Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 567 - 107 Galloping Horse_2

Chapter 567: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_2 Chapter 567: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_2 “`

The bandits scattered, but they would return.

“Wolf Town must be alright,” Winters told himself over and over: “With Mayor Gerard there, and how remote Wolf Town is, it must be alright.”

He tried his best not to think of the terrible things and hurried along the way.

…

The setting sun slanted westward, and it was about to get dark.

After crossing the Blackwater River and following the rammed earth road over two small hills, he could see the spire of the Wolf Town church.

Winters was exceedingly familiar with this road, as he had traveled it many times.

...

He had lived in Wolf Town for less than half a year, but for him, the town had a kind of homespun warmth.

When he left, he was a spirited young man. The lads of Wolf Town sang songs as they followed him to war.

When he returned, the laughing boys of Wolf Town were gone, and Winters brought back only a body full of scars.

Having gone through all sorts of hardships, when he once again halted his horse upon the hillside, he couldn’t see the spire sheathed in brass.

“Have I gone the wrong way?” Winters asked Xial, his voice trembling slightly.

“No mistake, this is Wolf Town.”

“Let’s go!”

Winters spurred his horse fiercely and charged down the slope toward Wolf Town’s town square.

Wolf Town was right in front of him, but he could not recognize it.

The church had been destroyed.

The white-painted outer wall had been burnt to a cinder, the bell tower had collapsed, and the large bell was sadly half-buried in the rubble.

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All that remained of the church were the original stone structures. The stone walls stood alone; the wind whistling through the holes in the walls made a mournful sound.

Old Misha’s smithy, destroyed.

Alci’s general store, destroyed.

The town hall and the police station had also been burnt to the ground.

In the cemetery, many graves had even been dug up, bones scattered around the tombstones.

“This… this…” Xial was shocked, angry, and sorrowful; his hands holding the reins trembled: “How could this have happened?”

“Must be bandits,” Gold whispered lowly: “Digging up coffins to steal the burial objects… ”

Winters suddenly whipped his horse and galloped towards Mitchell’s estate.

He remembered the hearty and generous Gerard, the gentle and kind Mrs. Mitchell, and Scarlett, who was about the same age as Ella, like a sister to him, clinging tightly to his arm when the Mitchells argued.

“Don’t die,” Winters prayed: “Please don’t die.”

If there really was a supreme being somewhere, he prayed to Them for the first time.

The thriving Mitchell estate had completely changed.

The tobacco fields that once covered the hills were now overgrown with weeds, and the fences surrounding the estate had collapsed under the weather.

No laborers were in sight, just flocks of birds taking off with a flutter.

Fortunately, Winters saw a wisp of smoke rising from the Mitchell mansion.

A flicker of hope lit up in Winters’s heart; he spurred his horse faster, leaping directly into the estate through the damaged fence, heading straight for the house behind the oak tree, startling birds along the way.

The people inside the house heard the succession of hoofbeats.

They ran inside and outside, poised and calm, hiding jewelry and poultry, livestock.

A thin figure ran out of the front door of the house and headed for the barn.

But when the thin figure saw who was coming towards them, she froze.

Winters reined in his horse in front of the steps, dismounted, and the thin figure ran crying into his arms.

It was only then that Winters realized this boyishly slender figure was actually a soft girl, Scarlett—Mitchell estate’s prized jewel.

“They said you were dead,” Scarlett sobbed uncontrollably: “Mother! Mr. Montaigne has returned!”

Unsure of what to do, Winters gently patted Miss Mitchell’s back: “It’s alright, it’s all right.”

Mrs. Mitchell came down the steps; she too had grown thinner, but her demeanor unchanged, her back as straight as ever.

Mrs. Mitchell smiled genuinely from her heart, but she couldn’t throw her composure away like her daughter.

She curtsied to Winters: “Your return… It is truly wonderful.”

Winters also nodded in greeting: “Madam.”

Xial and Gold had been left quite a distance behind by Winters, and now they finally caught up.

Seeing the Mitchell family safe and sound, they too were overjoyed.

“Mr. Xial,” Mrs. Mitchell curtsied to each in turn: “Mr. Gold.”

“Madam,” both men doffed their hats and nodded in return.

Even the old pirate showed his utmost respect in front of Mrs. Mitchell.

“Mrs. Madeleine,” Mrs. Mitchell called to the others inside: “Please boil some water for the gentlemen to bathe.”

A woman wearing a black veil—signifying she was a widow—nodded and turned back into the house.

Gold scratched his head and laughed: “You’ve always been considerate. Now that you mention it, I do start to feel a bit itchy.”

“What are you saying, you old uncouth pirate!” Xial kicked the old pirate discontentedly: “Show some respect!”

“It’s just a bath,” the old pirate said, bewildered.

“Scarlett, take Mr. Montaigne to his room to settle in,” Eileen gave her orders calmly without asking anything further: “I will arrange rooms for the gentlemen. Nanny, prepare supper; I’ll come help you in a moment.”

“Oh no need for that,” the old pirate shook his head vehemently: “I’ll bunk with this lad in the servant’s quarters.”

“Not at all, please come with me.”

The mistress of the house always managed to arrange everything meticulously, and everyone got busy.