Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

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Leaving Revodan and trekking two hundred kilometers east along the main road, one would arrive at Falconflower Fort.

Falconflower Fort is the capital of Mont Blanc County, located on the plains in the heart of the county, named after the iris flowers that blanket the hillsides.

As Winters was pointing out the enemy to his soldiers, one of the enemy — Captain Hudson, who oversaw intelligence at Falconflower Fort, entered a mysterious room deep within the fortress.

Inside and outside the room were like two different worlds: it was crisp and autumnal outside, while inside, mist hung in the air, warm and comfortable.

This was a single-person bath, and within the roughly two-meter-wide, three-meter-long bathtub, a man was soaking leisurely in the bath.

However, from Captain Hudson's perspective, all he could see was a head as smooth as an egg...

People generally consider long, thick, and lustrous hair to be beautiful. Many would even spend a fortune on wigs just for the sake of vanity.

Therefore, there was only one scenario that would lead a man to become bald.

That was if he tragically lost his hair and, in despair, shaved off what remained until his scalp was polished smooth.

From this minor detail, one could deduce that his heart must be as cold and unfeeling as stone.

"Colonel," Captain Hudson reported, "the Floating Bridge is ready."

The bald man referred to as "Colonel" nodded, without a word.

"Lieutenant Woods has selected a few bridge-laying spots, would you like to take a look?"

"Study it amongst yourselves," the bald colonel stretched his shoulders languidly: "By the way, what's that kid from Iron Peak County up to lately?"

A conflicted expression crossed Captain Hudson's face: "According to our informants, the rebel leader Winters Montagne has been... extorting wealth recently."

"Extorting wealth? Tell me more," the bald colonel's interest was suddenly piqued.

He turned to face Captain Hudson, revealing to him a face that had half been destroyed.

A huge dark red scar tissue covered his left cheek, as if someone had blown up his face and then haphazardly pieced it back together.

No matter how many times Hudson saw that scar, it always filled him with an intrinsic fear.

How the colonel had survived such a grave injury was even more curious.

Unfortunately, the bald man never spoke of the incident, and neither did anyone dare to ask.

"He's been forcing donations from the Revodan merchants. He's also issued numerous recorded debts, coercing the merchants from Revodan to subscribe to them. It's creating quite a stir," Captain Hudson sighed helplessly, "It's a disgrace to the Land Academy."

The bald colonel laughed heartily, causing the water to tremble.

He then made excuses for the rebel leader: "There was no other way, who made Iron Peak County so poor. He needs to fund his troops but has no money, so he has to scrape it off the merchants."

"Venetian," Captain Hudson let out a chuckle.

"Got any more intelligence? He can't just be busy scraping money together all the time, right?"

"Rebel leader Winters Montagne is also repairing walls and digging deep trenches. Looks like he wants to hunker down in Revodan and have a tough fight with us," Hudson informed.

"Given his fewer men, holding the city is the most logical strategy," the bald colonel smacked his lips and said, "But his determination to retreat into a shell makes things a bit difficult."

Hudson spoke dismissively, "I don't think he has what it takes. They say the first thing he did after breaking into Revodan was to bring in his wife. The commander is completely indulgent in pleasures. How can his troops possibly be combat effective?"

"Then how did Ronald lose?" the bald colonel asked with a sneer.

Hudson fell silent, considering his words carefully: "Rash, underestimated the enemy, bad luck…"

The bald colonel laughed again, "You might as well just say Ronald is incompetent."

Hudson looked embarrassed.

"But Ronald is not incompetent, otherwise he wouldn't have been entrusted with the military leadership of a county as a lieutenant colonel," the bald colonel mused, scratching his scalp: "Besides, considering that kid's anti-tax proclamation, he doesn't seem like someone greedy for material pleasures."

"Honestly, I don't think so either. He is from Sea Blue, how could he become so indulgent after entering Revodan? But judging by his actions, he has indeed become corrupt," Hudson remarked.

A smile crossed the bald colonel's face, "Maybe he's doing it to deliberately confuse us."

"That's a possibility."

"Either way, it doesn't matter," the bald colonel settled back into the water comfortably: "He's got just over a thousand soldiers, and what's more, they're all captive. Eight battalions striking from two sides; no matter how cunning he is, he's doomed."

Hudson nodded.

Then, he started again, "Moreover, the intelligence indicates that there's severe power struggle within the rebels. One can assume that their combat capabilities have further weakened."

"Power struggle?" the bald colonel raised an eyebrow: "Already? Are they starting a fight for supremacy now?"

"Yes, power struggle. Rebel leader Winters Montagne has been pushing aside rebel commanders Bard Gerald and Richard Mason. He's stripped them of their military power and sent them off to relocate refugees.

Another rebel commander, Andreya Chelini, has been absent for a long time; it is presumed that she died in the internal strife. The rebels are now completely dictated by Winters Montagne alone, young and vigorous, yet not understanding the need to share power, which is to be expected."

The bald colonel showed no concern for the other information; he furrowed his brow and queried, "Relocating refugees? What's that about?"

"Our informant reported that Montagne is driving the refugees around Revodan to the southwestern area of Iron Peak County. He has assigned Bard and Mason to oversee this," Hudson explained.

The bald colonel abruptly stood up from the water, unconcerned about his nudity: "The report, bring it to me."

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