being dragged along by the current. All his effort in investigating the dockside assassination had been for naught. Perhaps, to the powerful, it was just another round of political maneuvering.

He suddenly began to envy Andrei's carefree personality: "Don't think too much, just do whatever we're told." Perhaps Andrei was more suited to be a soldier than himself.

"What are you standing there thinking about?" Anna waved her hand in front of Winters' face, interrupting his thoughts. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

“Of course.” Warrant Officer Montagne snapped out of his reverie and subtly changed the subject: “You brought me here just so I could come with you to the Loggia? Haven’t you been to the Loggia before?”

The Loggia is a landmark in Blue City. Winters often played here with his friends since he was a child, or made appointments to meet here. He didn't understand why they had to go to such lengths just to stroll around the square.

“How could a lady come to a place like this? These statues are all…all…that…” Anna blushed and spoke softer and softer, until the last few sentences were completely inaudible.

Winters glanced at the marble and bronze sculptures around him, the primary sexual characteristics of the male statues displayed nakedly in public: "Naked?"

Anna gave a soft "hmm".

"You knew she was naked, yet you still came to see it?"

Anna, who was shy just a second ago, kicked Winters hard in the shin.

Warrant Officer Montagne nimbly dodged: "How can you be so barbaric?"

Anna said angrily, "I am here as a man now."

"You really don't think that people won't recognize you as a woman just because you're dressed like this?" Winters retorted.

"Anyway, don't treat me like a woman right now."

Winters gave a slight bow: "Mr. Navarre, please stay here and enjoy the show. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

"Don't go." Anna quickly grabbed Winters' sleeve: "How could you take a woman... Anyway, it's not safe here... We agreed that I would draw you and you would be my bodyguard, are you going to renege on your promise?"

“This is Parliament Square.” Winters chuckled. “This is probably the safest place in all of Veneta. What’s unsafe about it?”

Anna released her grip, sat on the stone pedestal of the statue, and whispered, "You wouldn't understand. You're a man; you're safe wherever you are." As she spoke, Anna buried her head in her arms, lost in thought.

Winters sighed, turned and left.

A few minutes later, he returned, carrying two large cups.

Anna looked up and realized she was all alone in the guardhouse gallery; she was frantic. Seeing Winters return, she angrily kicked Warrant Officer Montagne in the shin again: "You really left? Where did you go?"

“Aren’t you a man now? I’ll treat you to a man’s drink.” Winters casually sat down on the stone pedestal of the statue and handed the cup to Anna.

Anna paused for a moment, then sat down on the edge of the stone platform and took a small lick: "Sweet?"

“Sweet beer, without hops, so it can’t be stored for long. It’s all brewed and sold fresh.” Winters himself took a big gulp. “When I was in elementary school, I used to come to the veranda with my friends to drink sweet beer. I never thought that six years later, that beer lady would still be selling this stuff.”

Winters took another sip and smacked his lips. "It just tastes a little different now. The one I remember tastes better."

"So, do you still come here with your friends to drink sweet beer?" Anna asked Winters, holding her glass with both hands and taking small sips.
Winters shook his head, thinking of Benway hiding at a farm in the suburbs: "There's no chance now, my friend is... very busy."

A cool breeze was blowing as the two sat silently in the corridor, drinking sweet wine.

Anna suddenly adopted Winters's relaxed sitting posture, no longer carefully keeping her legs together, but comfortably stretching them out. Leaning back against the statue's base, she stretched contentedly.

Winters extended his glass to Anna, who was taken aback at first, then smiled and clinked glasses with him.

She looked toward Parliament Square and said softly, "Thank you. This may be the only time in my life I'll have the chance to see these sculptures in person at the Loggia dei Guard."

“Give me the design, I’ll do the work for you, a fair trade.” Anna’s sudden change in attitude made Winters uncomfortable. He raised his glass and took a small sip of wine to hide his embarrassment.

“Actually, I envy you,” Anna whispered. “Because I’m a woman, I can’t go to see anatomy, I can’t look at models, I can’t look directly at nude statues. No matter how well I paint, I can only display them in my bedroom. No art dealer will buy paintings by female painters. Even Mrs. Anguilla can only paint portraits. I’ve only seen these sculptures in paintings before. Although they are in Parliament Square, and I’ve driven past here many times, I’ve never gotten out of the car and walked here.”

"Actually, just like now, you can come anytime you want."

“That’s because I had… guards with me, that’s why I dared to come here.” Anna said somewhat angrily, “Mr. Montagne, you still don’t understand! For a lady, there is no safe place outside of home.”

"Who told you that?" Winters couldn't help but laugh again.

“My mother! And other respectable ladies!”

Winters felt that Anna was a contradiction, with a free and unrestrained side, yet constantly restraining herself.

He finished the rest of the sweet beer in his glass, then took Anna's glass. Anna stood there, stunned, watching in disbelief as the man in front of her downed his glass of sweet beer in one gulp.

Winters then returned the cup, then led Anna on her horse, turning several corners in the alleys near Parliament Square, until they arrived at a small open space.

Anna was led by Winters, somewhat bewildered, to the grassy area between the houses.

"Alright, this is it. This is where we used to practice swordsmanship." Winters said with satisfaction, planting a stake in the ground and tying the two horses to their places.

"Why did you bring me here?" Anna asked warily, her arms crossed over her chest.

Winters waved his hand: "Don't worry, I'm not interested in men."

Anna was both angry and embarrassed, and pretended to kick Winters again.

Winters unsheathed his sword, drew it, and handed it to Anna, while holding the sheath in his own hand.

This is a typical ceremonial straight sword, short, light, and narrow, but it is also a true bladed weapon.

But Anna didn't reach out to take it.

Winters said earnestly, “Miss Anna, I agree with you. There is a natural difference in physical strength between men and women. Although there are weak men and strong women, if most men in this world want to harm you, you won’t have much of a way to deal with them. But I can teach you some swordsmanship for self-defense in a crisis. I hope you never have to use it.”

After saying that, he placed the ceremonial sword into Anna's hand.

“There’s only one thing I want to teach you—courage.” Winters pointed to his chest, throat, and eyes: “Many times it’s not about skill, it’s about courage. As long as you dare to stab these spots hard enough, you’ll be seriously injured if not killed. Come on, try stabbing me.”

With that, Winters stood in front of Anna, sword sheath in his right hand.

"What are you thinking? Do it!" Winters adopted Instructor Nal's tone: "I'll let you stab me."

Anna was almost in tears: "I...I'll practice on a mannequin when I get home, okay?"

"Will the dummy fight back? Will the dummy bleed?" Winters rebuked sternly. "Wasn't that Aphrodite in the form of the goddess of war painted by you? When it comes to yourself, you're cowardly?"

"You...you know?"

“I didn’t use any [swear words that you absolutely shouldn’t say in front of a lady]!” Winters snapped. “Stop it!”

Anna closed her eyes and thrust out.

……

……

In Madame Anguisola's studio, Elizabeth looked at Anna, whose eyes were red and swollen, and asked in surprise, "What happened now? My brother isn't a bad person, there must be some misunderstanding..."

Anna shook her head, but then she thought about what Winters had said when he brought her back.

……

"What's wrong with you, bursting into tears so easily..."

Anna sat on her horse, wiping away her tears, without saying a word.

"So what if I knocked the sword away? That's a common thing in sword practice."

Anna remained silent.

Winters asked cautiously, "After today, will the accounts for those drawings be settled?"

"I gave you ten paintings, and you served as my bodyguard for half a day. Can we call it even?"

"Sigh, is there anything else you need me to do? Let's talk about it all at once," Winters said helplessly. "Actually, I still suggest you convert it to silver coins; I can pay you directly that way."

Hearing this, Anna angrily asked, "You really don't want to see me again? I don't want to see you again either!"

“No, that’s not it, Miss Anna.” Winters gave a bitter smile. “I’m going to war. If I don’t come back, you won’t be able to collect this debt… You see, although men are safer than women, sometimes men have to go to the most dangerous places, don’t they?”

Actually, it's the Mercenary's Gallery, but to fit the setting and for reasonable avoidance, the one in Aquamarine City is the Guard's Gallery. I'll add more pictures when I have time. I've been writing so late these past two days, I feel like I'm going to die if I keep going like this. I'll definitely be asleep before midnight tomorrow.

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to all the readers who voted for the book before. Thank you to the reader whose name I don't know, thank you to writersblock, thank you to 烟云散, thank you to 20181013204343295, and thank you to 哔数自在人心 for your votes. Thank you everyone.

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(End of this chapter)