Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"It's him."

Antonio became interested, "How is he now? It seems that I didn't see his name among the trainee officers who returned this year."

"Benwei didn't continue at the military academy, he went to work to support his family after Lu You graduated." Winters said somewhat sorrowfully, "If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."

Leading the way, Antonio and Winters, with their backs to the docks, walked on. As the crowd started to thin out, Winters, who lived in the Harbor District, mentioned his intention to turn back as he redirected his horse.

"Wait a moment," Antonio called to his nephew, "Don't go today. Are you planning to go empty-handed? I remember his family has many younger brothers and sisters... How about this, tomorrow I'll have Marita buy some flour and good meat, and you can take it to Benwei, how does that sound? Besides, I called you here today because I truly have something important."

"What is it?"

"To meet a widow."

"I'm really off!" Winters, in a huff, yanked the rein to the right.

Antonio quickly dropped his teasing demeanor and said seriously, "Alright, to business. There's a small gathering at the Navarre residence tonight, and I called for you because I want you to show your face there."

"Navarre? Isn't that the merchant who deals in wool? What does that have to do with me?" Of course, Winters had heard of the Navarre surname; it was a well-known merchant family in the city.

Antonio looked at Winters with a meaningful gaze, "Money is power, and Mrs. Navarre might just be the most powerful woman in this city—also a widow."

"Why do you keep bringing up widows?" Winters became anxious, hoping his uncle wasn't suggesting he sell his charms.

Antonio put on a serious face on purpose, "What? Do you look down on widows? Let me tell you, widows hold up half the sky in Sea Blue City. Without these widows, where would the Governor's office get the money to pay our salaries?"

Winters began to sweat profusely from his forehead, "When have I ever looked down on widows... besides, what does that have to do with anything?"

Seeing Winters's naive reaction, Antonio burst into laughter, patting him on the back, "Alright, no more jokes. Actually, there's nothing much. You've been away in The Federated Provinces for six years, during which you didn't participate in any social activities in the city. Aside from your peers from the military academy, you don't know a single person your age, do you? Now that you're back home, I thought it would be good for you to make an appearance in the society hosted by the Navarre family."

Just as Winters was about to speak, Antonio gestured for him to stop and continued, "I know what you're going to say, but even if you don't like socializing, you still need to let people know you exist. Sooner or later you'll need to get married, but do you know any eligible young ladies right now? This is the consequence of a lack of socializing. At your age, I was going from one dance to the next, everyone was vying to invite me. Anyway, it's better to get to know a few young ladies, so you have some choices."

Winters was left speechless by this speech; he felt there was something off about his uncle's words but didn't know how to refute them.

Seeing his nephew's face turn red, Antonio teased, "And honestly, considering Mrs. Navarre's wealth, even if you wanted to pursue it, it wouldn't be so easy."

"Colonel!"

The two rode on, chatting as they went, and without realizing, they had reached the city walls.

The rammed-earth walls from the Sovereign War era, after more than twenty years of weathering, were in ruins. Seeds scattered by the wind took root and sprouted on the walls. The walls were lush up and down, resembling a green tapestry. Even a seedling grew resiliently on it, as if an arm was reaching out from the inside of the wall.

The city moat had also collapsed in many places due to lack of maintenance over the twenty-six years without military disaster. Now, the citizens no longer appreciated these old defensive works that once protected them, finding them a great inconvenience to entering and exiting the city area.

The capital, Guidao City, of The Federated Provinces had already torn down its walls and filled in the moats. The people of Sea Blue City were restless as well. Why preserve these old fortifications when they had just built the impregnable Bastion outside the city?

Crossing the wooden bridge built over the moat, Antonio and Winters left the city area. There were no streetlights outside the city; the journey ahead would be illuminated by moonlight. The compacted earth reflected more moonlight than the vegetation did, creating a silvery stream that stretched into the distance.

Through the intermittent hedges and patchy tree shadows along the way, one could make out brightly-lit mansions in the distance, filled with festive guests and the vigorous sounds of music coming from each estate.

With the growth of Sea Blue's population, the city area was becoming increasingly crowded. The wealthy merchants were unwilling to continue living within the resource-limited city walls and began building lavish estates in the suburbs one after another.

In the past, merchants would not have dared to move outside the city walls.

The citizens of the old era adored city walls because they protected them from external armed attacks. New era citizens scorned the walls because they no longer needed such passive protection.

Living in the suburbs, the greatest risk was from bandits and thugs. The Allied Army of the new era was more effective than the old civic militia at suppressing bandits, because although the militia was strong in defending cities, their morale plummeted once they left the city and they typically did not engage in field battles.

And the noble militias of the old era? If it were just a few greedy peasants robbing on roads, it wouldn't be dangerous, but the greatest threat came from those well-equipped with weapons, armor, and warhorses, who had received military training their entire lives.

Impoverished knights often became the backbone of bandit gangs, and robbing merchant caravans, extorting, or even raiding cities were long-standing significant sources of income for unscrupulous nobles.