Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The servant and master were coerced into an encampment formed by large wagons, where a gap-toothed pirate who had run down from atop a wagon saw the two men and walked over to the tall pirate with murderous eyes, gesturing a "chop" with his hand.

The tall pirate neither agreed nor disagreed, but bent down to pick up two cups from beside the campfire and handed them to the men.

"This… What do you mean by this?" Kalman was somewhat dizzy.

"Aren't you the ones asking for water to drink?"

"Oh, thank you, thank you." After thanking him repeatedly, Kalman took the cup but dared not drink. The terrified old servant Bok, however, took the cup and gulped it down in one go.

"Who are you?" the tall pirate asked with an expressionless face.

"Passers-by." Kalman cautiously answered, "We're just farmers from around here."

"Do farmers ride fine horses?" The tall pirate said with a half-smile.

"We are… slightly wealthier peasants with a bit more land." Seeing that the other party didn't seem bloodthirsty, Kalman bit his lip and asked in return, "May I ask who you are?"

"Me?" The tall pirate laughed, "I am part of Captain Kidd's grain requisition team."

As his tension eased somewhat, Kalman's thinking gradually got clearer, and he instinctively tried to glean more information from the physical features of the pirate leader before him.

Although his face was smeared with some black soot, his voice indicated that the man was quite young. His hands were slender and clean, untouched by rough work. And then, his teeth, skin, figure... If the gap-toothed pirate was what one expected a pirate to look like, then this young man didn't resemble a pirate at all; rather, he looked more like a monk or someone of that ilk.

The focus was his eyes; they were a pair of stern, profound eyes.

As their four eyes met, Kalman averted his gaze, explaining to himself: Would someone so young be a pirate leader if they didn't have some skill?

Under his scrutinizing gaze, both Kalman and Bok lowered their heads, and just as Kalman was mustering the courage to say something.

"You can go now." The pirate leader waved his hand at his subordinates, "Let them go."

The other pirates seemed reluctant, but at the young pirate's command, they returned the reins to the servant and master and cleared a path for them.

Kalman mounted his horse in disbelief, hastily made a hat-tipping gesture to the pirate leader, then fled with his old servant as if they were running for their lives. The pair looked back as they ran, fearing they were being chased.

"I know what you're worried about." After watching the two strangers go far away, the pirate leader said to his subordinates, "But we're not pirates."

Kalman rode hard and fast back to Hongsong Manor, not daring to slow the horses down even the slightest, fearing pursuit.

He strictly ordered his old servant not to mention today's events to anyone; given how Bok was already scared out of his wits, he wouldn't dare speak of it even without the order.

The gentle Mrs. Kalman noticed that her husband was preoccupied after he returned home, but since Kalman refused to talk, she didn't ask any more questions.

But even back at home, the feeling of life being in someone else's hands still left Kalman shaken. He summoned the captain of the manor guard, inquired about any unusual activities near the manor lately, and repeatedly admonished him to be vigilant against pirates in the coming days.

The captain of the guard affirmed the order verbally but didn't really take it to heart. In his opinion, pirates at most would rob people on the road; they wouldn't have the nerve to attack a guarded plantation.

The sky gradually darkened completely, and Hongsong Manor fell into slumber.

After cleaning his matchlock gun and short sword, Kalman blew out the candle and climbed into bed.

"Why have you dug out the gun again?" asked Mrs. Kalman uneasily, and couldn't help but inquire, "What exactly happened to you today? You've been restless since you came back."

"I came across the grain requisition team from the Council today, and the team was full of pirates," Kalman sighed, "With war raging outside, our home is no longer safe."

"Let's sleep, sleep." Not knowing what else to do, Mrs. Kalman held her husband's hand and drifted off to sleep.

Madam Kalaman, sleeping soundly, was unaware that a small squad of people and horses lay in ambush outside Hongsong Manor, waiting to attack.

Originally, the three sergeants thought that as one of the two pillars of the Confederation, the plantation would surely have high walls and deep moats, elite private soldiers, and be highly vigilant—a veritable fortress.

However, the intelligence brought back by Bard and Andre showed that the defense of this plantation was laughable, so weak that it even amused the three sergeants.

The outer wall was just a wooden fence less than a man's height, and Bard and Andre didn't even count up to the sixth guard with weapons.

Winters led the Vineta Remnants in an ambush outside the manor for half a day without encountering any patrol, and the nighttime guard seemed to be just a dog.

"It looks like there are no nighttime patrols," Andre said in a low voice, "With just five guards, he couldn't possibly organize a night shift."

Winters hadn't expected the renowned plantation to be so lax in defense; he felt both aggravated and amused, having taken great pains to devise an elaborate plan for the assault.

"Let's get to work," Winters cautioned one last time, "Stick to the plan, if anyone resists, kill them on the spot. But the plantation owner's family must be taken alive."

Bard shot an arrow tied with poisoned meat towards the nighttime guard.

The nighttime guard barked a few times, then began to feast on the meal.

After quite a while.

The nighttime guard of Hongsong Manor was still bouncing around lively.

Andre cursed Gold in a suppressed voice, "F***, didn't you say this method was supposed to work really well?"

"It does work! Truly! But I always used rat poison before, I've never used poisonous mushrooms," Gold replied in self-pity.

Andre then turned the gun barrel towards Bard, "What the hell is going on? Didn't you say those mushrooms were highly toxic?"
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Bard sighed, stood up, drew his bow fully, and shot down the nighttime guard of Hongsong Manor.

"Couldn't we have just done this from the start?" Andre said with frustration, "What was the point of us lying on the ground all this time?"

"It was you who wanted to use poison, wasn't it? Let's focus on the task at hand," Winters said resignedly, "Don't let anyone escape."

Bard led some men to stand watch outside to prevent escapes, while Winters and Andre led the remaining men to sneak into the guard's dwelling.

After swiftly taking care of the five guards, the Venetian soldiers lit torches and brazenly broke into the main house.

Kalman was awakened by the footsteps downstairs, but before he could react, the bedroom door was kicked open, and several men brandishing machetes and torches burst in.

The firelight was so bright that Kalman couldn't open his eyes, but the intruders were laughing and shouting, "My lord, what a coincidence, the sparrow we let go has flown back into our hands."

...

The owner of Hongsong Manor, Kalman, was brought before Winters and stared angrily at the pirate leader, asking bitterly, "You followed me here, didn't you?"

Winters shook his head, "No, we were actually coming to find the owner of Hongsong Manor."

"So my household was doomed from the start," Kalman said, as if the strength had been drained from him, aging significantly, "Money, jewelry, food—you can take whatever you want, but please, do not harm my family."

"No, I didn't come to rob," Winters sheathed his machete, "You are a doctor, right? I'm here to ask you to save someone, and I need to inquire about some matters. If you fulfill my two requests, your family, your manor, your money, none of it will be harmed."

"There are many good doctors in Red Sulfur Harbor, why come looking for me? What do you need to ask a plantation owner from such a remote place? You…" Kalman suddenly had a realization, the Sea Blue accent, the appearance unbecoming of a pirate, the strange grain requisitioning team, he understood it all, he understood everything.

Kalman's eyes widened, his pupils constricted sharply, and pointing a trembling right hand at Winters's nose, he stuttered, "You… you… you are Venetian… you are a Venetian officer…"

Winters nodded slightly, "Da Weineta Legion, First Centuria, Centurion, Winters Montagne. Pleased to meet you, Doctor Kalman."