The Steam Age: Gears and Bones

Chapter 44

"After Romulus' army broke through the outer defenses, it took about half a day to reorganize its formation before launching a general assault on the pass outpost. The defenders deployed the last few usable infantry guns on the towers and piled sandbags in the trenches, but the ammunition only lasted a few hours."

Romulus's sappers crept up from a blind spot in the east tower and planted explosives under the outer wall of the main entrance to the command post.

Cherzov pointed to the last line of the combat log, "The record ends here. The date is several weeks ago."

There was a moment of silence in the command center.

Perfit closed the combat log and set it aside, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the combat table.

Cherzov continued rummaging through the pile of documents, and found several copies of telegrams in another drawer. The pages were yellowed, and the text was hastily copied in pencil, the handwriting messy but still legible.

"These are the communication records between the pass and the rear command." Cherzov laid out the telegram copies in chronological order and quickly scanned them. "The last telegram was sent several weeks ago. The pass garrison requested support from the rear command, and the response was to let them break out on their own. No further communication has been received since then."

Perfitt's brow furrowed even more.

The entire pass had been completely cut off from the rear several weeks earlier, when she was still at sea with her expedition team.

Cherzov pulled out a folded military map from the bottom of the pile of documents. It was more detailed than the one Pfetch had brought, marking the elevation of every hill and the course of every stream around the pass.

He spread the map on the war table and smoothed out the creases with his palm. Perfit took his own map from the inside pocket of his coat and laid it out next to the captured map.

The two maps were at different scales, but the marked areas overlapped considerably. The two bent down and began to compare the two maps section by section.

"Romulus's army's attack direction extends eastward from the pass, but they concentrated their forces on the high ground south of the pass—right here." Chertzov pointed to a hill marked with elevation figures on the map. "From here, you can overlook the entire pass and the surrounding positions."

"Then why didn't they hold the pass after they captured it?" Perfit asked.

Chertzov was silent for a few seconds, then flipped back to the last few pages of the combat log and looked at a few lines of records again.

Then he looked up and pointed a finger at an area further south of the pass: "The records mention that before the general offensive began, forward observation posts saw several supply wagons malfunction while unloading behind Romulus' artillery positions—the side panels of the wagons collapsed, and many bodies rolled out, some of which were still able to move after landing. Romulus' own soldiers were also bitten."

Perfitt's eyes narrowed slightly.

"So it's not that they don't want to defend it." Her gaze swept along the outline of the defense line at the pass, then landed on several exits outside the pass. "They can't control the infected people they attract."

Chertzov confirmed this assessment, withdrew his hands from the map, and folded them in front of his chest.

"They retreated south and quickly disappeared into the Romulus Mountains." After he finished speaking, he didn't say anything more, but just looked down at the small black triangle symbol marked "Hipol Pass" on the map.

Perfit straightened up.

During the days of marching through the swamp, she had speculated about the possible whereabouts of the Divine Abomination. Now, sitting in the command post of this abandoned border outpost, staring at a combat log from a few weeks ago, those speculations finally found a new point of reference.

She turned to look at the doorway, where Ludwig was standing, one hand on the doorframe, the scratches on his grey armor clearly visible in the dim light streaming in from the window.

"Major Oberstan," Perfit called his name, his voice steady, "the location your father told you when you last received a message, can you mark it on a map now?"

Ludwig walked into the room, went to the war table, and glanced down at the two maps spread out on it.

He didn't answer immediately, but instead reached out and pulled Perfit's map closer to himself, tracing the route south of the pass with his fingertips for a moment.

His finger crossed the hilly area on the south side of the pass, past the two winding stream markers, and finally stopped in a blank area without any landmarks.

This area is surrounded by several contour lines, and topographically it is a valley surrounded by hills.

"Here." His finger remained pressed on the spot, not moving away. "When Father last telegraphed, he said he was besieged in this position. He withdrew most of the remaining Northern Legion forces into this valley. The surrounding highlands can still be held, but the supply lines have been cut off."

He planned to break out. I haven't received any news since then, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he and the Northern Legion should still be here.

Perfit looked down at the spot Ludwig had pointed out, then turned and exchanged a glance with Chernzov.

Without needing to speak, she could read what Chertsov wanted to say from his eyes—Ludwig's father's army had been besieged for weeks, its supply lines cut off, its ammunition and food exhausted, and its last telegrams had disappeared without a trace.

If Romulus's army, which was besieging him, were also devoured by the infected they themselves had attracted, then the entire Northern Legion would be trapped between two forces—their own army on one side and the infected on the other.

Perfit turned his gaze back to the map, mentally estimating the direction and speed of the spread of the infection clusters he had seen along the way, and then checked the timeline he had deduced from the outpost documents.

"Whether he's still there or not, we have to head in this direction," she said. "Even if we can't find him, that valley is the last known assembly point for the Northern Legion."

If he left any escape plan or contact information, it would only be possible to find it once we get there.

Ludwig didn't speak, he just nodded vigorously.

His fingers moved off the map and pressed back onto the hilt of his sword, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

He understood the unspoken implication of Perfit: if the Northern Legion had been destroyed, then that valley was likely their final resting place.

But no matter what, they had to go there first to confirm whether the Northern Legion was still there.