Release that Witch

Apart from the upgraded heavy machine gun, Roland also planned to develop a bolt rifle which would have a mid to long shooting range. He did not need many, a mere hundred or so would suffice. The rifle would have the same caliber as the heavy machine gun, and could be easily transformed into a sniper rifle by simply installing a gun sight.

In this way, he could continue to manufacture revolving firearms and black powder bullets without a huge waste of the products.

During a battle, soldiers could use field artilleries to suppress enemy forces within 800 to 1,000 meters and heavy machines guns 500 to 800 meters. Snipers could take care of enemies in less than 500 meters, and revolving rifles could be used to clear out enemies within the last 200 meters. Therefore he could, in theory, make sure every inch of the battle field was covered.

Of course, it would probably take three or four months to fully equip his army with the whole set of weapons he planned to make. He might not be able to complete it before the spring attack. Therefore, he needed another weapon, an inland river gunboat equipped with a culverin with a 152mm caliber. One would be enough to pressure on enemies when he launched the attack.

Roland felt he held more responsibilities upon his shoulders than before. He thought of the founding ceremony subsequent to the Months of Demons, the unification of the entire Western Region and the new population that would swarm in after he kicked Timothy off the throne. He even wished time could have slowed down its pace, and that the Months of Demons hadn’t ended so soon.

*******************

Upon entering the Western Region, the landscape started to change.

Otto Luoxi lifted up the blinds and peeped through the window. Heaven and earth were washed out altogether. The sky was covered with dense snowflakes which swirled in the harsh wind, drifted down to the ground and blended into the vast canvas of whiteness.

It seemed that the heavy snow would never cease. He could see nothing other than piles of snow cloaking the soil, rocks and woods in the past two days. If the boat was not wobbly, he would even think it remained on the river.

”Shut the blinds.” The captain grunted. ”Go out on the deck if you really want to see it. Nobody will care.”

He did not take the captain’s words personally, but shut the blinds and asked, ”Does it always look like this here?”

”Of course, do you think I was bluffing?” The captain sipped wine from his decanter and said, ”Every year when the Months of the Demons arrives, the Western Region is cut off because of the snow. There’s no way to get here except through the Redwater River. I can use my fingers to count how many people in the entire King’s City are willing to ferry you over here in this bloody weather. Well, they also gotta have a boat.” He grumbled, letting out a burp. ”So five gold royals is an awfully good deal. You got it?”

”It’s a bit expensive, but I didn’t bargain with you when I paid,” said Otto, smiling.

”That sounds better.” The Captain tossed the decanter to him and said, ”It’s warm. Drink some. It’ll warm you up.” He wiped his mouth and continued, ”There was once this tradesman who wanted to purchase goods from the Western Region faster than anyone else, but he didn’t want to pay a little more for the fare, so he asked the rats on the black street to ferry him. You know what? That fellow was killed halfway. Those few mercenaries he brought with him were craps. They all ended up feeding the fishes.”

”That was... really unfortunate.” Otto took the decanter, but did not pull out the cork to drink the wine. Instead, he took off his gloves and held the decanter in his hands. He really did not feel comfortable sharing drinks with others.

”You get what you pay for. It’s a universal rule. There’re always people who think they can get away with it. Did it never occur to him that if rats agree to provide him with the service at such a low price, how are we going to run our business?” The captain added, twitching his mouth, ”By the way, what’s your trade in the Western Region? Don’t you blame me for not reminding you. There used to be jewelry and furs in this damn place, but you can’t get anything from here now.”

”Really?” Otto marveled, pretending to be interested. ”As far as I know, don’t they make a living on these trades? Have people in the Western Region all become bandits now?”

”They’re stale news now.” The captain lit his pipe with the charcoal fire and inhaled deeply. ”Ever since Prince Roland ruled Border Town, the Western Region has become weird. You know the town is well known for its furs and jewelry, but nobody knows what the hell the prince is messing around with in his territory. Now there’re only imports but no exports. Some jewelry still gets sold in the Longsong Stronghold, but the noble has their specific ways to get a hold of it. You can’t butt in.”

”Only imports but no exports?” He echoed, stunned.

”Yes. Although you can’t purchase local products, sales are pretty good. You can pretty much sell out everything from food and garments all the way to fabrics and general goods. No one knows where Prince Roland got so many gold royals from.” The captain breathed out some smoke and concluded, ”So you’re very likely to return empty-handed this time.”

Otto put on a worried look without giving any response. In fact, he did not really care whether this would be a fruitless journey, as his sole purpose was to meet the lord of Border Town. However, due to the hostile relationship between Roland and Timothy, he had to be disguised as a tradesman and come to the border in secret.

Before taking off, he had already conducted a thorough investigation of his destination.

As its name suggested, Border Town was insignificant to neighbors. It was initially built for the purpose of monitoring the intrusion of demonic beasts, and was later transformed into a town for permanent residence. From the prince’s widespread notoriety and the wasteland he was entitled, it was widely believed that Prince Roland was the least favorite of the king, and had been abandoned to his fate on the border.

However, the truth was, not only did he settle down in the Western Region, but he had also become a big threat to the new king. This was what confused Otto the most. If Prince Roland was indeed a capable man, what was his infamy based on and how had he put himself in such a desperate position in the first place?

According to his information, the rise of Roland Wimbledon was just incredible.

As a matter of fact, it was more like the prince had been banished to Border Town a year ago, accompanied by no ministers or guards. Even the knights with him were dispatched by the king. It was almost impossible for him to force the local noble to submit to his rules with such inadequate resources, not to mention the implementation of his policies. Therefore, a lot of people treated his arrival as a joke.

Nevertheless, Prince Roland defeated Duke Ryan and conquered the Longsong Stronghold, becoming the true ruler of the Western Region in merely six months. There were various rumors about the battle among the mass. Some believed the duke was killed during an internal rebellion, while others thought he’d been thrown from horseback, which was why the knightage failed to compete against a group of miners.

Roland thus secured his position as ruler of the Western Region. The wars induced by the Royal Decree on the Selection of Crown Prince had become increasingly intense. With Prince Gerald and Princess Garcia being killed in succession and Princess Tilly missing, cities in the Southern Territory and the Eastern Region were devastated by the constant chaos. Only the Western Region remained tranquil and peaceful.

This was certainly not due to the benevolence of the new king, but that the armies sent by Timothy had never come back. Otto was very curious about what on earth Roland had done to foster such fierce soldiers.

”Captain, Border Town is right at the front.” The sailor pushed the cabin door open and reported, ”We’re almost there.”

”Ah, finally!” The captain tapped the pipe and yelled, ”Lower the sail, raise the flag and tell the dockmen that we’re here! I’m going to a tavern to have a good sip.” He looked at Otto and reminded him, ”Hey, don’t you forget your luggage. See you in a week. I’m not waiting for you if you run late.”

Otto shrugged his shoulders, showing no objections.

Out of all the rumors about Prince Roland, the one he cared about most was that the prince had given himself up to demons and was hiring witches in secret. This was believed to be the real reason he was able to quickly crush the duke and occupy the whole Western Region, the evidence of which was the burned church in the Stronghold, the murder of the Priest and the expulsion of believers.

He came here actually because of this rumor.

Otto did not care about whether the prince was trading with demons or hiring witches, as long as the prince was on the opposite side of the church.

In this regard, Roland was more beneficial to the Kingdom of Dawn than Timothy.

The cabin suddenly shook violently when the boat was ashore.