Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 877 - 7 The Old Man Wolf Sheep and

Chapter 877: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_2 Chapter 877: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_2 The anticipated scene of horses’ hooves crushing human bones never came to pass, as the cavalrymen held their mounts steady on the outskirts of the crowd.

The scattered refugees gradually halted their hasty retreat. The young cavalry leader rode forward and removed his helmet, revealing a face that was physiologically youthful yet mature and composed.

“Please hear me out,” Anglu repeated his previous words clearly, “Relief grain will be arriving shortly.”

This time, everyone heard him clearly.

The refugees regrouped as Anglu quickly assessed the crowd: unharmed, unharmed, a broken arm, unharmed…

Then he saw a middle-aged man in tattered clothing sitting on the ground, his face contorted in agony. A middle-aged woman and several children of varying ages were anxiously gathered around him.

The middle-aged man made no sound, but large beads of sweat kept breaking out on his forehead.

...

A pang shot through Anglu’s heart, and he gently called to the elder Dusack beside him, “Balan Timoyevich?”

In the cavalry, old Dusack (Balan) acted as a semi-medic. The old man sighed, dismounted, and approached the injured middle-aged man.

In truth, old Balan did not care about the fate of the bumpkin, his nature still bore the cruelty deliberately cultivated from being a “whip of the Emperor.”

But when Balan heard the lieutenant use a respectful form of address that included a full name and patronymic, he knew the young one had gone soft again.

“Sir,” the elderly man who first stood out approached Anglu’s horse and mustered the courage to ask, “Is the relief… really coming? When will it arrive?”

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“I am not a ‘sir’,” Anglu reassured him, “Rest assured, it’s not fake. The Montaigne Civil Guard Officer has already ordered the allocation of military grain to everyone, and it should be…”

As he spoke, Anglu turned his head to look back.

At the end of the road, over the rise of a hill, a horse-drawn wagon slowly emerged from the horizon, followed by another, and then more behind.

Each wagon bore a conspicuous red flag.

“They’ve already arrived,” Anglu answered.

…

Wherever life congregates, it becomes a natural breeding ground for disease.

The wealthy who had flooded into the towns because of war were now desperate to leave.

Meanwhile, the poor, driven by hunger, began to converge on the towns, forming a second wave of people.

The reason was simple: where safety is lacking, people squeeze towards safer places; where food is scarce, people go where there is food.

Winters was simultaneously trying to stop the influx of people into the town—more people meant the plague would be harder to control.

On the other hand, he was trying to stop people from leaving the town—letting people go would likely spread the plague throughout Iron Peak County.

But there were some departures Winters could not interfere with—Colonel Gessa and the Piaoqi Troops were about to leave as well.

On this military campaign, the Terdon Tribe was divided into left and right wings. Although the right wing was destroyed in Iron Peak County, the left wing was still wreaking havoc in Vernge County.

The Terdon Tribe’s right wing was primarily made up of the direct forces of the firestarters, while the left wing consisted of externally affiliated tribes.

Such a division was, of course, out of the firestarters’ self-interest. It led to the Terdon Tribe lacking a clear command core, with various leaders acting independently, making them even more challenging to deal with.

After the main battle between Winters and the firestarters concluded, Colonel Gessa was originally ready to set off for Vernge County immediately.

He lingered only to wait for someone.

When the dust-covered Major Ronald finally arrived in Revodan, an extremely impatient Colonel Gessa was ready to depart.

Winters did not want the Piaoqi Troops to leave, as he feared the recently controlled “Aichen Plague” might be carried away.

However, the problem lay precisely here.

No sooner had the “Aichen Plague” appeared in the shantytown area and started to spread on a small scale than Father Kaman noticed it and Winters promptly clamped down on it.

As a result, this “plague” seemed like a harmless joke: hardly anyone died, yet the response was so harsh. Could it be an overreaction?

The reason for the Piaoqi Troops’ departure was undisputedly valid—after all, the fight wasn’t over, and Vernge County needed them.

Besides epidemic control, Winters had no other reason to retain the Piaoqi Troops. And the reason of epidemic prevention itself wasn’t persuasive in the eyes of the others.

So in the end, Winters had to bid farewell to the reinforcements.

…

Question: How can you tell Paratu People from Venetian People?

Answer: Look at the beard.

Paratu People consider growing beards a beauty standard, as if the more luxuriant the beard, the more abundant a man’s virility.

Venetians, on the contrary, keep their upper lip, chin, and cheeks completely clean-shaven. They might skip bathing, but the beard must be shaved off; otherwise, they feel uncomfortable.

Even in the Venetian Republic, there is a stringent legal requirement written into law: Venetian public officials and merchants stationed in overseas colonies and trade nations must shave.

The existence of this strange law is purely to “distinguish ourselves from them.”

In other words, Venetians not only do not intend to blend into other countries but are also deeply afraid of being “melted” by them, and forced shaving has thus become a mark of identity.

Anyone with a discerning eye would recognize where those several young, clean-shaven men at the farewell scene came from.

The farewell ceremony was not large, only a few prominent figures from Revodan were invited to accompany them.

According to the customs of Paratu People, after a victory, one should feast and celebrate for three days, or at least have a good banquet. However, given the limited conditions and special situation in Iron Peak County, everything was kept simple, and Colonel Gessa did not pick on Winters for it.