Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Moreover, according to the testimony of that gendarme sergeant, the grain requisition team had been robbed not just once, but other cases had distracted Revodan's attention.

However, Winters had met the officers stationed at Revodan.

He had visited Major Ronald's home, and Captain Apel, along with other seniors, had warmly entertained him.

Those alumni were all intelligent people who had received the same education and training as him.

Sooner or later, they would notice something unusual about Wolf Town.

They might pretend to be confused, they might want to lightly skim over it, or they might strike with a heavy blow—Winters didn't know what to expect.

But Winters already had some plans, thanks to Father Caman.

The information Caman brought back was extremely valuable; he had been with the remnants of the Expeditionary Force all this time, so... Winters had to make a trip to Revodan.

As for Father Caman's church, for now, it seemed slightly more important than "finding some lactation food for the hunting dogs at Mitchell's," but much less than "the charcoal at the smithy is not enough to burn," so Winters left Pierre in charge of it.

Just as he thought of Pierre, Pierre came.

"Something's needed at the church," Pierre said curtly.

"What's the matter?" Winters said indifferently, "Isn't it just setting up a wooden shed for Caman to make do?"

Pierre showed a hint of a smile, "The foundation-laying ceremony still requires your presence."

The camp and the original site of the church were separated by a dirt road, not even twenty meters apart.

Winters and Pierre quickly arrived at the construction site.

"The first wooden stake has to be driven down by you," Pierre scratched his head: "We aren't qualified."

Winters had nothing to say, so he took the mallet and gave the "first wooden stake" a hearty whack.

"Done!" Winters discarded the mallet and dusted off his hands, "Let's get to work."

The entire foundation-laying ceremony took less than ten seconds to conclude.

The militiamen and convict laborers first froze for a moment, then picked up their tools and went back to work. The silent ruins of the old church again buzzed with noise.

"Ha, if old Anthony knew it was me, a magician, who hammered down the first stake of his church," Winters suddenly found it ironic, "I wonder what he would think."

This time it was Pierre's turn to be speechless.

"I was just thinking of setting up a wooden shed, but it seems there really is an issue," Winters said as he looked at the charred stone walls of the church. "Can the mortar and plaster that have been through the fire still be used?"

The question stumped Pierre, who said with a wry smile, "I don't know, we need to ask a stonemason about that."

The old church of Wolf Town comprised two parts, the older stone structure and the recently added timber structure.

After the fire, the timber had burned away, leaving only the stone walls whose age was unknown; even the plaster and murals on the wall surfaces had been burned off completely.

"Does Wolf Town have a stonemason?" Winters asked.

"Wolf Town doesn't," Pierre shook his head: "We need to go to Revodan, we always ask for stonemasons from there to build big houses."

A stonemason wasn't just a stonemason but also an architect and contractor.

"Let's just put up a wooden shed top for Caman's use for now," Winters sighed: "Be careful, and let me know immediately if you see any cracks forming on the wall."

Winters was not in the mood to draw up plans for Caman's church at the moment; thus, the church went from "nice and pretty" to being "an improvised wooden shed top atop the old walls."

Winters, looking at the "convict laborers" working hard on the reconstruction of the church, suddenly had an idea.

He called out softly, "Pierre?"

"Yes?" Pierre slightly cocked his head.

"Tell me, is hope important or not?"

"It should… be very important," Pierre responded.

"Very important; one needs hope to survive." Winters sighed, "We also have to give these convicts a bit of hope. Otherwise, they are just scraping by, compelled to labor, and they won't put in much effort."

"But these convicts are all from... the Saint Gis Valley criminal gangs," Pierre said with some difficulty.

The crimes committed by the gangs from Saint Gis Valley were too heinous. If it had been up to the old Winters, all of these bandits would have been executed without exception.

It was precisely because he chose to make a public example by executing them that these accomplices were allowed to live.

"I'm not considering this for their benefit, but for ours. If they work hard, it's to our advantage," Winters resolved, "We need to give them a glimmer of hope by defining their punishment with a number. Let's say a thousand days—if they complete a thousand days, we set them free."

Pierre always understood quickly. Slightly narrowing his eyes, he pondered, "We also need a standard to assess their efforts and distinguish the dedicated from the slackers. Say, a convict works hard for eight hundred days, then we set them free. If someone doesn't work hard and just idles for a thousand days, then they still owe us a thousand days."

"Right! Well said. We'll gather everyone for a meeting tonight to discuss it in detail," Winters thought for a moment and added, "Isn't this just like Lieutenant Mason's convict ranch? Ha, we need to give these 'days' a name, how about 'workdays'?"

Pierre mused, "Workdays isn't precise; sometimes there are ten-hour days, sometimes just six. Why not get more specific with hours, call them 'work hours'? Any convict who completes the prescribed work hours can regain their freedom—provided they don't just run out the clock."

"Good, let's call them work hours," Winters laughed, clearly excited: "I'll return to my tent now, write this down, and start drafting a few rules."

"Please wait," Pierre said with a curious expression, "Sir, did you forget something?"

"Forget what?"

Slowly, Pierre said, "My family..."

"Damn!" Winters exclaimed, realizing his oversight.

He had left the previous night, chasing Revodan scouts until the early morning light. After returning, he went straight into interrogating the two captives, all the way up to the present.

Anna was still waiting for him at the Mitchell estate!