Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Field pointed at Winters, "This is the new apprentice."

Then he pointed at Moritz, "This is my lieutenant, but it looks like you've met before… Ah, so it was Moritz who secretly took leave to meet you?"

"Major Moritz, and Major General Layton."

The elderly woman who had opened the door downstairs heard the sound of the door being dismantled upstairs and came up to see what was going on.

"Mrs. Warren, I'm afraid we'll have to bother you to have the door repaired again." Field handed Mrs. Warren a few small silver coins, which she accepted without asking any questions, clearly used to such occurrences.

The major handed Mrs. Warren a small bag of money, asking her to buy some old clothes and boots to match the sizes of the three officers from the neighbors.

Meanwhile, Major Moritz got out of bed and rummaged through a desk drawer for paper, pen, and an ink bottle. Winters acted as the scribe while the three of them discussed and wrote things down simultaneously.

Field was unaware that his lieutenant had been sent on a business trip to The Federated Provinces, for the army regarded it as a secret mission; he had thought Moritz had been at home sick all along.

When the major learned that Moritz's eardrums had been ruptured by his own spell, he laughed till he bent over backward.

However, when he realized that Winters and Moritz were actually eyewitnesses to the event and had kept him in the dark, his expression became very complex.

His face bore an astonished look that seemed to say, "You actually formed a small clique behind my back."

This was all because of Major Moritz's mention of a "secret discussion."

However, at the moment, Field had no time to ask for details, for he had more pressing matters to attend to.

"Do you still have the skill?" Field asked.

Major Moritz sleepily reached under the mattress and produced a silver coin. The next second, alongside a sharp whistling sound, the silver coin in his hand disappeared, and a bottle of wine on the desk shattered in response, leaving a hole in the wooden wall behind it.

"Get up and come with me."

Major Moritz rubbed his neck and yawned widely, "Sure, but can I take a bath first?"

"No need. We're heading to Slum Street, where your scruffy appearance will fit right in." Major Field said with a sneer, "Any cleaner and you could only pass for a male prostitute."

————Cut————

Slum Street might sound like a single street, but it actually covers an area no smaller than the Sea Blue City district.

The history of Sea Blue City dates back to the Ancient Empire, and the name Sea Blue [Venetus] comes from the ancient language.

This city has been destroyed several times by war and natural disasters, only to be rebuilt. Underneath the surface of today's Sea Blue City lie the ruins of the old city.

The ancients left behind two legacies for this city: a water supply system and a sewage system.

The water supply system has lost its original function, leaving only remnants of aqueducts as relics of the ancient civilization, standing alone in the outskirts.

But the sewage system still faithfully fulfills its original purpose today.

Even though the city has changed hands time and again, the position of Drainage Commissioner, responsible for clearing blockages in the sewage system, has been preserved. The old sewage system of Sea Blue City has been maintained and has not been abandoned and blocked like the old sewage system of Guidao City.

Moreover, whenever knowledgeable rulers held the city, they added to and repaired the ancients' old sewage system to accommodate the growing population of Sea Blue City.

After numerous modifications, the sewage system of Sea Blue City turned into a labyrinth; no one knows how many forgotten paths and passages are inside, or where this complex network might lead.

Thus, the sewage system designed to "contain filth" for Sea Blue City became a literal hiding place for all kinds of filth. Thieves, smugglers, murderers, devil worshippers—all sorts mixed and mingled here.

Goods that could never be sold openly on the market were traded here, and humanity's ugliest desires could be satisfied within its confines.

The ruling council of Sea Blue City was powerless to deal with this; when the guards were dispatched to clean up, the rats would scatter, vanishing into off-the-map paths and pipes. As soon as the guards retreated from the sewage system, the rats would emerge from the gutters again, gathering back in this place.

Therefore, the sewage system of Sea Blue City was also known as Slum Street, where the public authority under the sun and the rats that could only live in the dark established a subtle dynamic balance.

Winters donned a dirty sackcloth robe and cloak, wore a cat-face mask, and holding the Dusack saber that Major Field had lent him, he followed the two senior officers.

Major Field, being detailed, not only had gotten clothes from Moritz's landlady, but he also had her find some shoes. The presence of the three officers together was eye-catching enough; wearing military boots would have given them away instantly.

However, shoes found in a hurry couldn't possibly fit well; the boots Winters was wearing were too small and pinched uncomfortably.

The three left their horses at Major Moritz's residence, and under Major Field's guidance, they descended from the Carpenter's Bridge in the eastern district to the dry riverbed and arrived in front of a drainage pipe nearly as tall as a man.

The major lit a torch with a fire spell and took the lead entering the tunnel.

Major Moritz saw Winters gripping the handle of the saber nervously and reassured him in a soft voice, "It's alright. Slum Street isn't so dangerous, and there are even some good bargains to be had. Relax a bit; the way you walk right now screams soldier."

With that, Major Moritz was the second to enter.

Winters loosened his shoulders and entered the drainage pipe with as natural a gait as he could muster.