Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Chapter 468: Chapter 74: Entering the City_3

The Major wiped away the tears of laughter, then suddenly his face changed, and he asked the officers around him in a cold voice, “What are you laughing at?”

Everyone froze in place, silent as cicadas in cold weather.

“Was he wrong?” Alpad looked around and asked with a stern face, “If he were from The Federated Provinces, would he still be sent to Paratu?”

No one knew how to answer.

Alpad scoffed, took the saber, and personally hung it on Mason’s belt. He then patted Mason’s shoulder and said, “From today on, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses is your home.”

The Major turned his head to look at Colonel Jeska, “Your battalion came to our aid through the rain, everyone will be rewarded. Take your men to Bianli, I’ll let you be the first to enter the city!”

…

…

The fighting within sight had ended, but the battles outside our line of sight continued.

The Paratu Cavalry had already set off in pursuit of the retreating enemy.

The Herder army had collapsed, and it was the moment for the Piaoqi Troops to show their prowess.

If the Sekler Legion were the ones defeated, not a single infantryman would escape in the vast wasteland.

But now it was the Herders who were defeated, and they could easily break contact with their short-range mobility.

When the Herders stick together, they are cavalry; when they flee for their lives, they become herdsmen. Whether we can expand our victory depends entirely on the skill of the Paratu Piaoqi.

Compared to the heavily armored cavalry, the Piaoqi are unarmored, lighter, and ride swifter light horses.

The Herder cavalry move like the wind, and the Paratu Piaoqi do the same, only quicker.

Even before the outcome of the general battle was decided, Alpad had already dispatched men to raid the old camp of the Red River Tribe.

No wonder the infantry faction within Paratu felt discontent; they did the toughest work, yet the honor, credit, and spoils of war mostly went to the cavalry.

However, Jeska’s battalion had no such qualms now, for they would be the first to enter Bianli.

Being “the first to enter the city” is a euphemism for being the first to plunder.

The White Lion had blown a large gap in the city wall, saving the Paratu People a lot of effort.

Jeska’s battalion assembled outside the breach, rubbing their hands in eagerness for the Colonel’s command.

Everyone was in high spirits, with some even coming over to ask when the Gold Man would be dug up.

Only a few people knew the location where the Gold Man was buried, and they were all ordered to keep it a secret — though it was sure not to remain a secret.

Previously they were blocked by the Terdon Tribe at Bridgehead Fortress, knowing the Gold Man was just outside yet unable to do anything but stare.

Now seeing the Herders defeated, the militiamen grew restless and impatient.

Winters could only placate them, “We’ll dig it up once it’s safe.”

In reality, the officers of Jeska’s battalion were already racking their brains over the Gold Man. There was no need for a reminder from the militia.

Should they hand it over to the legion? Or divide it amongst themselves privately?

Handing it over to the legion was the simplest course of action, but they might end up getting only a leg as a reward.

Dividing it privately risked letting word slip out, and someone might get greedy. Besides, dividing two tons of gold into hundreds of portions isn’t easy.

And then there’s the question of whether the Gold Man is considered a large or small item. This is a “legal” problem.

According to unwritten rules, small spoils of war go to private individuals while large spoils go to the state.

Gold and silver are generally considered small items because nobody creates gold and silver objects of exceptional size.

Items like gold and silver coins, scabbards, arm rings, those who take them keep them — it’s only fair.

The definition of the gold and silver ritual objects captured by Jeska’s battalion is more ambiguous.

The Colonel turned in three pieces, and the rest were handed out to the militia involved in the combat. The legion did not investigate further.

But who would have thought that the Terdon Tribe would come up with a Gold Man… By the gold’s value, it is a small item. But by size, it is a large item.

Winters didn’t know what the best decision was, the issue was truly up to Colonel Jeska to decide.

Let Colonel Jeska worry about the headache! Right now, Winters just wanted to explore the city.

The battalion was fully equipped and ready, and at the Colonel’s command, the militia carefully “advanced” into Bianli.

But the anticipated resistance and street fights did not occur; Bianli was eerily quiet without a single person on the streets.

Standing at the breach, they didn’t know what to do.

“The Herders’ city isn’t much different from ours,” Xial commented in a low voice as he surveyed the buildings and streets of Bianli, “It’s just a bit worse for wear.”

The Herders had laid stone pavements in the inner city—quite fastidious of them.

Both sides of the stone pavements were lined with long houses with adobe walls and thatched roofs. Having been through fire and water, the rooftops and walls of the long houses bore scorched marks.

“You wouldn’t even know what to rob!” Colonel Jeska scolded, exasperated, “Don’t just stand there like idiots. Head towards the center of the city, look for the most beautiful and luxurious houses. If you encounter an enemy, shout to alert others!”

Then everyone surged in.

The Dusack riders charged ahead, quickly disappearing at the end of the street, splashing mud on the others.

“Those little Dusack brats!” Jeska chuckled coldly, “Robbery truly is their ancestral skill.”

Winters seemed to get the gist, saying to the Colonel, “I’m afraid the only people from Bianli who could still fight must have broken out with White Lion, probably leaving only the elderly, women, and children in the city.”

“I think so too,” Jeska nodded.

As they spoke, Pierre raced back from the end of the street, nearly colliding with his own people.

“What happened?” Winters’s face changed as he asked loudly, “Are there still remnants of the enemy?”

Pierre dismounted, panting, “In the city center, there’s a huge tent! Even bigger than the one in Terdon’s old camp!”

…

…

In the center of Bianli’s main city, a massive and luxurious felt tent stood conspicuously on an open space.

Space inside the city walls is always limited, yet there were no buildings within twenty meters of the tent.

Behind the tent, a green horse lay atop a large stone slab.

The horse’s chest was split open as if something had burst out from within. Other than that, the rest of the body was unscathed, making the scene exceptionally eerie and horrifying.

Winters, holding a steel nail, cautiously used a curved knife to lift the tent flap.

Smoke swirled inside the tent.

They didn’t find the second golden idol they had been hoping for; the tent only contained a pile of extinguished bonfires and bodies dressed in strange and different garments scattered across the floor.

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