Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

What does it feel like when a new sun rises in the sky?

The answer is simple: if it's the same as the previous sun, then there's no feeling at all.

That's exactly how the citizens of Revodan felt.

They watched in a daze as people left the city and others entered.

The most widespread and logically sound explanation on the streets and in the alleys went like this:

The garrison official went out of the city to suppress bandits, died;

Bandits entered the city, looted at will, chaos ensued;

The new captain chased away the bandits, became the new garrison official, all was well.

The "new garrison" didn't bother to correct this perception but reinforced it instead.

Because Winters' strategy towards Revodan was "inaction."

He only had four legitimate military officers at his disposal—Moritz and Juan were not under his command.

And among his subordinates, fewer than two dozen could read and write.

Winters was very clear that he had no capability to take over Revodan, nor did he have the intention or the need.

All he wanted was stability; as long as there was no added chaos, it was fine.

The disadvantage of the [unchanged] strategy was "no feeling."

The citizens of Revodan felt nothing, so naturally, they formed no recognition of the new regime.

Bread still had to be eaten, work still had to be done, shops still had to open.

Whatever it was like before, it remained the same now; everyone lived in peace and continued with their lives.

Not only did the citizens of Revodan feel nothing, but the sixteen towns of Iron Peak County also felt nothing.

Farmers and townsfolk in South Eight Town at least knew some news; North Eight Town hadn't even realized that Revodan had changed hands.

However, after discussing it within the group of six, Winters decided to still notify everyone.

...

Iron Peak County, Qingfeng Town, Shibi Village.

Three cavalrymen dashed into the village center like lightning, with the leading cavalryman holding aloft a green banner, signifying that he brought important news.

Following familiar procedures, the three cavalrymen first found the village chief, rang the bell, and gathered the villagers.

Many villagers, seeing the cavalrymen storm into the village, had already hidden in the forests around the settlement.

Gathering them all back would require quite an effort.

The leading cavalryman did not waste this time and, seeing that several dozen people had come to the village square,

he found a cart to stand upon and read out the announcement to the villagers of Shibi Village.

After finishing, he posted the announcement on the village square's noticeboard. Then he immediately mounted his horse and left for the next village.

After the cavalrymen left, the farmers who had run into the forest gradually returned to the village.

They gathered in the village square, looking at the announcement on the noticeboard.

The newly posted announcement was exceptionally large, occupying half of the noticeboard with a single sheet of paper.

The letters written on it were also particularly large, as if afraid the readers might make a mistake.

In the bottom right corner of the announcement, there was a huge wax seal, and even the most ignorant villager understood its meaning: whoever dared tear it down would be hanged.

The few literate individuals in the village squeezed in front of the announcement and squinted their eyes, reading it aloud for the others to hear.

...

Winters initially had no intention of writing an announcement, thinking that the farmers wouldn't be able to read, making it useless.

"You're wrong there," Bard explained with a smile. "Most farmers can't read, but there's always someone in the village who can, and they can read it out to the others. Pamphlets printed with doctrines were once a key approach by the Galen Church to recruit followers. Rest assured, they'll know what's on the announcement."

So Winters personally drafted an announcement.

After reading it, Bard laughed even more: "You can't use this kind of grammar, there are literate people in the villages, but they can only grasp the gist of it."

"Isn't this sufficient? I already simplified the syntax as much as possible."

"Writing an announcement is not a simple task; you have to write it so that even an eight-year-old child could understand," Bard's smile grew wider: "And it needs to be concise, sticking to the main points. Otherwise, by the time you finish listening, the beginning is already forgotten. It's best if it can rhyme, catchy like a nursery rhyme."

Standing aside, Andre coughed and said, "I've thought of a good line."

"What is it?"

Clearing his throat, Andre intoned, "Bite his mom! Wear his mom! The Blood Wolf comes, no tribute paid!"

"No tribute paid!" Winters crumpled the draft into a ball and hurled it fiercely at Andre: "What will you eat if you don't pay tribute!"

"Political promises, aren't they meant to be broken?" Andre said nonchalantly: "If we really take Maplestone City, would anyone dare to come ask us why we're collecting tribute?"

"Alright, stop riling him up," Bard knew the issue was actually the name "Blood Wolf."

Winters felt very wronged, truly wronged.

He had never called himself [Blood Man] or [Blood Wolf]; he wasn't one of those soldiers who took pride in a terrifying nickname.

But for some reason, his nickname kept getting worse, spreading wider and becoming more bizarre as it went.

Captain Spire had once admonished him, "If you don't want to live with an unpleasant nickname for life, then avoid getting involved in such dirty work."

He didn't take it to heart at the time, and now he deeply regretted it.

On the third day after he entered the city, the various guilds of Revodan suddenly donated a large sum of money.

Winters was initially very pleased, personally receiving and thanking the guild chairmen.

Until one of them let slip, saying this was money "for Lord Blood Wolf."

Hearing this, Winters' face immediately turned sour.

The speaker was too timid and even wet himself on the spot from fright.

In the end, it was Bard who cleaned up the mess for "Lord Blood Wolf" and later gave Winters a thorough scolding.

All in all, the word Winters least wanted to hear was "Blood Wolf."

"Still, this slogan isn't bad," said Bard with a smile, taking the paper and pen: "Let's change it to [Eat his mom, wear his mom, no tax this autumn]."

...

Yevgeny "Big Eyes" from the west end of Shibi Village cautiously lingered in the forest for an extra while.

He did not step out of the woods until he was certain that the cavalry carrying the green flags had not returned, so he was late getting back to the village.

When he finally reached the village square, he found the villagers all gathered there, chatting in groups of three or five.

The announcement had already been read, several times over.

"What's going on? What did they say?" Big Eyes Yevgeny hurriedly sought his neighbor—Ilya, a fisherman and farmer.

"I didn't quite catch it all," Ilya, scratching the back of his head, said, "It seems like the garrison in town got a new master."

"Has the village chief been replaced?"

"No."

"Has the town chief been replaced?"

"No, neither."

"Pah, what does that have to do with us peasants?" spat Yevgeny.

The farmers still left in Shibi Village were all freeholders. They had land and houses, and couldn't just up and leave like hired hands or tenant farmers.

In peaceful times, the life of a freeholder was much better off than the bottom-tier landless peasants.

But now, they were simply struggling to stay alive.

However, this did not mean they were willing to suffer exploitation—they just couldn't escape it.

"The new master is quite good; he has exempted this year's autumn grain tax," Ilya muttered, "Eat his mother's, wear his mother's, no tax this autumn harvest."

"Bullshit!" Big Eyes Yevgeny's eyes widened even more: "We're almost ready to plant the winter wheat! What's this about autumn! Besides, didn't they just send down a grain-levying squad recently to take our wheat?"

Another farmer, Pushkin, interjected, "The new master also said he wanted to eliminate the bandits."

"Which master hasn't talked about eliminating bandits? But which one has ever really taken care of it? Aren't the bandits still bullying us regardless?" Yevgeny grew angrier as he spoke, stomping his foot hard, "Damn it! What dogshit new master, he's still the same old crap, just with his pants' fly sewn at the back! Fuck!"

Several of the surrounding farmers could relate to this hurtful truth.

Bandits, taxes, and military calamities plagued the peasants who toiled hard on their lands, made to suffer oppression all year round.

In Shibi Village alone, several peasant families had been driven to desperation, fleeing their homes. Who knows whether they became soldiers, joined the bandits, or simply died.

The circle of farmers around fell silent.

"By the way," Ilya said, brightening as he told his neighbor, "the new master also said we won't have to pay the millstone tax anymore! Mill as you please, sweep as you please, anyone who wants to build can just build!"

Yevgeny was taken aback.

After standing dumbfounded for a moment, Yevgeny finally said, "Then the newcomer is a good master."

...

Winters's strategy was not just to keep Revodan "still," but also the rural areas.

"It's been too chaotic recently," Winters explained his thinking to the others, "Everyone longs for the life we had before, everyone craves for a sense of security. That's why we should first stabilize Iron Peak County, to stay as still as possible.

Besides, we have no administrative experience managing a county. If the cart ain't broke, don't go banging on it, if Iron Peak County can still function normally, we better not mess with it. Do we really need to interfere with farmers tending their fields?"

However, Winters quickly realized he was preaching to the choir.

Currently, six people could take part in the decision-making meetings: Winters himself, Bard, Andre, Mason, Moritz, and Juan.

Juan Senior and Andre simply didn't care about these issues;

Colonel Moritz always seemed sleepy during meetings;

Senior Mason was obsessed with his "horse-drawn cannon" concept, his mind filled with "where could we get a couple of real cannons."

Not to mention that Colonel Moritz and Juan Senior had their own agenda.

...

"Do you know what other tasks I have apart from collecting your corpse?" Moritz asked Winters.

"I don't know," Winters replied, "but I guess it has to do with your choice of Plan B."

Moritz then pointed at Andre and Bard and asked, "Do you know why they've been left without Vineta?"

Winters had some idea, but he didn't want to say it out loud.

"It's Vineta that wants them to stay here," Moritz sighed, "Your motherland not only doesn't want you back, they also want you to stay in Paratu. Back home in Vineta, you would just be a few more junior officers. But if you stay in Paratu, Vineta has many precious leverage points and sources of intelligence."

"Is that so?" asked Winters to Andre.

Andre nodded, his expression complex.

"Same as always, I'm not surprised," Winters numbed himself, "Neither the Paratu People nor Vineta regard us as human."

"You seem quite mature," Moritz said with a wry smile.

Winters pressed him, "So what now? Do you and Juan Senior think that this little venture of mine is a good investment opportunity, that if it grows quickly, we could contain the New Reclamation Legion and even the Red Rose of Kingsfort? That's why you've decided to go ahead with the backup plan? For Vineta?"

"Not quite, I'm helping you because I feel like it," Moritz honestly replied, "I just prefer Plan B. If we can wipe out Ronald Division in one fell swoop, there's no need to cause more harm than necessary."

"It's not that for me, I just came to take you back," Tang Juan intervened, "I'm helping you fight because I've got nothing better to do. Besides, didn't you ask for my help?"

...

In the end, Winters sorrowfully realized that in the small meeting room, the only two who really cared about the peasants were Bard and himself.

The six-person meeting became a mere formality; eventually, it was just Bard and Winters consulting each other.

"That's right," Bard agreed, "If the cart isn't broken, don't fix it. With our current capabilities, we're not equipped to control the entire Iron Peak County. So keeping everything as is would be for the best."

So, the rural areas of Iron Peak County also remained "still" for the time being.

The downside of inactivity is not feeling.

The benefit of inactivity, also, is not feeling.

People not feeling, life goes on as usual; that was precisely the outcome Winters wanted.

Citizens have no feelings, freeholders have no feelings, but that does not mean nobody else has feelings.

The refugees and disaster victims gathered outside Revodan, and the captives in Winters's hands... their lives were undergoing earth-shattering changes, leaving them deep feelings of unease, anxiety, and fear.

Because Winters wanted to "register and organize the households."