Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Even the inexperienced Laor could feel the invisible pressure weighing on his shoulders and back.

"Mr. Majiya, I hope you can make the right choice, and even more so, I hope you can set an example." The Civil Guard Officer invited sincerely, "In exchange, you will gain political equality... and protection for your property."

The other party spoke too vaguely, leaving Laor confused.

Old Majiya pressed his lips together, staring into the other party's eyes, delaying his response.

It wasn't until this moment that Majiya Milock truly understood how deeply flawed his old friend's insight was.

Devout? Kind-hearted? Easy-going?

Fayeka must have been blind. This so-called "son of a church serf" named Bard was clearly the most steadfast of the rebels, the least likely to be swayed.

"No need to answer in haste. When the time comes for you to choose, you'll know." The Civil Guard Officer glanced at the sky outside the window, "It's getting late."

Old Majiya hesitated for a moment, then got up sensibly to bow, "Then we shall take our leave, Your Excellency."

"Don't rush. I've already sent someone to bring Mr. Majiya Pal." The Civil Guard Officer stopped the two with a smile, "Although I can't let you take him away, you can at least see him."

...

[Late Night]

[Oak Town]

[Majiya Manor]

The sound of hooves shattered the midnight silence, and Lady Majiya immediately wrapped herself in a shawl and rushed out of the mansion.

A glance showed only three riders on five horses, causing Lady Majiya's limbs to go cold. She stumbled to her husband's mount and reached for the saddlebag— the gold was still inside.

"My..." Lady Majiya's voice trembled uncontrollably, "My..."

Old Majiya dismounted and embraced his wife, "Don't worry, your son is still alive, he's doing well, and he's grown stronger."

Lady Majiya instantly turned from tears to joy, wiping her eyes, eagerly asking, "Then how..."

Old Majiya shook his head, signaling Tasso and his younger son to lead the horses back to the stable, and assisted his wife towards the mansion.

Lady Majiya sensed her husband's deep worries, and he seemed unwilling to discuss his experiences in Artemis.

Since her husband already said Pal was alive, she forced herself not to ask further. She prepared food and hot water for her husband, son, and Tasso, settling everyone in before returning to the bedroom on the second floor.

When Lady Majiya pushed open the door with a lantern, her husband had already collapsed on the bed.

"Sleep." Old Majiya said softly, "Tomorrow holds tomorrow's matters."

Lady Majiya agreed quietly, extinguished the lantern, and tiptoed back to the bed, lying beside her husband.

After an unknown amount of time, Lady Majiya timidly asked in the dark:

"Did you... meet Blood Wolf... the honorable Blood Wolf?"

After a brief silence, Old Majiya sighed deeply, "Rebel... among those people, there was more than just Blood Wolf. Today, Laor and I met someone even more remarkable than Blood Wolf."

Lady Majiya vaguely understood, responding with an "oh," and after a while, couldn't help but ask, "Then... didn't you meet the Blood Wolf?"

"Blood Wolf? I met him." Old Majiya stared at the dark ceiling, recalling the impressive man who suddenly appeared in the office.

He said, amused yet helpless, "Blood Wolf... truly extraordinary, he... he was like a street vendor, dragging Laor and me along, pitching his whatever... new plow car for quite a while."

Lady Majiya was speechless as she recalled the things her husband brought back, surprised to ask, "You... you didn't buy it?"

"Of course not, we don't lack plow cars at home." Old Majiya said matter-of-factly, and he coughed lightly, "But I did buy something else."

"What did you buy?"

"Bought two bags of nails."

...

On the same night as the Majiya couple's nighttime conversation, two messengers galloped into Artemis, awakening countless people from sweet dreams, delivering two pieces of news that made Mason groan in pain, Bard silent, and yet left Winters unsurprised.

The first piece of news came from the long-silent Mirror Lake County:

The reason the Grand Council army could march faster than anyone anticipated and intercept the coalition forces at River Valley Village was found— Bazenaur had not fallen;

Upon learning the intel of the coalition's movement, Sanel preferred to abandon the nearly fallen Bazenaur, leaving a small force to monitor the garrison, and immediately returned back;

However, all of that was already old news— Colonel Gais Adonis had breached Bazenaur the day before yesterday, capturing everyone from Colonel Gaspard down.

The second piece of news came from Kingsfort:

The temporary Supreme Council of the United Eighteen Provinces Republic passed a resolution to officially intervene in the Paratu civil war;

The vanguard forces had already crossed the Torrent River.