Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 413 - 50: Breaking the Defense_2

Chapter 413: Chapter 50: Breaking the Defense_2

Colin clutched at Winters’s sleeve, almost begging, “Don’t… don’t do this…”

“Shh!” Winters signaled his senior to be silent. “Don’t speak, don’t ask. If there’s blame later, just say I held you hostage.”

The lieutenant’s gaze was piercing as he stared at the captain, “Or would you rather die?”

Colin shivered and groped his way back to his chair.

“Whatever the obligation, my men have more than fulfilled it.” Winters seemed to be speaking to the colonel, but it was more like convincing himself, “They are civilians paid half a ration, not the Standing Army who willingly eats the military’s grain. I won’t let them die for a fort we can’t hold.”

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Jeska gently shook her head and said, “I told you long ago not to have personal feelings for your soldiers. To Paratu, this Floating Bridge is more important than ten thousand militiamen’s lives. Don’t you understand that?”

“Fuck you! You think I give a damn about the fucking Paratu?” Winters suddenly erupted. “I care about this bridge? I care about winning or losing? I’ve wanted to do this for a long time! You think I care about your bullshit?”

He grabbed at his shirt front, hysterically asking, “You think I want to fight for you? You think I care about this uniform?”

In a fit of rage, Montaigne punched the wall, shaking the wooden hut slightly, and breaking the wooden plank in half.

Jeska was also stunned by the sudden outburst and sighed, “Kill me if you want, it’s all up to you.”

“I’m saving both your lives,” Winters declared as he unbuckled the colonel’s and captain’s swords and threw them to Bard, “You can blame me for everything afterward, I will not refute.”

Leaving Bard to guard the two, Winters and Andre left the wooden hut.

After exiting the door, Andre grabbed hold of Winters.

“If you ask me, we should just…” Andre made a throat-slitting gesture, “Throw them into the river and explain it however we want.”

Winters shook his head, “Not necessary; after crossing the river, I’m returning to Vineta. I miss home, too.”

“Not going to kill them?”

“Not going to kill them.”

“Ah,” Andre sighed, resigned, “Fine, when we get back home we can see if there’s any small business to start.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank what?” Andre showed a row of teeth, “I would take a knife in the ribs for you.”

…

That night, Lieutenant Montaigne took command of Jeska’s regiment.

The army camp on the west side of the river began to retreat in an orderly fashion. The wounded left first, followed by the baggage train, and Winters also took the bodies of the fallen with him.

To avoid being discovered by Herd scouts, they didn’t light any lamps or start any fires during the entire process. The men and horses moved silently, and any equipment that could reflect light was carefully wrapped in burlap.

Lieutenant Mason seemed to suspect something, but he didn’t say a word.

There wasn’t enough time to dismantle the Floating Bridge, so they simply used explosives for Blasting. The baggage train was well-stocked with gunpowder, and there were several Blasting Points on the bridge ready to be ignited at any moment.

Winters led Colin’s decimated hundred-man troop to cover the rear, setting up the final barricade of wagons at the head of the bridge.

He didn’t rashly destroy the Floating Bridge; this supply line that spanned The Styx was of great importance, and to blow it up could mean sentencing the Paratu People at the front to death.

Winters waiting for the Herders’ final assault.

…

The dawn revealed a blue sky, cloudless and clear.

It was a good day for slaughter.

Alaric, who was arranging his troops, gradually sensed something was off.

Looking down from the western hillside, the Paratu camp was lifeless, and behind the dirt walls, there were no people in sight.

A ruse? Or had the two-legged fools fled?

Yet, in the distance, the Floating Bridge remained intact across The Styx. If they had fled, why not burn the bridge?

The Chiliarch called for cavalry scouts, but the watchtower was just as clueless about the strange happenings in the enemy camp.

“Regardless of the two-legged fools’ plans,” Alaric made up his mind, “Today we must take the camp!”

…

On the barricade at the bridgehead, Winters saw the Herd men moving down from the hillside.

They were no longer attacking in turns or separate waves, but all Herd Cavalry charged at once.

It seemed the Herd men were no longer interested in wearing down the defenders; they wanted a decisive engagement.

“You guys go first,” Winters ordered the others.

The soldiers saluted and turned to run towards the opposite bank.

Winters wanted to wait until the last moment.

The Herd Cavalry was getting closer, and in a blink, they had charged down the hillside.

Winters jumped down from the barricade, riding a sturdy horse towards the first Blasting Point.

The reserved fuse had a longer tail, and Winters estimated the time briefly before chopping the fuse in half with his sword.

As the moment approached, he became increasingly calm and composed.

The Herd Cavalry had now breached the camp walls.

“That Herd Barbarian who speaks the mainland language is probably going to die of anger,” Winters thought as he lit the fuse.

The fuse, wrapped in rope, began to sizzle as it burned.

Winters stepped on the stirrup and vaulted onto the saddle, preparing to move to the next Blasting Point, when he saw Andre charging toward him.

“What is this about?” Winters was puzzled.

He waved his hand, signaling Andre to leave, but Andre ignored the gesture and continued to approach.

Winters saw Andre’s mouth wide open as if he was shouting something.

But with the west wind howling, he couldn’t hear what the other was saying at all.

Only when the distance closed did the shouting carried by the wind reach his ears in fragments.

“Don’t…”

“Blast…”

Winters looked back and his expression changed dramatically. He rolled off the horse and hacked away the hissing fuse with his sword.

After cutting it, he kicked the unburned fuse into the river, as if to make sure it wouldn’t catch.

Behind him, the Herd Cavalry that had just breached the camp walls withdrew en masse, reforming back against the encampment.

Atop the ridge line of the hill, more and more Cavalry silhouettes appeared.