Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Winters was no longer acting as a Centurion; he, along with Bard and Andre, had been reassigned to the logistical unit for a rotation internship.

Less than a day into the rotation, Winters and Andre were almost driven insane by the tedious and onerous paperwork, so they decided together to volunteer for the dirty work no one else wanted to do—supervising the division of meat at the bloody, filthy slaughterhouse.

Bard, on the other hand, was in his element among the mountainous piles of archives and documents. His writing skills, honed from years of transcribing scriptures at the Monastery, proved to be of great use in the logistics department. The head of logistics finally found an officer proficient in shorthand and quick calculations, a treasure indeed.

As for why the three warrant officers were transferred to the logistics unit, starts with what happened the day after the Third Legion arrived at Red Sulfur Harbor.

The day after the Da Weineta Legion was stationed at Red Sulfur Harbor, another supply fleet set sail from Sea Blue City and reached Red Sulfur Harbor.

This supply fleet not only brought reinforcements, ammunition, and provisions for the Third Legion but also carried a member of the 13-person military commission and an officer who was officially appointed to command the Hundred-Man Squad.

However, this officer, theoretically the centurion of the Hundred-Man Squad, was shocked to find that the Hundred-Man Squad, in effect, no longer existed—after two bloody battles, out of the original 150 soldiers of the Hundred-Man Squad, only five remained, plus three officer cadets.

Not only the Hundred-Man Squad didn't exist anymore, even his superior officer was gone—the Chief Company Commander, Colonel Kongtai'er, wasn't dead but had been sent back to the Vineta mainland due to injuries.

The new centurion sadly realized that until the next wave of reinforcements arrived, he was just an officer without a single soldier under him.

With no Hundred-Man Squad left, continuing to intern there was pointless. Besides, Winters had lost his appetite for combat. He felt it was not worth risking his life for the ambitions of people like Kongtai'er.
Experience tales at empire

At Winters' request, Antonio reassigned him and Bard and Andre to the logistics unit for a rotation internship, and he also moved the few remaining soldiers of the Hundred-Man Squad to the logistics unit for light duty—fulfilling Winters' promise: "After tonight, you won't have to risk your lives anymore."

Thanks to Antonio's arrangement, the Herders had already embarked on the sailboat leaving Red Sulfur Island. They were to be taken to Sea Blue City first and then escorted to the Republic of Palatu before finally returning to their homeland.

So now Winters, Bard, and Andre were relieved, simply waiting for commendations.

There was no doubt that their contributions in destroying two sea-blocking chains and the artillery bastion were significant achievements. If the three had not been officer cadets, just for destroying the artillery alone, they would have been instantly promoted.

However, they were not even formally commissioned officers, which made things rather awkward. It wasn't feasible to promote a warrant officer to a lieutenant, was it? What would happen when they did get formally commissioned? Commissioning isn't the same as a promotion, so would they be made lieutenants all over again?

In the end, the solution the senior officers of the Third Legion came up with was to defer the commendations until the three warrant officers were formally commissioned next year, so that the process would be orderly.

That meant as soon as the three became commissioned officers next year, they would not have to toil through seniority and would immediately be promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

In Bard's opinion, it was fortunate to be able to avoid the limelight by going to the logistics unit. Already being the subject of envy because of their significant achievements, it was wise to give up the chance to earn more honors on the frontline to others.

Although Andre felt somewhat reluctant to leave combat behind, the memory of bloodshed during the full moon at the artillery bastion made him somewhat fearful, and he, too, was glad for the chance to take a rest.

As for Winters—he didn't think as much as Bard, nor did he cling to the opportunity for frontline combat like Andre. He simply didn't want to die for the ambitions of a few or command soldiers to do so. Yet, he couldn't change the course of the world, so he could only step aside and pretend not to see.

A butcher at the edge of the cutting board knocked on his knife unsatisfiedly; they were out of meat to cut and urged the butcher behind to hurry up and provide more.

"I think you shouldn't have one person deal with a whole pig. If each person only handles one part of the process, like one person solely responsible for scalding, another for removing the entrails, the slaughtering efficiency would be higher," Winters couldn't help but interject.

Upon hearing someone meddling in his work, a butcher immediately responded, neither too softly nor too forcefully, "My lord, my family has been butchers for generations. I know how to slaughter pigs."

Seeing Winters hit a snag, Andre snickered and poked Winters in the lower back. Winters also gave a wry smile and shook his head—the butchers were hired from outside and not military personnel, naturally oblivious of the strict hierarchical order of the military.

"Fine, do your work any way you want," Winters said helplessly. "But I have to correct you on one thing—I'm not 'my lord,' and in Vineta, there are no 'my lords.' The nobility throughout Senas Bay have been toppled and purged, there are no 'my lords' anymore."

"Alright, my lord."

Winters was rendered speechless by the retort, while Andre burst into loud laughter, beating on his thighs uncontrollably.

...

After completing his duty, Winters didn't head straight back to his tent like Andre, but took a detour to the armory instead.

A legion is a microcosm of society, not only filled with soldiers but also with various artisans, like blacksmiths.

These artisans all held military status, some were full-time craftsmen, such as the armory's blacksmiths and gunsmiths, responsible for repairing weaponry.