Iron Powder and Spellcaster

After returning from Dimin Street, Lieutenant Colonel Field held the first all-officer meeting of the Military Police Department of the Army Headquarters in Moritz's apartment.

Number of participants: three;

Host: Lieutenant Colonel Field;

Clerk: Warrant Officer Montagne.

[Because Major Moritz's hearing has not yet recovered, what was said to Major Moritz in the previous chapter and this chapter was written down by Winters and shown to Major Moritz, and will not be repeated again. ]

"Senior, there are only three of us in total, and the major can't hear anything yet, so there's no need to be so serious, right?" Winters said in a dumbfounded voice while immersed in writing the minutes of the meeting. He had already begun to change his name to senior. After going to Qianmin Street once, he became closer to two regular officers from the Military Police Department.

"This is the first all-officers meeting of the Military Police Department. Of course it has to be formal." Field said with a smile: "To hold an all-officers meeting, at least three officers are needed. Before, there were only Moritz and I in the Military Police Department, so we have been This meeting can’t be held. Now including you, there are exactly three... Hey, don’t record these words in the meeting minutes.”

Winters began to cross off the words he just recorded: "Does warrant officer count? I'm not a formal officer yet."

"The "Regulations" do not stipulate that warrant officers are not counted, so don't be so rigid. As a trainee, it's just a process."

"I would like to ask, have you never been a trainee officer before me?"

"Haha, no."

Moritz, who was curled up on the lounge chair covered with a thin blanket, snored very untimely. Although the major temporarily lost his hearing and could only perceive some vague sounds through bone conduction, his sleep quality was better because of this.

Field threw his hat into Moritz's face in dissatisfaction.

The major woke up with a start, wiped his saliva, sat up, and asked at a loss: "Is the meeting over?"

"[Expletive words that would make the saint in the portrait cover his ears]... Don't write down the expletives in the minutes either!"

"Okay." Winters crossed out the words he just wrote.

After some sorting, the first all-officer meeting of the Military Police Department of the Army Headquarters finally began in a united, tense, serious and lively atmosphere.

In addition to giving the lieutenant colonel a lot of fun, this meeting was about one serious thing: saving the careers of the two colonel officers. To prevent them from being kicked from their current cold bench to an even colder bench one day in the future - such as the Department of War History.

In the Senas League, the military system deliberately made it almost impossible to discharge an officer. Therefore, officers who make mistakes are usually demoted a few levels down and then kicked to the bench. This indirectly caused the war histories of the armies of the republics to read sourly.

Winters doesn't need to worry. He is just a trainee officer now. Even if the case is overturned in the future, he will not be implicated. But the two alumni, Field and Moritz, treated him well, so he also wanted to do his part in the careers of the two seniors.

The lieutenant colonel ordered Moritz and Winters not to engage in small groups anymore, and to report to him completely and without any concealment everything they saw and heard at the dock that day.

The reason why this happened was actually Moritz's fault. The major and Winters said they wanted to discuss it in secret, so Winters kept silent and waited for the major to come to him. As a result, after leaving the customs prison and downing two bottles of spirits, Moritz forgot about the incident.

So it was only now that Field learned the specific events on the dock that day from two key witnesses.

"You mean there might be a spellcaster among the dead?"

"I'm not sure, but I think that person must have used deflection."

"It would be interesting if the person who died was a spell caster." Lieutenant Colonel Field's expression also became solemn: "There are about a hundred or so spell casters in the Navy Army. If you find out which one is missing, you will know. I will check this matter. ...There are also assassins among the dock workers?"

"right."

"No mask?"

"No."

"Do you remember what it looks like?"

But the faces of the assassins pretending to be dock workers were so ordinary, so ordinary that they had no features at all. Even after describing them for a long time, Winters couldn't explain clearly. Finally, Winters said helplessly: "If you put those few There is an assassin standing in front of me, I can recognize him, but I really can't explain it with words alone."

"The porters are all familiar faces, they should remember something. Huh, there are a few groups of people controlling the dock, and it's not like you have the strength to be a porter. Whoever introduces them, who guarantees them, You’ll know once you check it.”

Winters suddenly remembered the swift sword he had snatched: "I snatched an assassin's sword from me. When the assassin blew up the dock, the sword fell into the water. Do you want someone to fish it out?"

"You can hire some sailors with good water quality to fish it out tomorrow." Field's fingers of his right hand tapped on the wine glass unconsciously. He frowned and considered for a while, then said, "You can try it, but I guess I should Swept away by the tide.”

"There are also guns. One of the assassin's guns was also kicked into the water by me. The assassin's gun is very weird. It can fire without hanging a match rope. It is also very short and can be used with one hand."

"Didn't Lame say anything? Someone bought a few spring guns at a high price." Field said matter-of-factly.

Winters wondered: "What is a spring gun? This is the first time I've heard of it."

"I've never heard of it. The spring wheel gun is a newly invented gun in the north. It uses a mechanism instead of a matchlock to ignite the fire. It was only introduced to Hailan a few days ago. It is still a rare thing and I don't have one either." Lieutenant Colonel Field tried to He dipped his finger in wine and drew a diagram on the table, but failed: "If you have a real thing, you can understand it at a glance."

After studying for a long time, two directions of investigation were finally determined. One was to investigate the recent disappearance and death of the Navy Army spellcasters; the other was to start with the dock workers and investigate the assassins disguised as porters.

There were two other clues that Field was not hopeful about: the sword and gun that the assassin dropped into the sea; and the brotherhood of coachmen who may have helped the assassin dispose of the carriage.

Although there is no real progress yet, at least it is no longer as clueless as before, which is gratifying.

Major Moritz's sick leave was canceled by Field. The Lieutenant Colonel's original words were: "You will choke to death on your own vomit sooner or later if you continue to take leave. It's better to go back to the headquarters for duty."

Carrying the ten steel awls and a target disk given by the major, Winters returned home and excitedly began to practice flying arrows.

According to Major Moritz, the target disk is first hung ten steps away. Under the premise of ensuring the power, when you can use ten flying arrows to hit the silver coin more than eight times, then push the target disk five steps away, and gradually increase distance.

But he remembered that he had to visit Benwei's house, so he put away the training equipment again. Taking the flour and meat bought by Aunt Marita as gifts, she rode straight to Benvenuto's house.

While still in kindergarten, Winters would often go to Benway's house for "dock meals." As the name suggests, dock rice is the food eaten by dock workers, which is heavy on oil and salt. Later, when sugar became cheaper, it started to focus on sugar again. Most people are not used to it, but workers only have the strength to work after eating this kind of food.

Winters especially likes this kind of food that is heavy in oil, salt and sugar, but Kesha generally doesn’t cook this kind of food and doesn’t allow Winters to eat more. So Winters always secretly went to Benway's house to satisfy his cravings, and Benway's mother never minded putting an extra plate for Winters.

The place where Benvenuto's family lives is not far from the dock, but compared to the bustling dock, the dockworkers' neighborhood is not that beautiful. A whole area of ​​low wooden houses are connected together, and the dirt road paved with cinders becomes muddy every time it rains.

Benway's family of twenty-two persons--if the family had not been enlarged in the years since Winters had gone to the provinces--lived in two small houses next to each other. The walls of the two separate houses were opened. As the children grew up, the small yard behind the house was converted into a shed, and an attic was built on the roof of the bungalow.

Benwei's elders are all Waan people. They fled to Hailan to escape the war more than 30 years ago. Vanns generally have a strong sense of family, they like to stick together when they are prosperous, and hold on tighter when they are unlucky.

This is hardly due to some strong sense of brotherhood, but rather a valuable lesson learned through hard times that a family must stick together if it is to survive.

So Benway's family is not just his parents and siblings, but also his cousins, uncles, and siblings. Although it is crowded for a large family to live in two houses, there is a different kind of warmth.

But Winters, who happily rode his luck to Benway's house, was surprised to find that Benway's house was now empty, and there was no one in the originally bustling house.

"Moved?" Winters was dumbfounded. He thought, "No, Benway clearly said he didn't move."

The doors of both houses were locked. Looking through the gaps in the door panels, it was dark inside and nothing could be seen.

Winters knocked on Benway's neighbor's door. An old man opened the door a crack and stared at Winters warily.

"Old sir, where is the person next door?"

The old man looked at Winters' saber, then at Winters' boots, and said in a hoarse voice: "I don't know anything, so don't ask me."

At this time, Winters only changed back into his military boots, not his military uniform. He was still wearing the same clothes he went to Qianmin Street. He thought to himself: Could it be that this old man regards me as a bad guy?

The old man was about to close the door after finishing speaking. Winters hurriedly stretched out his foot to block the door and explained: "I am Benvenuto's friend."

"Friend? Do you think I'm an old fool?" The old man said sarcastically: "How could Benway have friends like you wearing military boots?"

A stick was poked out from the crack in the door. Winters took a step back and the old man took the opportunity to close the door. No matter how hard Winters knocked, he still refused to open it.

The atmosphere on the street also began to change, and Winters was keenly aware of this. There was no pedestrian on the dirt road between the two rows of houses. The hostesses closed the doors and windows tightly and drove the children playing on the street back home.

Winters could feel a pair of wary eyes staring at him from behind the wooden window.

He knocked on another neighbor's door, and the knock echoed in the hallway. No one opened the door, but Winters was sure there was someone at the door.

He asked softly at the crack of the door: "I am a classmate of Benvenuto Army Infant School. Could you please tell me what happened to his family? I will do my best to help him."

Still no one answered.

"Then please help me deliver these things to Benwei." Winters placed the meat and flour at the door of his neighbor's house, got on the forcible and headed home.

"Something must have happened to Benway's family, or he may be hiding from someone." Winters thought in his mind: "Looking at the attitudes of these neighbors, Benway should be fine. The old man said 'you', 'those wearing military boots' '? Is there a soldier looking for trouble for Benwei? Maybe we can ask the cripple in the street to check?"

————Cut————

Enduring the phantom limb pain, Winters picked up the practice steel awl from the ground. After testing himself, Winters came to the conclusion that using a steel awl of this weight, he could only use the Flying Arrow Technique twelve times with all his strength. The power of the fired steel cone will be greatly attenuated.

If he tried his best and did not consider the power, he could use the Flying Arrow Technique twenty-nine times. If he tried to continue, the phantom limb pain would be so intense that Winters would be unable to enter a spell-casting state.

This is probably the limit state that Major Moritz mentioned.

However, Winters discovered that after the fire at the Victory Arsenal, his level of acceleration spells seemed to have improved a little compared to before. He had no hard evidence, just a vague feeling.

Is it possible that using spells beyond their limits can improve one's spell abilities more effectively?

This question may have to be asked to several other spellcasters who were unconscious like Winters that day to get the answer.

And Winters considered that if he practiced by himself, the current level would be the limit. His phantom limb pain was not severe enough to cause him to lose consciousness, but it also prevented him from continuing to enter the spellcasting state.

Winters recalled the day of the fire in the arsenal. Normally, it would be difficult to maintain the state of casting spells if he lost concentration. But that day, he had clearly reached his limit. The phantom limb pain was so strong that it could be called torture, but he still Stay in the casting state.

He not only guessed: "Could it be that a large number of spellcasters using spells at the same time would cause some uncontrollable effect like a chorus?"

He thought for a moment. If he wanted to confirm this conjecture, he would need to summon a large number of spellcasters to recreate the situation on the day of the arsenal fire. The opportunity to use so many spell casters is rare. He can talk to his uncle about this idea, but even Antonio has to apply to the Council of Thirteen to use so many spell casters.

And if this conjecture is true, it will be of great significance to the spell caster. The more valuable the information, the more cautious it should be. If you find that there may be a gold mine somewhere, it's best to confirm it quietly before deciding what to do next.

So Winters instinctively wanted to keep it a secret, so he decided not to share the idea with anyone until he could gather more information.

It was already evening, and Winters set up his practice room in the basement. Because he found that there was a tinkling sound in the bedroom while shooting, and the whole family was in trouble. Practicing magic in the yard is weird. So in the end I had to "hide" in the basement to practice the flying arrow technique.

Winters returned to the bedroom and drank a cup of bitter water brewed from the herbs Major Moritz gave him.

The major is right, this herb does have a sleep-inducing effect. Within a moment of drinking it, Winters felt warm all over his body. Although he still had vague phantom limb pain, his eyelids had already begun to fight.

He lay on the bed, ready to rest.

But as soon as he closed his eyes, a series of goosebumps-inducing sounds came from outside the door. Winters reluctantly got out of bed and opened the door. The general and the general were squatting at the door.

Cats are obsessive-compulsive creatures, and many of their actions in life have no purpose, just doing something for the sake of doing something.

If a cat wants to enter a room, it will scratch at the door until someone opens the door.

But after the owner opens the door to the cat, it may lose interest.

The general who was still making noise just now saw Winters opening the door and left with a swaggering buttocks. The little general bleated and happily jumped onto Winters' bed.

Winters was speechless, closed the door again, and lay back.

The young general lay beside his pillow, curled up into a small ball, and seemed to be planning to sleep here.

No one knew when he fell asleep. Under the influence of the drug, Winters quickly lost consciousness.

In the dream, Winters seemed to be floating in a dark sea, with a dark sky above his head. He can't swim, but he won't drown or sink in the sea.

He floated like this, floating, seemingly until the end of time.

Until someone hit him hard in the chest with a sledgehammer.

The pain was so painful that Winters couldn't help but groan.

The man who hit him with a sledgehammer said:

"Meow!"

Winters regained consciousness, but could not open his eyelids.

In fact, he was quite experienced in this kind of situation, and he was sure that the little general must have jumped on him from the top of the closet again.

The little general squatting on Winters' chest roared lowly and let out a second "meow."

This is the sound that the little general makes just before he fights with the wild cat.

Winters opened his eyes, ready to get up and get the young general out of the bedroom.

He saw a humanoid creature crawling into his bedroom through the window.

Thanks to Social Justice Lao Wang for his recommendation vote, and thanks to book friend 20181013204343295 for his recommendation vote. Well, I received a listing notice today, but I only have more than a hundred collections and have never applied for listing. Is it necessary to have 200,000 words on the shelf? ?

In addition, cats jump on people while they are sleeping...oh, any cat book lover should know that feeling.