Cataphracts, surviving in a world full of mods

The sturdy iron-clad wooden doors were opened early on, but Tersolius did not stop for a moment. He ignored the servants who were already standing on both sides bowing and entered the main hall of the governor's mansion in the gleaming light of his armor.

A middle-aged man with curly black hair sat on the governor's throne. His magnificent red robe was stained with wine and food scraps, and the black and yellow grime made him look extremely disheveled. His long purple silk handkerchief was also crumpled and thrown on the floor next to him.

His boots had been thrown far away, and he was barefoot on the smooth stone floor, chugging glass after glass of wine from the table. There were already more than a dozen broken bottles on the floor.

The scraping sound of armor caught his attention. The disheveled middle-aged man, dressed in fine clothes, looked up at Tersolius... then suddenly smiled and raised his wine glass in a toast to him.

Tersolius chuckled, hooked a chair over from the side with his foot, kicked it in front of the other man, and then calmly sat down.

It's time to make some things clear...

Epilogue of Chapter 136 (3)

Judging from his appearance alone, this governor would give a good impression. He would not appear incompetent or frivolous because he was too young, nor would he be too old to make people doubt his ambition. He was at the right age, full of energy and experience, and seemed capable of being entrusted with important responsibilities.

With his tall, robust physique and bright, piercing eyes, no one would question his appointment as governor. Every citizen of the city had high hopes for him... But now it seems that what he has done has not lived up to his deceptively charming appearance.

Any sound law establishes the crime before punishment. For a governor to be punished, his crimes must first be publicized. Now, after the army has taken over the city, all those attempting to incite unrest have been arrested. Those still wandering the streets after the secret order has been issued will receive a few lashes, while those committing serious crimes will be beheaded on the spot. Before long, the entire city has calmed down.

Under these circumstances, news that the provincial governor had colluded with the Iris to sell armor and weapons from the Imperial arsenal to the Kurist people spread from soldiers and officers to every corner of the city. Even beggars hiding in dark corners heard it all. The Imperial people's characteristic of being both resilient and easily agitated once again came into play. Before the governor could even finish his bottle of wine, cries for punishment of the traitor had already shaken the entire city.

Even the heavy granite and marble could not stop the sound from spreading, although it was much weaker by the time it reached their ears, like someone whispering in front of them.

Tersolius remained silent, simply watching the other drink, while the governor, after saluting him, said nothing more, merely pouring wine from his bottle one glass after another. But his bottle was long gone; he was merely making the pouring motion while simultaneously swallowing mouthfuls of air…

All the servants in the mansion had left. This man, who once enjoyed great prestige and power, was now alone, drinking water mixed with alcohol like a vagrant sitting in a dirty corner of a tavern. Even after the last drop of liquid had flowed from his cup, he was reluctant to leave and hoped to stay there a little longer.

The capriciousness of fate was on full display at this moment; his former power was long gone, and now he had nothing.

Thesolius finally made a move; he reached out and picked up a ceramic wine bottle from the ground, then turned it over to look at the markings on the bottom:

"The wine from Aratori Estate costs a quarter of its selling price to transport here... In the capital of the Empire, a single bottle could fetch 20 gold coins. If the wine production was affected that year, the price would be even higher. To be honest, even I've never tasted it. You certainly know how to enjoy yourself."

"Would you like to try some? Just a heads-up, this wine is terrible; it has a bitter and salty taste. Compared to horse piss, it's just a bit more visually appealing."

The governor, his hair plastered to his forehead, laughed and tossed the wine bottle over, as if completely unaware it was empty. Tersolius caught it, then flipped it over, letting the last drop of glistening red wine drip onto the floor.

"Unfortunately, I don't have that luck... but I think I'll still be able to taste it at the triumphant banquet in the capital."

“Oh, I almost forgot… Congratulations, General Tessolius, on another victory for the Empire. Of course, I’m not far behind; I’ll certainly get to taste the food from the Chegevne prison. To be honest, I’m quite curious about what that is…”

"Perhaps I should shatter your illusions—the prisoners there only have one meal a day of porridge made from animal offal and grains, and because the prison is so damp, the ingredients used to make the porridge often rot. Giving it to a beggar would be considered morally corrupt."

“This is terrible… but not unacceptable. I’ve eaten worse things back in the western forests when we were confronting those Doth bastards… Back then, none of us dared to go out alone. People were dying every day, their heads chopped off and stuck on branches. Our food was rotting and infested with worms, so we just boiled it all into soup—including the worms.”

The middle-aged man was lost in memories, as if the person in front of him was an old friend he hadn't seen for many years.

"Some of the insects were still white and soft, while others already had shells... Of course, after cooking, the taste wasn't much different. Some of the larger ones reminded me of a type of nut sold in my hometown, which you could chew and eat with the shell on."

"This soup has a bitter taste and a disgusting oily smell. Many people vomited and had diarrhea after eating it and died in the camp. We ate this kind of thing for two whole months... before we finally got supplies."

"It was cold and damp there, and my clothes always clung to my body. My pale yellow linen clothes eventually turned black and were covered with a thick layer of mud... Taking a bath there was a luxury, because it meant we had to take off our armor and lay down our weapons. Generally speaking, doing that was like stabbing yourself in the throat—those damned Doths were everywhere, and you couldn't expect to find a completely safe place. You could kill them all, and they would always pop up from the most unexpected places."

"After leaving that godforsaken place, I took a shower every day... but even while showering, I carried my sword with me. Just in case some guy with a short spear suddenly appeared out of nowhere."

………………

Thesoris listened quietly, even though most of what the other person said was useless nonsense, he kept staring at him calmly, as if he were looking at a white stone sculpture that was gradually crumbling.

"What a pity, I never want to eat insects again... I would rather cut my own throat than eat them again, so you're destined to have come for nothing."

"I was going to invite you for a drink, but somehow I ended up drinking it all by myself. That's really rude of me... I think you'll forgive me; such good food is rare, and I had to enjoy it all by myself..."

The young governor smiled and nodded at him, indicating that he had finished speaking. Then he slumped into a ball in his chair, closed his eyes, and began to doze off.

Thesolius stood up, glanced once more at the scattered wine bottles, then turned and left, his guards immediately following, leaving behind a single sentence that drifted onto the smooth marble floor:

"Many people on this land can't even afford to eat insects to survive. You abandoned them. You betrayed more than you can imagine... even yourself."

As the gleaming armor and cloak departed, the heavy gates slowly closed, plunging the governor into complete darkness. After a long while, only a mournful laugh could be heard…

———————————–————————————————————————————————

The empire is surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Every citizen of the Empire is instilled with the following principle from birth: enemies on all sides of this land covet their wealth, and every citizen of the Empire must contribute to stopping them, otherwise no matter how much wealth they have, it is empty and unreliable.

The empire's territory continued to expand, and news of victories never ceased, year after year. A few defeats did not extinguish the nation's enthusiasm; instead, they fueled a raging fire of anger and even fiercer retaliation. The desire for victory and glory was deeply rooted in the heart of every ambitious empireman, and each victory ignited a nationwide frenzy of celebration.

Scholars from Western countries described this country as a red flame that would never go out, forever thirsting for new fuel, wantonly licking the surrounding firewood, eager to set everything ablaze as well—it wasn't that they surrounded the empire, but rather that the empire squeezed them into this position. No one dislikes fertile, mild-climate plains that can support a large population; they simply couldn't have them.

Their covetousness for this land never ceased, but most of the time they only suffered painful defeats. Every great victory worthy of being recorded in the history of the empire would surely result in another exquisitely carved monument in the capital.

........................

Old Dornier was examining the material before him. The smooth, white boulder was hard and dense, yet fine enough to allow a skilled sculptor to unleash their creativity and talent without easily crumbling under the blows of a chisel.

Such stone typically has only two drawbacks: it is heavy and it is expensive. The high cost refers not only to the difficulty of mining and its scarcity, but also to the astronomical transportation costs. The only feasible way to transport these heavy boulders to the imperial capital is by relying on the nearby river. The various expenses along the way, such as clearing the riverbed and hiring boatmen, are enough to drive the price of this stone to an alarming level.

The rock in front of us is more than half a person tall and an astonishing 4 meters long. Moving it would require hundreds of strong workers with tools or a dozen robust livestock. Considering the potential damage during the journey, the value of this boulder is absolutely astronomical.

Dorni was one of the city’s finest sculptors and craftsmen, and many nobles considered it an honor to have him build their estates. But now, he had been given the most honorable duty—to carve commemorative columns for the two legions that had won the great victory at the Pantas Bend, recording yet another glorious victory for the Empire, by order of the Emperor and the Senate.

This is not something anyone can do, nor does anyone dare to do... The emperor's reward is certainly generous, but if this is messed up, the emperor's punishment will be equally severe. Only sculptors with sufficient confidence in themselves would want this opportunity to showcase their talent to those important figures.

He was very satisfied with the materials in front of him; there were almost no flaws. The general concept had already been completed in his mind, and he was just waiting to put it into practice on the materials in front of him. His fingers were already dancing, and he couldn't wait to pick up the hammer, chisel and other tools to break down the stone in front of him and turn it into the final magnificent building.

Besides him, three other renowned sculptors joined the effort. They also had over 200 assistants to help them complete the work, but time was still too tight—the triumphant banquet was in a month, and the commemorative column had to be moved up Mount Pisri before then. They had to begin immediately to barely finish it by that day.

With the final inspection complete, the four exchanged glances, nodded, picked up their drink buckets and brushes, and prepared to begin marking the areas. But a sudden cheer from the city made them stop for a moment—only to quickly regain their composure and begin dipping their brushes in paint to outline the areas.

Such cheers initially surprised and intrigued them, but now they no longer held any interest. Ever since the news of the great victory from the East, cheers like these had been heard almost every few minutes—usually led by some emotionally charged orators or drunkards in taverns, who would then rally the crowds and create a tidal wave of cheers.

The reason why the people of the entire capital are so excited is because this victory is not just a simple landslide victory.

Although the Kurist people were able to assemble a considerable army, considering their population size, they could be described as militaristic and wasteful. Almost every man who could ride a horse and shoot arrows had gathered under their Khan's command. While this provided them with formidable military strength, it also meant that any losses could easily cripple them and even have a significant impact on their entire population structure.

In the past, the Empire was always on the defensive when it fought against these fierce and swift-moving peoples. These peoples, who grew up on horseback, had extremely high mobility thanks to their large number of horses. They would often launch large and small invasions on the border, plunder the Empire's villages, and then flee before the defenders could react. Because of the long border between the Empire and Kurist, they often succeeded, which filled the entire Empire with anger towards these barbaric enemies from the East.

But this time their army was trapped within the Empire's territory and had to face the Empire's legions head-on—which led to a miserable defeat. Even by the roughest calculation, their losses exceeded 6%, which can be described as breaking the backbone of the Kurist people in one fell swoop, killing or wounding most of their able-bodied men. Even annihilation was not out of the question.

It's understandable that the angry crowd was so excited and elated at the sudden moment.

P.S.: Is even "alcohol" a banned word now? ...

Chapter 137 Game

The night was silent, but inside the sturdy brick house, whispers suddenly broke out, almost inaudible like mice gnawing on clothes, but soon became clearer.

Several figures wrapped in quilts and blankets suddenly began to move, then slowly unwrapped themselves and crept together by the door.

These guys were only wearing thin undershirts, some even just a pair of shorts, but everyone covered their faces with cloth, leaving only their eyes showing.

Although they looked comical, their movements were anything but sloppy. They moved without making a sound, like an agile big cat carrying only a small package on its waist, before sneaking out through the door.

They were few in number, with only three or four people in each barracks, but they all had the same destination, converging on one room along the streets and alleys of the camp.

A section of Pelydos has always been designated as a garrison for large armies, but it is not large enough to accommodate two legions, so some lucky ones are able to avoid sleeping in tents... But now it seems that they are using this opportunity to accomplish some ulterior motives.

These guys are all extremely shrewd and know the patrol teams very well. They can always hide themselves at crucial moments and not be caught on the spot by the night patrol soldiers.

Such skill is truly admirable. If they were scouting the enemy, the enemy might not even know what happened when the sentries' necks were slit. But clearly, they weren't scouting...

It looked like an ordinary house, with gray tiles and a frame made of bricks and wood, and no lights were shining out. But its side door was slightly ajar, which made people worry that something bad had happened in the dark.

These guys came into the room one after another. Before each person came in, they would knock on the door a few times, three long and two short, and they controlled the force just right so that the sound could get in but would not disturb the neighbors.

Once everyone had arrived, the gate closed, an oil lamp was lit, and the gathered people let out a small cheer. Everyone's face showed excitement as they took off the bundles on their backs, which revealed shiny coins inside.

Kochkin excitedly grabbed two silver coins and slammed them on the table. After the sound, he shrank back and lowered his head, but still spoke with boundless pride:

"This time I'm going to win back everything I lost to you before. Hurry up and put your stuff out."

With a calm smile, the bearded Warif rummaged under the cabinet for a moment before pulling out a large wooden disc, followed by several multi-sided dice.

"Have you thought this through? If you lose again, you won't even have enough money to repair your armor this month. If you're in trouble then, you can't blame anyone else."

"Of course I've thought it through! My ancestor appeared to me in a dream last night and told me that my luck today will be unstoppable! So I'm sure I'll win back everything I've invested, and I'll even get more!"

"Then I wish you good luck. Anyway, you have to accept the consequences of your bet, and no one can go back on their word."

"I've never cheated. Even when I lost badly, I still obediently paid up."

Before the two could even exchange a few words, the others had already begun to grow impatient.

"Are we starting or not? We need to get back soon. You two are just talking nonsense. Are you afraid we won't be easily exposed?"

"Yes, yes, if you get caught, you'll get whipped... and it'll be the kind of whip that's been soaked in water, and it'll tear off a layer of skin when it hits you."

Wolf didn't say anything more and placed the wooden plate on the table. The dim oil lamp in the room only illuminated a small area, and they even covered the windows with thick black cloth. Only the dice and the huge wooden plate were exposed to the light.

Just as they were showing excited expressions and preparing to get down to business, there was another knock on the door...

Kochkin felt a chill creep up his spine and into his head. He broke out in a cold sweat, which soaked his clothes in the blink of an eye.

Everyone froze, even the most excited man stood there, frozen like a statue. No one dared to open the door; they could only hope this unexpected guest would leave quickly, or at least not discover anything amiss.

But the knocking persisted relentlessly, one after another. There was no doubt that if it continued, it would attract the attention of the patrolling soldiers. The group looked left and right, and finally, Kochkin was pushed out to open the door and check the situation.

Poor Kochkin swallowed hard. He felt his legs trembling, but his instinct as an elite hunter made him subconsciously slow his steps, almost inching his way to the door where the knocking was still coming from.

There was no other choice at the moment. If the knocking continued, it would attract the patrolling soldiers, and none of them would escape. It was better to open the door and see who was coming. If it was just one or two people, there were always ways to deal with them... whether it was giving them some money, threatening them, or pleading for them, they could get away with it.

He gripped the wooden bolt and slowly moved it away from the slot, removing the last obstacle from the door, before gently pulling it open.

Bright moonlight seeped into the darkness from outside the room. The lights had long been extinguished, and everyone had hidden in the corner of the room, leaving only bright eyes peering in.

When Kochkin finally saw who was standing outside the door, his legs went weak and he could no longer support his weight. He collapsed to the ground like a bullied little girl, muttering a sigh of despair.

The mountain girl, wearing a short green cotton robe, her blonde hair still damp, was frowning as she looked at the people in the house, especially Kochkin, who was paralyzed with fear on the ground...

“You guys, what are you doing here instead of going to rest? Curfew is long over. If you keep running around in the streets, you’ll get whipped.”

Kochkin's mind was racing. Most of the people gathered here were mountain people. Although these skilled hunters had become qualified soldiers of the legion, their wild nature still made them very willing to try new things—such as a fun little game where money was involved.

Unbeknownst to them, they had formed a small gathering. Knowing that it would violate the rules, everyone was as careful as if they were tracking prey in the mountains. The news was kept secret, and even their leader was unaware.

These audacious mountain people feared two people the most—one was General Tersolius, who had followed them all the way, and the other was Colin, who had led them out of their homeland to seek a living.

They revered Tersolius's bravery and authority, and were more accustomed to obeying their leader's orders—of course, those who disobeyed were generally beaten into submission.

Now their leader had actually barged into the scene, startling everyone into a state of shock, like frogs caught in a fire, leaving them frozen in place and afraid to even make a loud breathing sound.

After a long pause, seeing the impatience on Colin's face, Kochkin, quick-witted, stammered: