Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 929 - 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel

Chapter 929: Chapter 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel

Pierre’s story contained a contradiction, which the old man apparently did not notice.

In Jiangbei Province, the farce of soldiers getting drunk and causing trouble happened every day. If military law was enforced to the letter, the military government would soon run out of soldiers to use.

Therefore, as long as the rank and file didn’t cause too much trouble, they usually got away with a few lashes.

Pierre wasn’t imprisoned in the Stone Forest Prison for causing trouble, but as a “deserter”, which certainly had another story behind it.

But Pierre only vaguely told of his arrest experience and did not elaborate on what happened before that. The old man, having lived dozens of years longer than Pierre, naturally did not inquire further.

What made the old man unable to suppress his curiosity was not Pierre’s background, but another mysterious figure—the young captain.

With just one glance, the old man could tell who the real leader was.

“The gentleman who came to fetch you,” the old man asked cautiously, “who is he?”

Pierre glanced at the old man and hesitantly said, “He is…”

At that moment, the tent flap was lifted. A beam of light poured in, interrupting their idle talk.

A burly middle-aged man stood outside the tent, the hawk-beak-shaped pure silver hilt of a Cavalry saber sparkling at his waist. Although his temples were graying and his figure slightly out of shape, there was no doubt that he was still solid like a stone wall, which would never be toppled by windstorms.

“It’s time to set off,” the middle-aged man said with a stern face.

“Understood,” Pierre stood up laboriously, supporting himself with one hand.

The tent flap was let down, and the middle-aged man turned and left.

The old man reflected on the middle-aged man’s appearance and sneaked a closer look at Pierre’s features, vaguely feeling the two might have a blood relationship.

“Your father?” the old man ventured.

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Pierre did not answer, feeling dizzy and light-headed as he stood up hurriedly, the persistent low fever robbing him of his balance, which took some time to regain.

He managed a faint smile and extended his hand to the old man, “It’s time for us to part as well.”

Exiting the tent, the sunlight was bright and warm.

The tent where Pierre and the old man dwelled was just a corner of the camp. Outside the tent was the busy scene of the camp being dismantled at the last minute.

Without any curse or scolding, men old and young were silently taking down the camp, loading the wagons, and feeding the horses with extra forage, orderly going about their preparations.

Several sturdy Cavalrymen greeted and then rode out ahead of the camp, seemingly to scout the path.

The old man was taken to the young captain, who amiably handed him a pouch of coins, “Thank you for your help, Mr. Fugget.”

…

When infiltrating Jiangbei Province, Winters had brought only Vashka with him.

By the time he was ready to leave, he had amassed a small army of over two hundred people by his side.

Despite being far from the center of power, Alpad Duyome was still nominally the supreme commander of the military government. With Alpad’s personal attention, Winters did not face much difficulty or obstruction and successfully found his old troops.

In addition to the native soldiers from Wolf Town and those from Wolf Town like Dusack, Winters also took away many of his old troops who had fought under his command during the war in the Great Wilderness and were still alive.

The men were gathered, and the next question was how to leave.

Pierre, Vashka, and others were still recorded as deserters on the wanted list of the Third Republic; Gerard, Sergei, and others would be seen as deserters once they left the army.

Winters obtained the “understanding” from the military government’s side thanks to his “personal relationship” with Alpad, but that didn’t mean the military government wanted to see the “deserters” leave Jiangbei Province with much fanfare.

The safest strategy, of course, was to arrive secretly and leave quietly.

However, the size of the unit had ballooned to over two hundred people, including a fair number of Cavalry. Eating, drinking, sleeping—the logistics of life on the road, no matter how you looked at it, it couldn’t be hidden as before.

Thus, Winters ordered the procurement of goods, carts, and horses, disguising themselves as a trade caravan leaving Jiangbei Province.

Some subordinates worried that the merchant convoy was too big of a target and would expose them upon inspection.

“What the bureaucratic system needs most is ‘compliance’,” Winters explained, “If someone is determined to expose us, not even Alpad can protect us. But if no one wants to break the silence, even if it’s just a thin layer of gauze, we are safe.”

In fact, Winters didn’t need to clarify. Apart from his old troops, the members of this temporarily assembled unit were their fathers; in essence, it was his unilateral decision.

Therefore, whether the others were convinced or not, seeing Winters’s resolute attitude, they consciously maintained his authority, and no further objections were raised.

During the process of purchasing goods, vehicles, and supplies, Potter [Old Fugget] who had lived for half his life in Xiaolu Fortress, provided crucial connections, helping the foreigner Winters quite a bit.

Due to the war and bandit troubles, Xiaolu City’s polychrome pottery had lost its market, and various workshops had excess stock to some extent.

Upon learning that Winters’s merchant convoy intended to purchase, workshop owners were eager to sell or even give goods away, anxious to clear their stocks before potential conflicts led to complete loss.

After the purchasing was completed, the fake merchant convoy actually looked convincing.

This was exactly why Winters gave money to Old Fugget. In his view, as a middleman, Old Fugget had exerted effort and deserved a compensation.

But Old Fugget resolutely refused it.

“No, no, no! I can’t take it,” the old man vehemently shook his head, “You rescued me from the black jail, an act of grace I cannot repay. Just a little help I offered, I cannot take this money.”