Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Li Wei paused for a moment, saying meaningfully, "Of course, the most cost-effective way is to take it by force, but Your Excellency is too soft-hearted to do such a thing."

Vashka snorted with a laugh, "Centurion soft-hearted?"

Pierre raised his hand to interrupt Vashka, pursing his lips, and nodded deeply to Li Wei, "Thank you."

"Thank me for what?" Li Wei laughed nonchalantly—the son of this itinerant merchant always looked cheerful: "No delay in your debriefing, I'll come find you later."

With that, Li Wei nodded to Pierre and Vashka each in turn and walked away.

"Who's in charge of assigning camp areas now?" Pierre asked.

"Go find Rolf, and he'll arrange accommodations for you." Li Wei turned around with a comical backward salute: "Make sure your men save some room in their stomachs! Tonight, we're having beef stew with radish. One pound of beef per person, radishes as much as you want!"

Pierre returned the salute with a smile. Seeing old friends brightened his mood a little.

"Let's go." Pierre loudly ordered, "Let's find a place to stay."

As they continued towards the military camp, passing through trenches, fences, a second trench, and a wall, Pierre nodded gently.

Though it was just a short stay, all the necessary fortifications were in place without any laziness—proving that the Iron Peak County Military was not as slack as it seemed on the surface.

Outside the main gate of the camp, Pierre waited for the Twelfth Company Commander, Rolf.

Upon hearing that "Adjutant Mitchell" returned, Rolf jogged all the way to the main gate.

Without further ado, Rolf directly assigned four ready-made barracks to Pierre's subordinates and helpfully arranged fodder and stable, as well as prepared access passes.

This saved Pierre a lot of effort because his light cavalry neither carried tents nor cooking utensils; all their equipment couldn't even fill two saddlebags.

Pierre thanked Rolf, but the Twelfth Company Commander just blushed and waved his hands repeatedly.

"Adjutant Mitchell." Rolf was a bit nervous, "Haven't you met the Centurion yet?"

"Not yet." Pierre shook his head.

"Then hurry up, hurry!" Rolf urged kindly, "Don't worry, I'll take care of your men. I promise by the time you return, the horses will be well fed."

"What's wrong?" Pierre asked sharply, "Has something happened?"

Rolf didn't answer, just urged, "Go see the Centurion quickly, hurry."

Pierre put away his doubts and asked calmly, "Is the Civil Guard Officer in the camp?"

"No, he's in the city. Once you leave the camp, head straight to Artemis City. The First Company is guarding the gate, and they will let you right in."

"Alright then."

Pierre untied the lead rope from his saddle and handed the reins of the reserve horse to Vasya.

"I won't go with you." Vashka took a leather bag from the saddlebag, handed it to his friend, and knowingly said, "If I go, I can't avoid getting scolded."

Pierre took the leather bag, nodded, then mounted his horse like he was part of the saddle, and rode swiftly towards Artemis City.

After the first Green Valley battle, Pierre detached from the direct command of the Blood Wolf and led two companies of light cavalry on independent operations.

Independent command in battle was undoubtedly an honor. Because, aside from full officers of the Civil Guard Officer rank, the Iron Peak County Military had no other precedent for someone commanding a unit independently.

But on the other hand, this arrangement also put Pierre in a highly vulnerable position.

Others might not agree with Pierre's view, but for the sensitive and meticulous Pierre, less than half a month after the troop division, he could already sense a vague estrangement from his comrades.

The distance between the camp and the city wall was about one mile, and on horseback, it was just a matter of moments.

The company commander guarding the gate recognized "Adjutant Mitchell", thus skipping even the identity verification process and directly ordered his men to remove the barricades.

Pierre thanked them and rode towards the city, just in time to run into Andrea Cherini, who was heading out of the city.

Andre was initially quite unhappy, but upon seeing Pierre, he unexpectedly broke into a slight smile, "When did you return?"

"Just now." Pierre responded with utmost humility, "Your Excellency, where are you heading to?"

Andrea snorted, "Going fishing."

Pierre's gaze drifted past Cherini Commissioner's shoulder and saw a young man carrying two fishing rods following behind the Commissioner. Pierre vaguely remembered that he too was of Dusack descent, seemingly named Nikola, and gave a nod as a friendly greeting.

The young man with the fishing rods immediately nodded back stiffly in acknowledgment.

Pierre smiled and asked the Commissioner, "Since when did you take up fishing as a hobby?"

"Hobby my ass!" Andrea spat, "Just avoiding trouble!"

He explained impatiently, "Wealthy families in the city want Winter to release prisoners so that their precious sons and grandsons can return home. But these bastards don't have the guts to step forward themselves, so they pushed farmers from nearby villages to make petitions with a bunch of old men… it's infuriating to watch!"

"Is the Monte Civil Guard Officer receiving petitioners?" Pierre asked cautiously.

"Bard is dealing with them." Andre yawned, then realized, "You want to see Winters? Go directly to the garrison. Your Centurion is even better at avoiding trouble than I am, there's no way he's dealing with any nonsense petitioners."

Andre burst into laughter, and Pierre joined in with a few laughs.