Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Anna began to feel restless. As everyone's attention was focused on Mid, she quietly wiped away her tears.

She suddenly realized she was only wearing one earring. It wasn't that she didn't have any jewelry; it was that she simply hadn't been in the mood to dress up, so she had carelessly put on a pair of earrings.

But this was her home, where she'd played since childhood, and she knew every corner of the grand hall like the back of her hand.

Seeing that no one had invited her, Anna quietly slipped away from the crowd and pushed open a secret door in the corner of the hall to leave. She hurried back to her room, planning to fetch some jewelry before returning.

However, when she opened her wardrobe, she saw the sword Winters had given her, that garish sword with a gold scabbard.

"If a man writes you such a short letter, he definitely doesn't love you very much."

Catherine's words echoed in Anna's head like the whispers of a demon.

Suddenly, Anna's tears could no longer be held back and they flowed freely.

Sobbing, Anna picked up the gold sword: "Why did you do this to me? Saying it was a relic from my father, it was all fake! All deception! You never truly loved me!"

Anger and resentment filled her heart, and Anna slammed the "gold sword" onto the ground. The idea of revenge uncontrollably scratched at her heart; she picked up the "gold sword" and walked toward the banquet hall: "You gave this to me, now I'll return it to you, and we'll be even!"

Anna walked and cried, the angrier she got, the more heartbroken she wept. The music from the banquet hall grew louder and louder, the secret door was right in front of her. In the moment before pushing the door open, Anna hesitated.

Their first encounter at the banquet, the quarrel over the painting request, bickering in the guards' gallery with mulled wine, learning swordplay behind the Parliament square—these memories surfaced one by one before her eyes, and that person's face began to blur.

She was starting to forget his facial features, but she vividly remembered him, and missed him tremendously.

Anna, clinging to the "gold sword," helplessly curled up in a corner behind the secret door, unable to stop sobbing: "You wretch ... why did you do this to me ... where are you?"

So where was Winters Montagne now?

He was at Tachi's city gate, in the triangular fort, the Venetian point closest to the city walls.

He meticulously wiped his matchlock clean, sharpened the awl and his sword to an incredibly fine edge, and then checked the gunpowder to ensure it hadn't gotten damp or separated.

After completing all these tasks, he still couldn't settle down to sleep.

Major Moritz, on the other hand, was sleeping soundly amidst the loud snores of the regular troops.

Unable to sleep, Winters wrapped himself in a coat and climbed to the top of the triangular fort. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire

After continuous efforts to raise its height, the fort had reached the structural limit it could support, level with the city walls.

Now standing on top of the fort, one could look directly at the city walls. To raise it further would require expanding the base, otherwise, the rammed earth would collapse.

Interestingly, the garrison wasn't idle either; they too had built a wooden watchtower at the city gate, raising the height of the wall and at the same time blocking the view from the triangular fort.

The sentinels atop the fort initially didn't recognize Winters in his uniform. Upon seeing his face, they quickly saluted him in a panic.

Winters silently watched the dark city walls, where two lights glowed, seemingly the garrison's sentinels smoking.

"Tomorrow, all of this could come to an end." he thought to himself.