Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Having said that, Sergei burst into laughter.

Two riders were seen galloping back from ahead, Pierre and Vashka. Gerard, always cautious, had sent out a few horsemen earlier to scout the path.

"Dad!" Pierre called out impatiently from afar, "The Panto River basin is flooding!"

Vashka too looked panicked, "The water is already reaching the horses' backs, what do we do?"

The drivers in front heard their shouts and quickly pulled on the reins to stop the big wagons. The drivers behind them also hurriedly stopped, and the wagons came to a halt one after another.

Sergei, seeing his son's flustered state, rebuked him dissatisfiedly, "What's all the panic about? Are you even a Dusack? It's such a small matter, and you're scared like this?"

"These two kids are out with the convoy for the first time; they've got little experience," Gerard explained to Winters, "This area is downstream, when it rains upstream, the downstream floods. It's common to not be able to traverse by foot."

"So what do we do?"

Gerard pointed northwards, "Take a detour, to Wolf Town. There's a bridge over the Panto River in Wolf Town. It'll just take a little more time, and we'll have to pay some extra tolls, that's all."

Gerard and his old companion exchanged glances and then nodded at Sergei.

Sergei turned his mount and sped towards the rear of the caravan, shouting orders as he rode, "Detour! Detour! Head to Wolf Town! Keep up with the front wagons! Keep up with the front wagons!"

"The turn-off for Wolf Town is behind us, we already passed it. But it's difficult to turn around on the road, keep going and find a good spot to circle back!" Gerard commanded the lead wagon's driver, "Follow me."

The drivers whipped their beasts hard, and with piercing friction sounds, the horses neighing, the wagons were dragged forward as the convoy continued onward.

Gerard apologized to Winters, "I guess this will delay us by another day on the road."

"No problem, we're not in a rush for a day or two," Winters replied with a smile.

The reason why Winters was also in the convoy was secondary to providing protection—the massive convoy was not short on men capable of wielding a sword.

The primary purpose of Lieutenant Winters Montagne was to visit the garrison in Revodan City. The content of the military draft order was too vague, and there were some critical issues that urgently needed clarification.

Although the draft notice had been distributed for a few days, there was no progress with the conscription work in Wolf Town. No lots had been drawn, no training had occurred—nothing.

It wasn't that Winters was intentionally dragging his feet, but rather because it was the busy farming season, and drafting men at this time would mean destroying the peasants' year of hard work.

The Paratu Plateau has a low latitude and high altitude, where the air currents from both the north and south are blocked by towering mountains. The precipitation mainly comes from the monsoons blowing from Senas Bay to the plateau.

This is why the crops in Paratu usually follow the pattern of double cropping in a year or triple cropping in two years.

Right now, in the fields of the villages in Wolf Town, the spring-planted crops needed harvesting and drying, while the fall-planted crops—like winter wheat—were waiting to be sown.

Ordinary peasants were frantic with gathering harvests, drying grains, and sowing seeds while the Dusans had an additional task—grass cutting. After each household had their assigned pastures, men and women, young and old, had to join forces to cut and dry grass to feed the livestock in the winter.

Peasants with less farmland finished their own field work and then went to help other households short on labor in exchange for some grain to supplement their household.

At such a time, drafting peasants was something Winters could not bear to do. Fortunately, there was still some time before the deadline, so there was no need to rush.

Therefore, it was a good time for Lieutenant Winters Montagne to make a trip to Revodan City and clarify the vague terms in the drafting order, as the lieutenant had many questions for his immediate superior.

The most critical question—and one that sounded quite absurd—was whether the drafted militia legally counted as "soldiers" or "peasants."

For the villagers of Wolf Town, this question was downright ludicrous.

Peasants? Soldiers?

What's the difference? Isn't it all just work?

If you asked the peasants of Wolf Town, they would unanimously respond, "Whichever allows me to serve less is the one for me."

But Brother Reed had an exceedingly creative idea. Conscription was a heavy blow to any family, but the old mendicant monk's idea might turn a misfortune into a blessing.

As he often said, "Celican proverb: Calamity is where fortune leans, fortune where calamity hides."

But all this hinged on clarifying whether the "militia really counted as civilians or soldiers."

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If one rode a horse from Wolf Town to Revodan City, covering sixty kilometers per day, it would take roughly two days one way.

But for the slow-moving farmer's wagons, traveling twenty kilometers a day was already the limit. With the detour through Wolf Town, it took a full seven days to reach Revodan City.

Gerard and Winters enforced military discipline on the convoy, sending out scouts ahead, positioning rear guards, patrolling back and forth during the day, and taking turns standing watch at night.

After several days of travel, everyone was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But most of the drivers and Dusacks were not on their first convoy and managed to grit their teeth and bear it silently.

On the other hand, Pierre, Vashka, and other young Dusacks who were with the convoy for the first time soon lost their enthusiasm and began to incessantly complain. By the last few days, they became too lazy to patrol and simply refused to get off the wagons.

A few incidents such as broken axles and overturned wagons occurred along the way, but thanks to Winters and Gerard's capable handling, there were no casualties. Gerard had specifically brought a few empty wagons just to anticipate such accidents.

Besides these minor hiccups, the journey was safe and smooth, with no ill-intentioned bandits causing trouble, which was fortunate indeed.