Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The villagers of Saint Giles Valley, left with no escape from a gang of ruthless bandits, heard this news and immediately sent for help.

The Village Head of Saint Giles Valley rode on a donkey, traveling day and night to reach Wolf Town and requested Winters to enforce the law across the border.

Moreover, he promised that everything owned by the bandits could be taken by Winters as spoils of war.

Except for the women—the women of Saint Giles Valley.

Indeed, these bandits not only plundered food and money, but they also preyed on women.

More than a dozen women from Saint Giles Valley were abducted into the bandits' stronghold, among which five were unmarried, the youngest girl being not even fourteen years old.

Needless to say, Winters was furious, and so were the militiamen, who itched with rage upon hearing such things.

For scum like this, Winters would have dealt with them even without compensation.

There was no need to whip up morale, everyone armed themselves and rushed to Saint Giles Valley overnight.

Winters had originally planned to lure out the bandits and ambush them in the open field.

But the bandits were alert and, discovering their scouts had been eliminated, immediately holed up inside their wooden fortress.

The battle soon reached a stalemate.

It wasn't long before Pierre came running back.

"What's the word?" Winters asked.

The militia was severely lacking in siege capabilities; Winters didn't have muskets at his disposal, let alone cannons, and powder was scarce.

He really did not want to see his soldiers scaling ladders and risking their lives in storming the fortress.

Pierre's expression was odd. Licking his lips, he said, "The bandit chief proposed a condition."

"What condition?"

"He... He wants to duel you."

...

The bandit chief was a large, burly man nearly two meters tall, looking as savage as a wild buffalo.

He wore a set of plate armor, not the common skirted infantry breastplate, but a set of three-quarter heavy plate armor for officers.

He had also managed to acquire a pair of cavalry leg guards and a boat-shaped helm.

Although this combination of armor seemed incongruous, it was indeed lavish.

Because even his opponent, the young Garrison Officer, did not possess such plate armor.

However, the bandit chief currently had a boar spear sticking out of his face, lying on the ground facing upwards, presumably dead.

The stronghold that had been abuzz with cheering went instantaneously silent.

Winters took a deep breath, such requests for duels before the battle lines were something he hadn't encountered in a long time.

This feeling... was indeed somewhat nostalgic.

"Who else is there?!" His voice boomed like thunder through the forest.

Winters asked again, "Who else is there?!"

First a small gap appeared, then the gates of the stronghold burst open.

...

After getting the bandits under control, came the sorting.

Identifying the hardened criminals and sparing those simple sons of farmers, those who had not yet adopted the bandits' lawless habits.

For this procedure, the Wolf Town militia were well-practiced.

The Village Head of Saint Giles Valley had promised two carts of grain, but Winters came with four large carts—expecting to load up with spoils.

Everyone worked their assigned roles, with no need for Winters to intervene.

He stayed by the body of the bandit chief, examining the armor on the corpse.

After inspecting it, Winters's eyebrows slightly raised, "This really is an officer's armor."

"Probably stolen or looted," Xial said quietly.

Pierre came out of the stronghold and hurried back to Winters's side.

His lips trembling, he said softly, "You... You should come and see this..."

Pierre led Winters into the fortress. In the two-story wooden structure, Winters saw more than a dozen women who were tortured beyond recognition.

Some were still alive, others had already died.

The bandits didn't just ravage them; they were slaughtering them.

A very young girl, younger than Ella and Scarlett, sat in the corner of the room, her hands bound to a wheel, her head hanging low.

The militia covered the girl's bloodstained and muddied naked body with their clothes; she was no longer alive.

One woman was still alive, but when the militia tried to clothe her, she recoiled as if greatly triggered.

She desperately backed away, flailing her arms, and let out a blood-curdling scream.

She had gone mad.

Pride, complacency, the excitement of dueling, the joy of victory... all of Winters's emotions vanished in an instant.

All that was left in his heart was desolation, a feeling of powerlessness, and anger, an anger that could burn the world.

The militiamen also stood silently, fists clenched tightly, teeth grinding audibly.

"Bring them here!" Winters breathed heavily, struggling to say, "Unbind her."

The bruised and battered bandits were brought before the girl's body.

Without waiting for Winters to speak, a gaunt bandit abruptly knelt down, loudly begging for mercy, "My lord! It was all Hammerhead and his accomplices who forced us! If we didn't do it, they would kill us! Paline was killed by Hammerhead! His body's buried in the stronghold!"

"Hmm." Winters drew Vashka's sabre.

"Truly! We were really coerced!" The gaunt bandit was a flood of snot and tears. He pounced toward another bandit with a bulbous, red nose, crying out, "It was him! It was him! He was with Hammerhead! And him and him!"

"Hmm." Winters grabbed the red-nosed bandit by the hair and dragged him like a dead body before the girl's corpse, forcing him to kneel down.

The red-nosed bandit was so scared that he was limp, and he had even soiled himself; he desperately pleaded, "My lord! Spare me! Have mercy, please!"

"Hmm." Winters placed the sabre at the red-nosed bandit's neck.

The militia all waited for that moment.