Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Ivan—a former sergeant notorious in Revodan for his alcoholism and domestic abuse—finally grasped the true essence of life: life was not about peaks and troughs, but troughs and even deeper troughs.

He was the first enemy captured by Winters during his first engagement with the New Reclamation Legion. In this sense, prisoner Ivan's existence was a testimony to Winters formally raising the banner of rebellion.

From the moment he was captured, Ivan's experiences could be summarized as: being brutally beaten, interrogated, escorted, imprisoned, and most importantly, forced to make straw shoes.

There was no coercion; the orders from above were simple and clear: no work, no food.

Managing the prisoners was handed over to Winters by Samukin, at that time there were only three prisoners.

To prevent anyone harboring resentment from sabotaging the straw shoes, Ivan and the other two prisoners were required by Samukin to leave a special mark on the shoes they made.

Samukin earnestly told Ivan, "If there's a problem with the quality of the shoes, then you will have a problem."

Ivan nodded desperately. There was a moment when he truly thought he was going to die; miraculously surviving made Ivan extraordinarily cherishing of his life.

Samukin brought an old man who knew how to make shoes from Nanxin village. The old man taught the prisoners for a day, then left them with a few frames as well as a big bundle of wicks and flax, shaking his head.

For the first two days, Ivan survived solely on water. The straw shoes he made would fall apart before they could even be worn, naturally, they couldn't be traded for food.

People in desperate situations can occasionally burst with power that astonishes even themselves. On the third day, Ivan, having grasped the trick, successfully made a pair of shoes.

Although the quality of his shoes still didn't pass muster, Samukin still gave Ivan two small pieces of black bread as encouragement.

On the fifth day, Ivan received his normal ration of black bread.

After that, Ivan's life consisted of continuously improving his shoemaking skills, while one by one, he was reunited with his former colleagues.

During that time, Winters focused on destroying the microstructure of Revodan's garrison forces. Whichever requisitioning squad he ambushed, the new recruits were allowed to depart after surrendering, but he didn't let go of any of the old soldiers or sergeants.

The prison in Wolf Town became increasingly crowded, and despite multiple expansions, it was still stuffed to the brim with Revodan's sergeants.

Initially, the prison warden Samukin insisted on solitary confinement to prevent collusion. Later on, as the number of prisoners captured was just too many, he relaxed the standards, and stuffing four or five people into a cell became normal.

This even made Ivan somewhat nostalgic for the days when he had a cell to himself just after being captured.

As the number of prisoners surged, Ivan gradually moved away from the frontline shoemaking position and began trading his skills in teaching others how to make shoes for bread, significantly improving his living conditions.

It was during this phase that the "labor camp" started producing more straw shoes than needed. Originally, one pair of straw shoes could be traded for a day's full meal; soon, it became three pairs of straw shoes for two-day's full meal, then two pairs of straw shoes for one day's full meal.

One only has two hands, and there's a limit to how quickly one can make shoes. Ivan wasn't a businessman, but he realized if this went on, he would either starve or work himself to death. The demand for straw shoes was saturated; he had to find something new that would be equivalent to more bread.

It was all "making" anyway, and Ivan thought about making baskets, mats, and hampers. He petitioned Samukin, hoping to invite a master basket-weaver to teach them the skill and also requested raw materials like reeds, wheat straw, and thin willow branches.

He petitioned the day before, and the next day, the prisoners were transferred.

When Ivan walked out of the barracks, he was so frightened he nearly wet his pants. He thought they were being taken to the execution grounds. Instead, they were just brought to a hidden camp deep in the forest.

It was in this camp that Ivan met another prisoner—Lieutenant Asko—in a state of breakdown.

Asko had been ordered to assist Bard and Mason in suppressing bandits but got captured just after leaving Revodan. In fact, Asko had been brought to Wolf Town long ago, but because he was held in solitary confinement, Ivan had never seen the lieutenant.

"How did you get caught too?" Ivan's tears flowed out instantly: "Is Revodan also gone?"

"I was set up," Lieutenant Asko was quite calm: "Don't worry. The fact that the rebels are urgently moving us now indicates that Major Ronald is coming—or he might have already arrived. I reckon if we hold on for a few more days, he will come to rescue us."

Hearing this, Ivan felt both joyful and slightly regretful.

He actually wanted to try making baskets and mats; these were the only two things he pursued with hope in his muddled life—the other being getting married.

Ivan waited for Major Ronald's appearance for a very long time.

He waited until they were brought back to the scorched earth of Wolf Town, until Samukin invited the master basket-weaver, until the willow branches and wheat straw were delivered... but Major Ronald never showed up.

Ivan began to learn how to make baskets and mats. The once calm and collected Lieutenant Asko nearly lost control of his emotions, and it fell to Ivan to reassure him.

"You should stop drinking and eating meat. Those are counted as labor hours," Ivan suggested cautiously: "You should come and learn how to make baskets with me. If you make a lot, it can compensate for the labor hours."

Asko looked at the former sergeant, now novice basket-weaver, through his bleary drunken eyes: "If the rebels win, what's the point of all this? If they lose, I will naturally regain my freedom. Making baskets? Drink! Drink!"

Food was scarce; where would there be enough alcohol for the lieutenant to drink? Ivan silently wove with the straw, watching the lieutenant trying to drown himself in diluted bootlegged liquor, thereby accruing more "labor hours."

Ivan didn't think as much as the lieutenant; he had a simple mind. He was just terrified of hunger and had learned to be wise. The brutish and violent Sergeant Ivan didn't survive, but the timid, life-fearing prisoner Ivan did.