Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 872 - 5 Absolute Punishment

Chapter 872: Chapter 5 Absolute Punishment Chapter 872: Chapter 5 Absolute Punishment Leaving Antonio, Moritz inexplicably asked Winters, “Do you know of ‘Solomon’s Judgment’?”

“The case involving splitting the child in two?” Winters did not understand what the Colonel meant but earnestly replied, “It seems I’ve seen frescoes of it.”

“The mother who did not love the child agreed to have the child split in two, but the mother who deeply loved the child would rather give the child away,” Moritz took on the attitude of an elder for the first time in front of Winters and said with emotion, “But you should know how hard it is for the latter to let go at that moment.”

In the end, Antonio Serviati did not forcefully demand as a father that Winters return with him to Vineta.

On the contrary, he made no demands at all.

As if fully understanding the struggle in Winters’ heart, Antonio chose not to present Winters with a “choose one of two” decision.

He merely told Winters that Vineta “might” intervene in the Paratu civil war.

...

Because of his foster father’s arrival, Winters finally shook off the information shackles of Iron Peak County and was able to understand the big picture within the Alliance:

Over the past year, the tension between Vineta and The Federated Provinces in the archipelago gradually cooled off because both sides were building fortifications and fixing strongholds.

Nowadays, whether it’s The Federated Provinces or Vineta, if they want to completely drive out the other from the archipelago, they must chew on one hard bone after another.

This phenomenon is almost a replica of the late stage of the sovereignty war, when the old field marshal had specifically coined a military term to describe it—”Fortressization.”

The rapid “fortressization” of Tanyria resulted in the cost of a military breakthrough in the archipelago skyrocketing, even to the extent that both sides could not afford it.

Since it was difficult to make headway in the archipelago, opening a new battlefield to exert pressure on The Federated Provinces had become the mainstream thought within the Vineta Governor’s Office.

Rivers ultimately flow into the sea, and in the struggle between Vineta and The Federated Provinces, there are but four leverages:

The archipelago and the inner sea—this is the current focal point of contention;

Far sea trade routes and colonies—hitting The Federated Provinces’ overseas trade seems to be an effective way to exert pressure. However, it takes too long to take effect, and the interests of both sides overseas are largely intertwined, flourishing or declining together.

There is also another more dangerous place, where the two “butt heads” directly—the Torrent River.

The Torrent River is the border river between the two countries, and Vineta’s fourth “Emerald” Corps is currently facing off against The Federated Provinces’ second “Torrent River” Corps across the river.

Reinforcing the Torrent River can directly pressure The Federated Provinces’ homeland, but once a spark ignites, it means Vineta and The Federated Provinces would completely tear their faces apart and go to full-scale war.

And this… is exactly what those in the Governor’s Office least want to see.

“What on earth is the Great Regent doing?” Winters couldn’t help but complain, “Not wanting to fight yet rolling up sleeves. And when it’s time to roll up sleeves, hesitating. This… isn’t this like holding a candlelight ball in an arsenal?”

Antonio looked out the window, “Some people prepare weapons to use them, some people prepare weapons so as not to use them.”

“What do you think?” Winters cautiously asked, “Will Vineta and The Federated Provinces eventually be unable to avoid war?”

“We are weapons,” Antonio said dispassionately, “Weapons should try not to think.”

Winters wanted to retort but instead found himself blurting out an “Oh” out of nowhere.

“But if it can be resolved peacefully, it’s better not to fight,” Antonio sighed, “There are also voices within the Alliance calling for de-escalation, calling for peace. In a few months, it will be Varn’s turn to host the ‘United Assembly,’ and Debela, the Great Regent, and The Federated Provinces’ Secretary of State will attend…”

The United Assembly, a biennial event where representatives of all member states of the Alliance meet, hosted by different countries in rotation.

A glint of hope shone in Antonio’s pupils, “If everyone has the opportunity to sit down and have a good talk, maybe everything could be resolved peacefully—that would be for the best.”

In short, the only suitable point for Vineta to exert efforts without direct conflict with The Federated Provinces is the Paratu civil war.

Moreover, Vineta had ample reason to interfere in the Paratu civil war: debt default.

Even the debt default was just a pretext; the crux of the issue was this: Vineta’s ruling parliament absolutely did not want the emergence of a Paratu government friendly to The Federated Provinces.

“What extent is Vineta prepared to intervene in the Paratu civil war?” Winters asked.

“It depends on the situation,” Antonio replied.

“Wait and see? That’s too ambiguous.”

“That’s exactly what it is—’it depends on the situation,'” Antonio told Winters unabashedly, “In fact, the Five-Man Group is still waiting for next year’s United Assembly. Debela prefers to talk before making a decision. As far as I see it, it’s the same on The Federated Provinces’ side, and even the smell of gunpowder in Tanyria has been considerably diluted.”

“Do you think the United Assembly… will achieve any results?”

“I don’t know,” Antonio simply answered as he shook his head, “Let’s not talk about this for now. Let’s talk about you.”

Winters tensed up inside.

“If Vineta intervenes in the Paratu civil war,” Antonio analyzed the pros and cons for Winters, “then the Third Republic will be an ally of Vineta. You could hand over Iron Peak County to the Paratu military government. This isn’t abandoning the people who trust you—you can negotiate with the Third Republic for the best terms for Iron Peak County.”

Winters had a rough idea of what his foster father was about to say.

“In Paratu, your Venetian identity will eventually become your shackle, while the opposite is true in Vineta,” Antonio patiently explained, “This will be the best chance to ‘let go.'”

The shimmering sea, the bustling docks, the childhood room, the aroma wafting from the kitchen, the cat scratching the door in the middle of the night… all these had appeared in Winters’ dreams.

Did he not miss them?

Of course, he missed them!

The longer he lived in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, the stronger the memory of the jewel of the sea—Sea Blue—became.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Winters shook his head, “Please let me think about this some more.”

“This matter is not urgent; you have plenty of time to think,” Antonio put his hand on Winters’ shoulder, “Listen, child…”

Antonio looked into Winters’ eyes, deliberately saying each word, “Home is a place you can always return to at any time.”

Winters lowered his head.

“Don’t think about anything, don’t worry about anything,” Antonio repeated, “No matter when, you can always go home.”

“No matter when, you can always go home”—somehow, this simple phrase almost shattered Winters’ psychological defenses.

Silence, long silence.

“Don’t cry,” Antonio let go of his hand, joking, “A man must not shed tears so easily.”

Winters tried to change the subject, “Let’s not talk about me anymore… Your arrival in Paratu, I still find it incredible. What about the Third Legion?”

“Don’t worry, even without me, Da Vineta wouldn’t fall into chaos.”

“I still… can’t accept…” Winters’s linguistic ability became somewhat clumsy, “In my memory, you should always be steadfast at your post…”

“It shouldn’t have been me, but who else could bring you back?” Antonio seemed to convince himself, “A true man has his aspirations spread far and wide, a true man has his aspirations spread far and wide.”

If it had been Winters from two years ago, he probably wouldn’t have felt anything.

But the Winters of the moment keenly sensed something amiss, an illogical gap in the logical chain: why his foster father would come to Iron Peak County.

In Winters’s memory and understanding, his foster father had never neglected his public duties for personal reasons.

Just to find himself, he left the Vineta Army in Tanyria?

Winters thought this matter was both reasonable and unreasonable.

Unless—unless his foster father bore another mission. That is to say, this was not a simple “quest for his son,” nor was it neglecting public duties for personal reasons.

If that was the case, everything would make sense!

“You came to Paratu…” Winters felt a mix of emotions, probing, “Uh, is there something else?”

“Well, there is one more thing,” replied Antonio nonchalantly.

“What?” Winters became even more perplexed.

“Warhorses.”

“Ah?”

“The Third Legion needs warhorses, many of them.”

“Warhorse?” Winters asked dubiously, “Is such a trifle worth your personal visit?”

“After the civil war in Paratu began, Vineta’s channels for obtaining warhorses were completely severed,” Antonio did not intend to discuss the matter further, asking Winters directly, “How many warhorses do you have in hand now?”

Winters initially wanted to explain that most of the horses in Iron Peak County were captured Herder horses, different from the typical Paratu warhorses.

Moreover, warhorses cannot be driven directly from the high-altitude Paratu to the low-altitude Vineta, and the transportation process is quite troublesome.

But Antonio surely knew these issues better than Winters.

So Winters sighed, clenched his teeth, and asked, “Then how many do you need?”

Antonio smiled, not quite smiling, “Three thousand.”

Three thousand, not the draft horses or mules, but the kind that could be ridden into battle as warhorses.

If you totaled all of Vineta Army’s warhorses, including each officer’s personal steeds, there might be only that many.

After all, Vineta and Paratu had starkly different natural endowments. Paratu could easily arm fifty cavalry squadrons, whereas Vineta had only two cavalry brigades, one shared between the Third and Fourth Legions.

Winters wanted to shout, “Three thousand? Where am I supposed to find you three thousand warhorses? Three thousand? I might as well return to Vineta with you! Three thousand? What do you need so many warhorses for? Can the small island of Tanyria even make use of them?”

In the end, Winters suppressed his emotional fluctuations.

His face flushed, he mustered courage, and countered, “Then… how much are you willing to pay?”

…

The end of the war brought the gradual restoration of normal traffic inside and outside Iron Peak County, and many people who had been unable to meet due to the war finally had their reunions.

Like Winters and Antonio.

And, Father Kaman with the mysterious Father Saul.

After Winters began cleaning up Iron Peak County, the Panto River ford was reopened, and a small militia escorted Father Saul to Saint Town.

Father Kaman took the initiative to apply to Bard: to be the one to verify Father Saul’s identity.

The meeting took place in the small worship room of the Saint Town church, with no one present in the room besides Kaman and Saul; Kaman even forbade others from entering the adjacent rooms.

But even if someone eavesdropped at the door, they would hear nothing.

Because Kaman and Saul communicated with sign language.

The light slanted in through a small window, watched over by the Virgin Mary, Kaman and Saul communicated silently.

With just a few simple gestures, Kaman had verified Saul’s identity.

“I have heard of you, Brother Saul,” Kaman’s attitude was very respectful, quite different from his impatience with Winters.

“When I entered the wilderness, this place was still a Herder stone pile,” Saul gazed at the holy image, “Please contact the brothers from the ‘Reformist Order’ for me.”

“There’s something I must tell you,” Kaman looked strange, clearing his throat before speaking, for the following content could not be conveyed through sign language, “Twenty-five years ago, Pope Pius V deemed the Reformist Order a heretical order.”

“The Reformist Order has been disbanded,” Kaman could hardly bear to look at the old man, “All members of the Reformist Order, both deceased and living, have been excommunicated.”