
French volleys rolled along the ravine while rifle smoke rose through chestnut and cork trees. Your rear guard fired from cover, then moved after the scarlet column retreating along the mule path. You step into this one-chapter preview with Punch at the center, where choices turn on the people, promises, and pressure already in the room. The song did not resume while the enemy's last files remained somewhere over the rock. The chapter closes on a continuation question rather than resolving the novel's larger arc.
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