Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"What did I do?" Winters felt this question was incredibly baffling.

"Have you really forgotten?" Andre asked tentatively again.

"What do you want me to remember?" Winters was utterly confused. He struggled to stand up, but Andre quickly reached out to help him.

"You set Guidao City on fire! On fire! Don't you remember?" Andre's words hit Winters like cannonballs.

"Burned? What burned?" Winters felt a chill run through his body as the last bit of haziness in his mind cleared, and he asked in shock, "Weren't we putting out a fire? What do you mean we burned down Guidao City?"

"Yes, originally we were putting out the fire, and the department head ordered us to demolish houses. Then all you Spellcasters were called away, and as soon as you used Magic, a firestorm was summoned." Andre was unaware of the impact his words had on Winters, "After the firestorm appeared, the fire became even stronger. The firebreak was useless, and we all retreated. As we left by boat, the common people were frantically spreading rumors that the military academy's magicians summoned Hellfire and destroyed Guidao City."

"How could this be? We were there to put out the fire! What firestorm?" Winters hadn't expected things to turn out like this. He suddenly remembered the last scene he could recall: a massive flame serpent soaring into the sky.

"Tell me, what did the firestorm look like?" Winters had too many things he wanted to know, he had to prioritize his questions. Speaking while standing was too tiring, so he sat back down on the makeshift bed.

"Let me think... It was like a rope, connecting heaven and earth," Andre tried his best to describe the scene after Winters had lost consciousness using the limited vocabulary he had, "A swirling flame rope... a fire tornado!"

Pleased with the analogy he had come up with, Andre repeated, "A fire tornado!"

Remembering the last thing he had seen, Winters realized that this fire tornado might indeed be related to him... no, to all the Spellcasters who were present and had used the Wind Control Technique at that time.

"What is the current state of Guidao City?" Winters urgently wanted to know the consequences of the incident.

"Half of the city district is gone. If it hadn't been for torrential rain, perhaps the entire city could have burned to the ground," Andre hesitated before voicing his own doubt, "Was it really you guys who summoned the fire tornado?"

"I don't know... I really don't know..." Intense pain surged through Winters again, and he answered in agony, curled up. He truly didn't know if the fire tornado Andre spoke of had anything to do with the Spellcasters.

"It's okay, don't worry too much." Seeing Winters in pain, Andre thought he was feeling guilty about the burning of Guidao City and hurried to comfort him, "After all, it's the Federated Provinces' territory. If it's burned, it's burned. Even if it's completely destroyed, it's none of us Sea Blue People's business! After all, we're going home."

Andrea, a native of the Sea Blue Republic, clearly had no empathy for the disaster in the capital of The Federated Provinces.

Winters now had a bitter grievance he couldn't express: I didn't admit it was me who set the fire... I just said I wasn't sure, and I really am not sure if there's any connection with the Spellcasters... Besides, it wasn't me who started the initial fire, so how come it sounds like I'm the prime suspect for arson?

A series of urgent clacking of military boots against the deck approached, and two people dressed in military officer uniforms stepped into the cabin. Winters clenched his teeth as he got up and, together with Andre, stood at attention and saluted.

"It's good you're awake!" The officer dressed in a general's uniform was the first to speak. The middle-aged general had a commanding appearance and a tall stature, with a neatly trimmed mustache over his lips. Even without his military attire, one couldn't mistake his profession, for the military bearing in his movements was too evident.

The general ended the pleasantries with a single sentence and asked Winters directly, "I need to ask you something, and you must tell the truth. Did the Army Officer Academy intentionally cause your unconsciousness?"

Winters quickly assessed the situation, this high-ranking officer was probably the "Major General" Andre mentioned earlier. Winters gathered his energy and honestly replied, "Report to the general, I do not know!"

Upon hearing Winters' response, the Major General frowned, "Then tell me what you do know."

Winters recalled the situation that night, "At that time, the instructor gathered all the spellcasters together and had us use the Wind Control Technique simultaneously to alter the direction of the winds on the fire front. I only remember using the Wind Control Technique, I don't have any memory of what happened after that, I woke up and found myself here."

"When you say all spellcasters, you mean all, right? Not just Sea Blue spellcasters, but also United Provincials?" The major general sharply caught the key information he wanted and pressed on repeatedly.

"Yes, all spellcasters, including those from the Federated Provinces," Winters was certain. Indeed, all spellcasters had been gathered without specifically selecting who would or would not go, naturally, including those from the Federated Provinces.

Having received his answer, the major general's expression suggested he was far from satisfied. He didn't ask further, clearly having lost interest in Winters, "Alright, I've got it, rest well and tell me immediately if you recall anything else."

With a perfunctory end to the conversation, the major general turned and left the small cabin.

Winters also vaguely grasped a thread of the issue: it seemed that the major general was quite eager for the United Provincials military to take responsibility for his blackout.

Only after the major general left did the officer who came with him speak. He was a smiling, handsome young man whose youthful face seemed almost at odds with the officer's uniform he wore. His smile was so nonchalant and relaxed, it was as if he wasn't very concerned about anything.

"Please, take a seat, don't stand on my account," the officer waved his hand amiably, indicating for Winters to sit.

When his superior acted so courteously, how could Winters dare to actually take a seat? He merely nodded, his body remaining still.

"Alright, then I'll sit down first." The officer, devoid of pretense, sat down comfortably on the floor, leaning back against a wooden panel of the cabin.

Seeing that Winters and Andre still didn't dare to move, he smiled and encouraged them, "Relax a bit. We're alumni. I'm just a senior who graduated a few years before you; don't mind the ranks. It tires me out to look up and talk to you while you're standing."

Only when they learned that the man before them was an alumnus did Winters and Andre start to relax a little and sat down, though they kept their backs ramrod straight.

"Now you're both warrant officers and entered the officer ranks. There's only a few years of military service between us." The two cadets were still somewhat reserved, but the officer didn't press them. He started by introducing himself, "The one earlier was Major General Layton, and I am Major Moritz. You can call me Moritz, senior, or Major, whatever you prefer. By the way, what are your names?"

"Senior, I'm Winters Montagne."

"Senior, I'm Andrea Cherini."

The waves and the pattering rain beat against the hull. Amid the sounds of the wind, rain, and waves, the body of the ship swung rhythmically back and forth like a pendulum. The dim cabin's only source of light was a small ventilation window that was half open.

"Winters, how do you feel right now?" Major Moritz asked a question that seemed perplexing to Andre.

"What?" Winters was a bit confused.

"You're feeling, your current feeling."

Winters understood what Major Moritz was asking, "Pure pain, but it's at a barely tolerable level. When I woke up last time, the pain was unbearable."

Winters silently thought to himself: I feel as if I haven't left the spellcasting state. But this Major Moritz in front of me isn't wearing the Triad Association's badge; clearly, he isn't a spellcaster. So even if I told him, he wouldn't understand what the spellcasting state is. For that reason, Winters chose to describe it in a way a layperson could understand.

After hearing Winters' explanation, Major Moritz took out a silver coin and started toying with it in his hand, deep in thought.