Trust between men

"Smuggling arms?"

Inside a tent in the center of the camp, Chris looked at Isaac. After hearing his account, he couldn't keep the astonishment out of his voice.

"He's serious?"

"Yes."

Isaac sounded rather taken aback himself.

"Back when I was in the army, I heard about officers privately selling scrapped equipment that had been repaired a second time. I never imagined things would get to the point where officers were putting together smuggling teams to traffic weapons.

Chris, what should I do...?"

At that moment, even Isaac, a grown man who had led a caravan all the way to the border, looked lost. Clearly, one of the pillars supporting his convictions had crumbled.

Although Isaac had become a smuggler to make a living after leaving the army, he still held to a principle: he smuggled only for the poor, selling his goods cheaply.

The little money he earned along the way was only meant to keep his smuggling operation going so it could continue helping ordinary people.

Now, however, an officer on active duty had done something like this, forcing Isaac to question whether his convictions meant anything.

"What should I do...?"

To Chris, Isaac's sigh sounded almost like a groan of pain.

What should he do?

Chris didn't know either. He rarely comforted anyone, let alone another man.

Besides, did Isaac really need comforting?

Personally, Chris wanted to accept Popoli's proposal. Another friend meant another option, and another smuggling route would be a considerable help to the future endeavors of Chris, the players, Isaac, and the others.

If Chris wanted them, he would never lack firearms such as flintlocks as long as he still had money, because the most important component of these muzzle-loading guns was the barrel.

And steel or iron pipes suitable for muzzle-loading guns were everywhere in the twenty-first century. They were good quality and cheap; a hundred yuan could buy ten iron pipes.

Once he bought iron pipes that could withstand the force of exploding black powder, making firearms would no longer be particularly difficult.

Even a modern man who had never studied mechanics could produce a reasonably serviceable flintlock or matchlock, given the right tools.

Making firearms wasn't difficult. The only real obstacle was the propellant.

Chris could make black powder, as well as the more advanced Brown Powder. But considering the possibility that recklessly advancing the tech tree could make his much larger enemies even stronger, he decided to use only black powder as propellant.

Black powder had three main ingredients: saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal.

Charcoal was easy enough to obtain, but the first two were another matter. They were strategic minerals in any country, and Chris didn't even know whether deposits of either existed within the Kingdom of Bagnia.

Even if they did, other powers would surely control them. Chris wasn't in a position to seize them yet.

As for buying them through an online shopping platform... Chris had tried. He could buy them, but there were two problems.

First, neither was cheap. Saltpeter cost ten yuan for fifty grams. Sulfur was slightly cheaper, at ten yuan for two hundred and fifty grams.

At those prices, buying small amounts was no problem, but larger quantities would put a strain on Chris's wallet.

Unfortunately, war happened to be an activity that consumed enormous quantities of gunpowder. The mere thought of the powder needed for volleys from tens of thousands of muskets and the thunder of a hundred cannons in a major battle frightened Chris.

If he sourced all that gunpowder through online shopping platforms, Chris felt there was a chance the River Crab God's iron pincers would reach across time and space and come crashing down on his head.

So if an arms dealer could provide Chris with a second source of gunpowder, that would be a very good thing indeed.

But...

Seeing Isaac's troubled expression, Chris sighed inwardly and swallowed the words he had prepared.

"Isaac, what do you think?"

Chris left the choice to Isaac. If he refused to deal with Popoli, Chris could accept that too.

Compared with losing a source of black powder, Chris was far less willing to let one of his partners lose faith in him.

Whatever the undertaking, people were the most important part.

Isaac understood what Chris meant. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again and began to think seriously.

Chris waited patiently.

Over the next few minutes, several expressions crossed Isaac's face. Finally, he made up his mind. He drew a deep breath, and his gaze grew resolute.

"We'll deal with Popoli... Even if we don't work with him, the captain will find other smugglers to partner with.

In that case, why not use him to help our cause?"

"What weapons can he supply?"

"Right now, he has a hundred matchlocks, along with enough gunpowder and lead balls for ten thousand shots."

"How much does he want?"

"No payment up front. We split the proceeds fifty-fifty... He doesn't even insist on putting one of his men with us."

"Huh? He trusts you that much?"

Chris found it hard to believe. Isaac couldn't explain it; even he didn't know where Popoli's trust came from.

Chris and Isaac thought it over for a long time without figuring out what the catch was, then simply stopped dwelling on it.

They began discussing how to cross the Bohemian Empire's border and enter Bagnia.

"I came to El Province during my army service. I know there are military fortresses here... here, and here, each capable of housing between a thousand and five thousand men.

They completely block the only mountain passage between the Kingdom of Bagnia and El Province. Getting past those three fortresses would be extremely risky."

"Then what do we do? Go around?"

"We have no choice."

Isaac spoke.

"We leave the wagons behind and carry the goods on horses and donkeys. We'll take remote trails. That's why I stopped in Pinewood Town, fifty kilometers short of the border.

Another twenty kilometers ahead lies the first fortress. Over those fifty kilometers, we can skirt all three fortresses and pass through the woods alongside them. I've been through that area. I know what to do.

But I only know the routes inside the Bohemian Empire. Once we cross the border and enter Bagnia's mountains, what I remember won't be any use."

Isaac nodded.

"We need a guide."

"I'll have my followers search the nearby villages and towns. You go take care of sending the money and arranging the weapons first."

Chris gave him his assurance. The players had already used their singing and dancing talents to mingle with the locals during their stay. Finding a guide shouldn't be much trouble for them.

PS: I originally planned to post six thousand characters tonight, but I drank a cup of saffron tea, thinking it would do my body some good. Now my head is throbbing and feels painfully swollen. I feel awful and can't keep writing, so I'm asking for a little time off.

That's what I get for being ignorant and drinking things without knowing better.