Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Faced with the young junior officer's doubt, Pierre remained noncommittal and countered with a military strategy: "Then, it was Alder Felter who announced your army's disastrous defeat in the main battle."

"Of course not, Major Felter is still vehemently trying to block the intelligence. But Green Valley Town is so small, is there any wall that doesn't leak? Within a night, everyone knew a 'Lieutenant Batori' escaped from the other side of the mountains."

The young junior officer sighed: "However, I still can't figure it out, where did you find someone who could deceive the major like that?"

"Did you meet 'Lieutenant Batori'?" Pierre asked.

"No." The young junior officer was a bit impatient: "Didn't I say that Major Felter is trying hard to block the news?"

"Then why are you so sure that 'Lieutenant Batori' is a fake sent by me?"

"Why?" The young junior officer snorted lightly: "Because it's too real, so real that it can't be falsified — the nineteenth session? Off by five sessions from the major, and three from us, just enough to have no overlap."

Pierre cooperated by acting as a listener, waiting for the other party to continue speaking.

"The identity from the Fifth Legion is also very clever, as if knowing in advance that there were only Sixth Legion troops in Green Valley Town."

Pierre nodded, asking: "Anything more?"

The young junior officer simply sat back on the large rock, fully opening up the conversation: "None of the messengers sent by the major to Maplestone City returned. The regular contacts that should have been sent from Maplestone City have yet to be delivered. In other words, once you leave Green Valley, it's all your territory. If you can sever the communication line between Green Valley and Maplestone City, how could you miss a few exhausted, battered, retreating soldiers?"

"Negligence is inevitable."

The young junior officer scratched the back of his head in frustration, continuing to speak to himself: "But I really can't understand, how did you deceive Major Felter? You can send people to impersonate stragglers, you can send people to impersonate civilians, but you can't send someone to impersonate a professional military officer from the Land Academy. Major Felter has countless ways to verify authenticity, but somehow, he was completely fooled by you."

Pierre shrugged: "Perhaps I didn't deceive him at all."

"Oh come on! Mr. Michel! To this point, you might as well be a bit more honest." The young junior officer stood up, scrutinizing Pierre with eyes like torches: "Did the main battle truly have a result? Did you really win? Did Senior Montaigne really lead the main force away? Or are they still lurking outside Green Valley, waiting for the opportunity to annihilate Major Felter?"

Standing by and listening, Vashka finally couldn't hold it anymore and shouted angrily: "You're really strange! What real or fake? Why should we deceive you? What does the truth or falsity have to do with you? Stop the nonsense! Let's go to the Prisoner Camp and think it over slowly!"

The young junior officer didn't pay any attention to Vashka, staring straight at Pierre.

Pierre was silent for a moment, then answered: "My colleague is right, what does real or fake have to do with you?"

Pierre also scrutinized the young junior officer: "From what standpoint are you asking?"

The young junior officer stared at Pierre for a long time, as if trying to find clues from the subtleties of his body language.

Finally, he bent down, resting his eyebrow on his palm, and moaned lowly: "So... so the squad leader really won the decisive battle."

The next second, he suddenly raised his head, looking at Pierre with a complicated expression, clenching his fist then loosening it: "I overestimated you — Mr. Michel, you made a serious mistake!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pierre and Vashka heard the faint sound of horse hooves coming from behind. Vashka turned his head, seeing a light cavalryman rapidly approaching their location from upstream.

The young junior officer unconsciously became anxious: "Not only did you let Major Felter obtain vital military information, but you also let him clarify your strengths and weaknesses. Major Felter has realized that you are only a small group of isolated light cavalry, and that the main force of the Iron Peak County Military is not in Green Valley at all – this is tantamount to removing the blade hanging over the major's head!"

Pierre remained unmoved, while Vashka only felt confused: "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" The young junior officer laughed coldly: "It means you've played all your cards, and now it's Major Felter's turn to play his hand."

During the conversation, the light cavalryman from upstream had already arrived beside them.

The light cavalryman dismounted gracefully, quickly walking to Pierre's side, whispering a few words. Pierre didn't speak, just made a gesture, and the light cavalryman immediately returned.

Listening to the hooves fading away, Pierre glanced at the young junior officer whose gaze carried a hint of provocation, then looked at the increasingly confused Vashka, and said calmly: "The garrison from Green Valley is out."

"Good," Vashka exclaimed, slapping his thigh, exhaling deeply: "Finally talking about something I can understand."

"Quite a stir," Pierre glanced again at the young junior officer: "At least two battalions, a thousand people, heading downstream."

Vashka exclaimed "Huh," instinctively looked around, suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing: "That major, could he be trying to trap us here, and then 'shut the door and hit the dog'?"

The terrain of Green Valley as a whole resembles a pea pod, with the hills on both sides of the Niuxi River like the pod, and a series of settlements along the river, including Green Valley Town, like the peas.

The "peas" are the flattest areas, most suitable for agricultural development. Conversely, the areas between the "peas" are naturally those rugged, uncultivatable lands – equally impassable.

As long as the exits upstream and downstream are controlled, each settlement becomes a natural cage.

"Major Felter only needs to close the door," the young junior officer answered coolly: "Whether you get hit or not, that's up to you."

"Who are you calling a dog?!" Vashka always reacted quickly to such things.

Pierre signaled Vasya to quiet down, staring at the young junior officer, and asked once again: "So which side are you on?"

"I'm already a prisoner, what does this war have to do with me?" The young junior officer didn't answer directly. He raised his hand to point to the exit on the other side of the valley: "I suggest you go directly downstream. Although it's a long way around, it's very safe. Major Felter doesn't have cavalry, he can't catch up with you."

Vashka realized: "That gap, it was supposed to be blocked by you, right?"

"Vasya." Pierre said no more, raising his hand to gather his subordinates: "Take two tents' worth of people and escort this... His Excellency the Lieutenant and the other prisoners downstream."

Vashka also didn't ask further, nodded simply, and began selecting personnel from the assembled cavalry.

Pierre also started assigning tasks to the light cavalry, leaving the young junior officer and other prisoners momentarily neglected.

The young junior officer perplexedly observed the actions of the Iron Peak County light cavalry, and it was his turn to realize belatedly.

"You guys... you... you're not going to..." When the light cavalry dispersed to their respective tasks, the young junior officer finally noticed something was wrong and stammered in shock: "You're not going to engage in battle, are you?"

Pierre ignored the young junior officer, turned around, grabbed the saddle, and mounted the horse.

"Let's go." Vashka grabbed the young junior officer, deliberately emphasizing the words: "Your Excellency!"

The young junior officer shook off Vashka's arm and in a quick step, grabbed the reins of Pierre's warhorse: "With just a handful of cavalry, you want to defeat six units?!"

Pierre still ignored the young junior officer, nodding to signal Vashka to take him away.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" The young junior officer became impatient again: "I'm telling you, you managed to cut off communication lines because Major Felter is wary of Montaigne's main force. Without the intelligence advantage, you can't even handle the two units coming your way. From the moment Major Felter learns about the main battlefield, the initiative is no longer in your hands."

The young junior officer clutched the reins tightly, eyes wide, speaking quickly and urgently: "Do you think starving Major Felter with a blockade is possible? If Major Felter decides to retreat firmly, your light cavalry wouldn't be able to stop him. Even if Green Valley runs out of food, Major Felter can get supplies from other villages and towns along the way."

"Your Excellency the Lieutenant." Pierre politely requested: "Please leave with Mr. Morozov. He will ensure your safety."

For the first time, the young junior officer carefully observed Pierre Mitchell - a man about his age, similar in height, but upon closer inspection, one could see the marks of battle fire beneath the calm demeanor.

When he met Pierre Mitchell's deep eyes, the young junior officer was startled, instinctively letting go of the reins: "Did you destroy the villages and towns between Green Valley and Maplestone City too?"

"Not yet." Pierre replied calmly: "But will do if necessary."

With that, Pierre tugged the reins and gave a gentle whip, ready to leave.

The young junior officer hesitated for a moment, took half a step forward, and asked again: "Since that's the case, why are you still fighting Major Felter here?"

Pierre reined in his horse, turned around, and solemnly told the young junior officer: "The deserter wasn't impersonated by my men, nor was that 'Lieutenant Bato'—I didn't even know his name before this. However, you were wrong about one thing; they weren't 'allowed' past me, they were deliberately 'let' through by me."

Pierre paused for a second, then continued: "You also got another thing wrong. I don't just have 'a handful' of cavalry; I have two squadrons. Though still not much, for Alder Felter's kind of soldiers... more than enough."

No sooner had he finished speaking, the young junior officer saw a plume of white smoke rise from behind the hills, piercing the sky.

Soon, two more plumes of black smoke rose successively to the southeast and southwest across the river.

"You still haven't answered me." The young junior officer asked persistently: "Why fight Major Felter here?"

Pierre's reply echoed from afar: "Because only prey runs away."

Pierre galloped past the Iron Peak County light cavalry, who were already poised to strike: "Let them know who the real hunters are!"

Among the light cavalry, someone laughed loudly, letting out a whoop.

Immediately, over a hundred light cavalrymen followed Pierre in a charge.

"Let's go." Vashka gave the young junior officer a pull, feeling somewhat sullen at being given the task of watching prisoners: "Officer Sir."

"Hey! My name is Kadar!" The young junior officer suddenly stepped forward and shouted at the backs of the cavalry: "Kadar Lagray!"

...

At noon, Major Felter, who had been anxiously watching from the high walls of Green Valley Town, witnessed the destruction of his last combat-capable unit.

...

Six days later.

Three ragged and bewildered Parliamentary soldiers appeared at the west gate of Maplestone City.

No matter what people asked them, they only answered with one phrase:

"The wolf cavalry has arrived!"