Capítulo 1511: Chapter 58: Siege (28)
[Central Army Tent]
“You come to see me just now?” Gessa sat behind the map table, staring coldly at Winters, “Seems like you don’t care about me at all!”
“I did think about coming to greet you first,” Winters dragged the campaign chair from the other end of the map table to Gessa’s side, feeling it wasn’t close enough, he dragged it forward further, almost knee to knee, busying himself as he spoke,
“Thought about it over and over, felt I had to check the frontlines first. Otherwise, you’d glare and slam the table, asking me, ‘As a soldier, you don’t look into the frontline situation first and come to greet me instead, are you even fit to be a soldier?’ I’d be looking for a hole to crawl into.”
“Conversely, by checking the frontlines first, General Gessa, being generous, wouldn’t hold it against a minor Major like me. Plus, understanding the situation first makes it easier to talk to General Gessa, wouldn’t you say?”
While speaking, Winters pressed down on the campaign chair’s armrests, descending stiffly like a poorly lubricated puppet, until his backside met the seat and he grimaced as he sat down.
Gessa snorted lightly, stood up, and walked behind Winters, grabbing his shoulder with one hand and pressing towards Winters’ lower back with the other.
“What are you doing?” Winters asked, puzzled, turning his head towards Gessa Adonis.
“Don’t turn around,” Gessa admonished in a low voice, “Sit up straight.”
Winters sat up straight, and in the next moment, felt a sharp pain in his lower back, almost springing off the campaign chair.
He looked at Gessa in horror.
Gessa clicked his tongue, “Can’t even handle this pain,” he patted Winter’s shoulder, “Get up, lie down on the map table.”
“Just because I didn’t come to greet you first,” Winters exclaimed in grievance, “Do you have to torture me?”
“Enough with the nonsense,” Gessa slapped Winters’ back again, “Lie on the table, take off your shirt.”
Winters complied hesitantly.
“Does it hurt here?” Gessa placed his hand on Winters’ lower back.
“No, a bit higher.” Winters answered honestly.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
Just as he spoke, Winters felt a strong force pushing down from the side of his lumbar spine, moving up and down, and this force was steadily increasing, so strong it seemed to penetrate into his skin and flesh.
In a certain moment, Winters seemed to hear a “crack,” or maybe it was an illusion.
He turned to look at Gessa, who stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Now Winters was sure that the crisp sound was not an illusion.
“Did you break my bones?” Winters asked quietly.
“Get up!” Gessa, hearing that, angrily kicked the ungrateful wolf cub.
Winters stood up and tentatively did several movements, surprised to find that the lower backache had miraculously relieved, making him feel much lighter.
“Even Father Kaman couldn’t relieve my back pain,” Winters gently moved his upper body, amazed, “Where did you learn this skill?”
“Don’t move around, it’s not over yet,” Gessa scolded Winters sternly. He turned, back facing Winters, extending his arms, “Put your arms over.”
“Uh… How do I do that?”
“Put them over!”
Following Gessa’s instructions, Winters and Gessa stood back to back closely with their arms interlocked.
Gessa grunted and exerted force, lifting the towering Winters off the ground.
Then, like shaking off dust, he bounced Winters up and down with his feet off the ground.
Luckily, only Winters and Gessa were in the Central Army Tent; otherwise, their current strange stance would be hard to explain with a few words.
They bounced like this about thirty times before Gessa, panting heavily, put Winters down, “Now try moving again.”
Winters tried several movements again, this time, almost feeling no “pain.” The oppressive pain that had previously made him afraid to move was gone, leaving only slight discomfort akin to the moisture traces left in shallow ruts.
“You’re truly…” Winters was at a loss on what to say, “Amazing! Truly amazing!”
“Hmph,” Gessa feigned disdain but couldn’t hide his pride. He wiped sweat and reprimanded, “Next time, you come to see me first, I won’t blame you.”
“Certainly,” Winters expressed heartfelt gratitude yet couldn’t suppress his curiosity, “How did you learn this technique?”
“Riding a lot, especially with armor, this issue comes eventually. As for this skill,” Gessa sighed, “I learned it from Senior Bod.”
Winters heard this and sighed lightly too.
“Forget it, why bring up that old ghost?” Gessa threw the sweat towel aside, heroically sat on the chair behind the map table, and asked directly, “Gaspar and his men, were they sent back?”
“Sent across the river, there shouldn’t be any mistake for the remaining journey.”
“When did you return?”
Winters held up four fingers, “Four days ago.”
“Four days ago?” Gessa raised an eyebrow, “Riding all the way? Crazy kid, are you not afraid something could happen?!”
“I didn’t ride all the way,” Winters meekly defended himself, “Took a boat to Mirror Lake County, rode the rest.”
“Still not good. Couriers can ride like that; you can’t, understand?”
“Understood.”
Gessa paused, asked with implied meaning, “You went scouting, how’s the road? Easy travel?”
Winters sighed heavily and shook his head, “Very difficult.”
He explained, “The steppes are in the rainy season; four-wheel carts simply can’t travel. The newly made batch of spring carriages barely manage but need to carry less. Considering the round-trip distance, it adds hundreds of kilometers of wear. So, if we’re to provide meaningful support for ‘The North,’ waterway travel is still the only option.”
“Is the waterway navigable?”
Winters shook his head again, “Mirror Lake County remains blockaded by the United Province-Lords’ Fort fleet; some ships even ventured within the Hurd Wasteland, likely gathering hydrological information.”
Gessa’s frown deepened as he listened.
“In my opinion, the current key issue is clarifying Jiangbei Province’s battle situation. Now not only the United Provincials blockade the Ashen Flow River, due to…” Winters chose his words, “due to that incident…”
“Just speak plainly,” Gessa waved dismissively, “What incident? Wasn’t it me attacking Bazenaur?”
“Yes, due to Bazenaur’s firefight,” Winters stated plainly, “Rainbow Creek harbors hostility towards us too.
“Though the Hurd Wasteland route is roundabout, it can stably relay messages, as long as Colonel Gaspar can safely return to Rainbow Creek, we’d establish a communication channel within Blue Rose.
“With this, any ensuing action will be much more convenient.”
“What good is a messenger? Gessa said bluntly, “Still can’t cross the river?”
“Correct,” Winters nodded, “Ships are needed.”
“Ships,” Gessa paused, “can only rely on folks from your hometown.”
Winters didn’t explain he had no affiliation with Vineta, not because it was meaningless, but because in this situation, explaining felt like evasion.
He just nodded, “I’ll find a way.”
Gessa acknowledged with a grunt, rubbing his scarred half-face, eyes like daggers, “Then, why come to Kingsfort?”