Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Upon learning that the Military Command Headquarters had no morgue, the customs officials brazenly placed the coffins directly beside the entrance of the Headquarters, claiming they were "sent by Colonel Field," and then they strode off.

The personnel at the Military Command Headquarters were thoroughly disgusted, and I mean that quite literally. When the coffins were opened, many officers vomited on the spot, and the coffins were hastily nailed shut again.

Even with the coffins closed, it only reduced the stench from vomit-inducing to merely sickening.

Now, these four corpses had become a problem for the Military Command Headquarters; there was no place to store them, and they didn't have the courage to dump the four coffins at the doorstep of the Army General Headquarters.

The chief of the Military Police Section, upon hearing that it was these four toxic gas coffins that Colonel Field had ordered to be sent, flew into a rage. He mustered his men and stormed over to the Army General Headquarters to have a "discussion" with Field.

But at that time, Field was not in, and Winters had already gone home after reading the report, leaving only Morlock there. With no one directly responsible, a group of burly officers had nothing they could do to this frail scribe; after all, they couldn't just beat the life out of this earnestly smiling clerk, right?

The frustrated officers from the Military Command returned empty-handed, their anger futile against cotton. The next day, they sent a lieutenant colonel over, insisting that Field offer an explanation and get rid of the four bodies quickly.

The Winters of yesterday might have felt guilty for inconveniencing the Command, but today's Winters had already learned the true nature of the case was political struggle, and giving it to the Military Police was just a way to annoy Colonel Field. So now, Winters felt no psychological pressure, and for the first time in his life, he found the advantages of being a low-ranking officer.

Imitating the attitude of the svelte jailer from the customs prison, he saluted and, no matter what the Command's lieutenant colonel said, he replied with "I don't know," "I'm not clear on that," or "I'm just a trainee; I have no authority."

The lieutenant colonel from the other side was livid but powerless against him, after all, a mere trainee officer wasn't in charge of anything. Just as Winters was leisurely sipping the sugared water Morlock had poured for him, going over the customs autopsy report, Colonel Field entered the room.

The two lieutenant colonels started quarreling the moment they met, neither listening to the other, each just shouting and yelling.

In this mode of argument, the victory goes to the one with the louder voice and greater presence. So, of course, it was Spellcaster Colonel Field who had the upper hand, effortlessly drowning out the other with a spell that amplified his voice.

Colonel Field screamed one sentence after another, spitting in the other's face:

"Those four corpses are important evidence!"

"You hand over the dirty work to me, and you can't even look after evidence?"

"The headquarters has no morgue, so what's wrong with temporarily storing them at your place?"

"If you're not satisfied, then take the case back!"

As he yelled, he banged the table so loudly that the entire Army General Headquarters could hear him clearly.

What is the might of magic if not beyond the reach of mere mortals? The lieutenant colonel from the Military Command couldn't outshout Field and, realizing his disadvantage here, stormed off in a huff.

Colonel Field, seizing the opportunity to kick someone when they were down, shouted, "Don't you dare bury them! If the evidence isn't preserved properly and the case can't be closed, it'll be your fault!"

It felt good to release some anger, but the case still needed to be investigated.

Field called in four squads and, along with Winters and the military police, headed straight for the docks.

Upon seeing the Lucian horse Winters was riding, Colonel Field looked rather surprised, "Isn't that 'Good Luck'?"

Winters patted the horse's long neck, "It's now called 'Strong Luck'."

Field nodded, his thoughts inscrutable.

Once they reached the docks, Winters realized that Colonel Field's investigative approach was not much different from that of the customs guards'. It was all about searching for witnesses, questioning, and investigating along the way.

The enforcers of the law had always investigated cases in this way: first look for witnesses; without any, they would investigate bit by bit, then apply torture to the suspects, and finally close the case.

Winters felt that since Officer Lop had not obtained any results with this method, Colonel Field would certainly not obtain any more useful information. But he said nothing, simply working silently.

In essence, the military police from the Army General Headquarters were guards; they had their regular duties – to stand guard. By having his men come to the docks for the investigation, Colonel Field had actually encroached on their time to rest.

Therefore, the morale of the soldiers was low, their attitudes passive, and they lazily inquired among the residents and merchants near the docks. Their lackadaisical appearance indicated that even if there were any valuable clues, they would surely be missed.

Seeing the soldiers' condition, Colonel Field realized that continuing the investigation in this manner would be meaningless. So, he dismissed the military police before noon.

"Continuing like this won't work; we need to think of a new strategy," Field said to Winters across the table, while eating lunch at the Army Officers' Club.

Winters swallowed the bread in his mouth and boldly said, "If you want to close the case, isn't it quite simple?"

"Humph, they push the dirty work onto me thinking I'll let them manipulate me. But I refuse to play into their hands, and I'm determined to get to the bottom of this," Field stated, unsurprised and unopposed. He glanced at Winters and asked, "So why would you jump into this fire pit, knowing what it is?"