Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 832 - 85 Luck

Chapter 832: Chapter 85 Luck Chapter 832: Chapter 85 Luck The westerly winds howled, men shouted, horses neighed, and rigid-stepping militia and wagons laden with supplies poured into the small Saint Town from all western directions.

It was as if a gigantic vortex existed invisibly among them, gathering all the manpower and material resources of Iron Peak County into this place.

There was no doubt that the church of the Saint Town Monastery sat at the very center of the vortex.

A statue of the Virgin with eyes cast downward stood above the church’s main entrance, silently watching people with swords come and go.

“Lieutenant Bard, the village chief of Bai’niu Village in Little Stone Town says the portion of dry food issued to them is not enough.”

“Their ration was increased yesterday.”

“He says it’s still not enough…”

...

“Sergeant Roland!”

“Present!”

“Take the roster and the provosts to Bai’niu Village’s station and check their numbers.”

“Yes!”

“Report!” A guard hurried into the church: “Another convoy has arrived from King’s Bridge Town!”

“Mr. Melsin!”

“Your Excellency?”

“The new convoy from King’s Bridge Town, please handle the inventory and registration with Brother Theodore.”

“Rest assured, Your Excellency.”

Supplies needed to be stored, processed, and distributed; militia had to be deployed to various fronts, and accommodations for eating, drinking, and living were necessary.

If it weren’t for Bard’s support, the great army of Iron Peak County would have already been overwhelmed by logistics.

The command center had become unavoidably large, since Bard had pulled in every civilian and soldier capable of reading, writing, and doing arithmetic.

Bard sat in the Monastery’s scriptorium. Intelligence and information continuously flowed in, followed by instructions and orders that were sent out to various locations.

The clerks were amazed to find that no matter how trivial the issue, as long as it was reported to Civil Guard Officer Bard, he could remember it when needed.

Therefore, Bard never issued vague instructions; every order was given to a specific executor with clear instructions on what must be done, leaving no room for excuses.

In this, the clerks found both awe and fatigue.

Bard seemed to have endless energy; he wielded an invisible whip, driving the lower clerks to press on as if they were horses being urged forward.

Thus, the command center operated, and the personnel and supplies gathered in Saint Town were methodically registered and allocated to the places where they were most needed.

There was a minor episode: The centralized office work and the extensive writing inadvertently led to people accepting graphite blocks.

Originally, there were some traditionalists who insisted on using quill pens because graphite blocks didn’t write clearly and were prone to smudging.

But soon, even the Monastery’s clergy quietly switched to graphite blocks wrapped with string.

The reason was nothing but convenience. With quill pens, one needed to use sand to soak up the ink, whereas with graphite blocks, once the writing was done, it could be sent out immediately.

With Bard securing the logistics, Winters could devote all his attention to military matters.

Most of the time, Winters was not in Saint Town.

He inspected the battlefields, talking with militia on the very front lines, and even personally entered the Terdun-controlled areas to scout.

He scarcely used his knees and spurs to urge his horse forward, but instead kept wielding his whip.

For this reason, Xial specially prepared many spare horses, switching them out whenever one appeared to be exhausted to the point of death.

Upon learning of the surprise attack on the dam, Winters arrived at Niutigu Valley as soon as he could.

At this moment, he stood by the Big Horn River, facing the dam that was extending towards the opposite bank.

The previous night, Terdun Cavalry had launched a surprise attack on the southern bank construction site, killed some laborers, burned some timber, and were then repelled by Tamas’ troops.

“Exposed or not, it could hardly be hidden; the key is speed and timing,” Winters, leaning on his cane, asked Samujin and Tamas seriously, “How much more time do you need?”

Samujin bit his lip and made up his mind to answer, “Three days! If it can’t be finished in three days, you can execute me!”

“Three days won’t be enough,” Winters calmly dismissed Samujin’s assurance: “Based on your current progress, it will take at least five days. Taking into account the water storage process, it might need a week or even ten days.”

Samujin lowered his head.

“Reestablish the camp at the southern bank construction site,” Winters ordered Captain Tamas directly: “Take your men down.”

“Yes!” Tamas responded without hesitation.

Tamas’ encampment was located at the narrow passage between Niutigu Valley and Forging Village. To the east was Tiefeng, and to the west, the Big Horn River—terrain that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

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Winters deployed his most elite First Company and auxiliary militia units there with the aim of blocking the Terdun from entering Niutigu Valley through the western foothills of Tiefeng.

While reestablishing the encampment at the dam would protect the worksite, its low-lying location made it disadvantageous for defense.

Winters tapped Captain Tamas’ arm, nodded slightly, and spared any further talk: “I’ll reinforce you with Third and Fourth Companies.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll also send some additional workers your way.”

Samujin suddenly looked up.

“The repair can be slow,” Winters’ cane tapped lightly on the ground, “but the existence of the dam is paramount.”

Seeing some confusion in Samujin, Winters didn’t play coy: “As long as the dam exists, the Terdun’s retreat is threatened. If the progress of the dam is slow, at worst we cannot immediately cut off the enemy’s escape route.

If the Terdun withdraw, the siege at Revodan will be lifted on its own. But if the dam falls, the Terdun will come and go freely, retaining the initiative at all times.”

“The dam must not be lost,” Winters said with a stern look: “Do you understand?”