Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"Please provide the goods as listed on this paper." Bard pressed the supply list onto the table, his voice emanating from within the helmet with a buzzing quality, "They must all be delivered to the dock by noon tomorrow, where someone will be responsible for receiving them."

Winters and Andre stood imposingly behind Bard, donned in full military regalia. Especially Andre, who rested his left hand on the hilt of his sword, eyeing the middle-aged man behind the desk with a menacing look.

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Although Bard's tone was as polite as possible, their stance clearly left no room for refusal.

The slender and gaunt mayor of Sea Spring Port bowed his head, not daring to meet the eyes of the three towering and majestic officers, and quickly took the list from the table with both hands to inspect it carefully.

After scrutinizing the list thoroughly, the previously worried brows of the Sea Spring Port mayor relaxed slightly.

Major General Nalesho's quartermaster knew the ins and outs of Sea Spring Port well. This list would cause the mayor some pain, but with gritted teeth, he could definitely procure the items.

Moreover, the Revenant Fleet was only demanding supplies like grain, firewood, cloth, etc., not enough to cripple the small commercial port.

But the merchant by nature, the mayor of Sea Spring still attempted to haggle, his face troubled as he said, "Honorable officer, this town doesn't even have a thousand households. Where can we find so much of these goods at short notice? For example, this... ten thousand kilograms of twice-baked wheat cakes? I... I... where am I supposed to find so many wheat cakes? And..."

"Hmm?" Winters emitted a long, threatening hum from the depths of his nose with an unpleasant expression.

The lanky mayor immediately fell silent.

"You said it yourself—you can't gather these items," Andre said with a mocking sneer, "Since you're unwilling to hand them over, we'll just take them ourselves, hahaha, all the better."

No sooner had he spoken than he pushed the door to leave.

Desperate, the mayor of Sea Spring leapt three feet in the air and hurriedly ran to block Andre. His instincts told him that while the other two officers might be difficult to deal with, this tallest officer was truly capable of carrying out violent plunder without any prick of conscience.

"Please, sit, sit, no need to rush." Seeing that the timing was right, Bard helped the grey-haired mayor back to his chair, speaking in a warm and gentle tone, "My colleague might be a bit hot-headed, but he's telling the truth. We need to collect these supplies one way or another, either through your voluntary donation or by our own retrieval. Frankly, us coming to you for them is already a courtesy... If I were you, I'd already be making the cakes."

Beads of sweat formed on the mayor's forehead as the well-traveled old merchant clearly understood the game these young men were playing.

But the dozens of warships moored outside the harbor were real, as were the gaping cannons on board, and the bloodthirsty aura emanating from these young men, not much older than his grandsons, was certainly not faked.

Under immense psychological pressure, the kind and gentle demeanor and tone of the officer beside him felt unusually congenial and trustworthy.

The mayor of Sea Spring swallowed hard, nodded with difficulty, and seemed to age a decade in an instant, "I will pay, I will pay."

"Take your time, just have them dockside by tomorrow noon." Bard bent down to pick up the list that had dropped to the floor, placing it back on the mayor's desk, "Oh, and where is the town's water source? We'll draw freshwater ourselves, no need for you to supply that, saving the townspeople some effort."

"Freshwater... Freshwater..." The old mayor appeared dazed, not yet recovered from the previous conversation, when he suddenly shouted, "Cannons! How many cannons do you have?"

Andre strode over to the old mayor, grabbed him by the collar, and hoisted him up, asking viciously, "Spying on military intelligence, looking to die? You must be a spy for the Confederation!"

"Don't treat the elderly that way! He's nearly the age of your grandfather." Bard immediately intervened to stop Andre, with Winters rushing to assist as well.

The scared witless old mayor hastily explained, "I'm not trying to spy, no... Can your fleet fire a round from the dockside?"

Winters and Andre exchanged glances, unsure what exactly the old man was scheming, but Bard seemed to understand.

The more the mayor spoke, the more animated he became, "That's right! Fire a round! Let the whole fleet fire a round! Blank rounds are fine, if you could fire a round for me, I could prepare all the goods you need overnight!"

Bard and Andre looked to Winters.

"Mr. Mayor, gunpowder is a precious military resource, and the fleet cannot waste it just to scare the townspeople for you," Winters said, frowning, already grasping the old man's intent.

The mayor now understood that the medium-height officer was the leader of the three. He grabbed Winters's arm and said, "Gunpowder is manageable, I can supply you from the town's arsenal. Without you showing force, not only can I not continue as mayor, but the townspeople won't willingly give up the supplies. If they intend to stall, it will also delay the preparation of the supplies!"

Winters was pondering, while Bard and Andre didn't speak.

"I can also provide a sum of money to compensate the esteemed officers," the old mayor pleaded further.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om