Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

After a night of chaotic combat, the Vineta forces breached the Red Sulfur Harbor City, and the remaining Tanyrian troops huddled into the bastion on the southwestern corner of the town.

Lacking siege weapons, the Vineta troops made several probing attacks but failed to succeed and did not press on, leading both sides into a delicate standoff.

The Venetians had a numerical advantage, but they were not in a rush to attack the bastion. Light sail oar ships were salvaging the sunken ships in the bay and clearing the waterway so heavy warships could enter.

The Tanilians also did not launch a counter-attack; their cannons on the bastion could cover both the docks and the entire town—the design of this small bastion at the edge of the town was not just to defend against external enemies but also to deter the city's own citizens.

However, for some reason, the big guns in the bastion fell silent, letting Vineta's light warships come and go at the docks unchallenged.

At dawn, Winters led the last of the living men as victors into Red Sulfur Harbor for the first time. Andre proudly raised the military flag, and their party proceeded unobstructed.

The earthen walls and ditches around the town's perimeter were beginning to take shape, yet the Tanilians never imagined that Red Sulfur Harbor would be broken through from the sea, making the encircling fortifications and trenches futile.

Crossing the trench, the doors of houses within the city were tightly closed, and the bodies on the streets had not yet been dragged away. Constables armed with long spears patrolled to maintain military discipline and ordered scattered soldiers to rejoin their units.

After the capture of Red Sulfur Harbor, chaos ensued. Not only were Tanyrian remnants stirring trouble, but many Vineta soldiers also attempted to seize the opportunity for plunder. Under the control of the constabulary, a semblance of order was still barely maintained.

Above the council hall, the Tanyrian Red Dragon Flag was torn down and replaced with the Golden Lion Flag—the symbol of Saint Marco, the patron saint of Vineta, and the flag of the Vineta Army.

It was here that Winters encountered Colonel Field. Explore more stories with empire

"Hahaha, didn't expect it to be us, did you?" Field laughed heartily, giving a bloody and sooty Winters a bear hug.

"Indeed, I didn't expect..." Winters, who had intended to salute, was hugged so tightly that he struggled to breathe, "...My contacts mentioned the Third Legion... I'm afraid the Tanilians also didn't expect you to arrive so quickly."

"'Da Weineta' is still floating in the northern seas off Red Sulfur Island, so this piece of meat was left for us 'Saint Marco' to devour." Colonel Field said triumphantly, laughing, "Haha, but thanks to your Third Legion indeed. If they hadn't held back the Tanyrian forces, Red Sulfur Harbor wouldn't have been so easy to take."

After the declaration of war, Colonel Field was transferred from the constabulary to command a battalion in the "Saint Marco" Reserve Legion. When Winters had set out with the Da Weineta Army, the Saint Marco Legion was still being reorganized, and not even Winters had expected this newly conscripted reserve legion to be deployed so quickly.

[Note: Following the constitutional assembly after the War of Sovereignty, to prevent military arms racing within the Senas Alliance, each member state was allowed to maintain no more than two standing legions.

Because the sequence numbers for the standing legions came from the Alliance, Vineta's two standing legions were respectively the Third and Fourth Legions.

However, militias and reserves outside of the standing army exploited a loophole in the covenant, falling under the domestic affairs of the Republic and thus were unrestricted. Hence the Reserve Legion "Saint Marco" got the number "First Reserve Legion."]

"And Major Moritz?" asked Winters.

"Out on patrol." Field responded with a rueful smile, "I reckon you wouldn't have guessed, but Moritz is still in charge of the constabulary after joining the legion. Once he's back, you will see him."

Before Field could finish, boot steps were heard coming from outside the council hall, followed by a sharp command of "Attention!"

Field and Winters unconsciously stood straight.

A group of senior officers entered the hall, led by a general officer in uniform, and before he even stepped through the door, Winters heard his gruff voice, "What the hell are we waiting for? Waiting for the Tanilians to react? As soon as the Fifth Battalion comes ashore, attack directly with the force of four battalions!"

This general happened to be one Winters recognized; it was Major General Layton, the one responsible for commissioning them as officers. Layton frowned and thought for a moment before remembering that he had heard Major General Layton was now commanding a newly formed reserve legion.

Field and Winters immediately saluted.

"Field, how are your troops shaping up?" General Layton asked in his usual blunt manner, not waiting for Field to answer, he turned to Winters, "And who are you?"

While Winters remembered General Layton, evidently Layton no longer remembered the small Ensign Winters.

"This is Ensign Winters Montagne of the Third Legion! The man who destroyed those two sea chains! The man who destroyed the bay's batteries! The man who brought us victory! Without him, Red Sulfur Harbor would still be in Tanyrian hands." Field proudly introduced Winters, and then he answered Layton's question, "All six of my hundred-man squads have regrouped."

Suddenly there was a hush in the hall; all the officers looked in astonishment at the ensign next to Field, whom they had assumed was just one of Field's soldiers.

They had seen the battle flag raised high beside the burning battery, but they never thought the man beneath the flag would be so… youthful, looking like nothing more than a big child. Yet the uniform on the ensign, almost soaked with blood and scorched by fire, silently told everyone of the cruel battles he had endured.