Chapter 56: The Hammer & Anvil (9)
“If the Lieutenant Colonel is dead, dying here is nothing but a dog’s death!”
“Breakthrough their center or whatever. Everyone, scatter! At least one of us must survive and return!”
“Even if we have to crawl, we must survive and return!”
Even though their Lieutenant Colonel was killed moments ago, leaving them in great disarray, rather than resigning to their fate and fighting back recklessly, they were trying to save themselves…
Could these individuals possibly be competent young officers who had high ranks in Chekovia?
Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to flee along with the Lieutenant Colonel, who was the second highest in the escape priority when the troop was about to be annihilated.
Even if not, what harm could come to us?
Obviously, we could capture them one by one, either earning a huge ransom or converting them into personnel evaluation scores that were needed for promotion.
They were truly tempting treasures.
“Impossible. Damn! All of you can only jump like frogs! Pursuit troops, capture them if possible! They are chunks of gold!”
Hearing my words, the pursuit troops changed their swords to clubs or one-handed maces and responded.
“Catch and beat them! They are gold!”
“Long live the Battalion Commander! Charge!”
“Stop right there, or we’ll beat you! Come here, pretty little thing!”
And so, our pursuit troops did not kill them but beat them with clubs, delivering pain that would make them want to die instead.
“Damn, damn! I’d rather surrender!”
“Damn, Argh!”
Some of the seemingly lowest-ranked Chekovian soldiers managed to escape, but there was no need to chase them particularly.
Because they would surely tell their people in Chekovia about the terror of the Reich Imperial Army and our battalion, acting like whining school kids to their moms after getting extorted by bullies.
Thus, without spending a penny on publicity, our reputation would soar. Weren’t they such nice fellows?
Of course, they would never wish for that, but life was all about the results.
In this manner, my subordinate pursuit troop soldiers gathered the knights, escorted by the Vice Commander.
Amongst the prisoners, the highest-ranked one took off his helmet and shouted loudly.
“You damned Reich Imperial sausage bastards! Do you know nothing of honor? Kill me! I said kill me!”
In movies or novels, a seemingly honorable person sacrificing their life to protect their honor would be depicted as having glorious loyalty to their nation and Lord.
However, the reality was somewhat different.
Because if a Colonel or someone higher was captured for ransom in this medieval and modern mixed world, they would end up being labeled as irresponsible, and their social life would end along with it.
Moreover, in a noble society where multiple families were intertwined, not only those who were responsible but also their children and relatives’ lives would be sent to hell.
However, an exception for someone to be accepted by society if they were released without any ransom would be due to the logic of ‘being respected by the enemy for their loyalty and released without any trade, hence they did not help the enemy’.
However, if one accepted their defeat in war and died taking responsibility, there usually wasn’t any social condemnation.
Family members of an honorable deceased soldier would receive a bonus, facilitating their future promotions.
So that was why, even though that gentleman was wishing for death, I couldn’t grant that to him now.
Killing a high-ranking person who could have been captured alive would lower my personnel evaluation score.
Pointing to the dead Lieutenant Colonel’s body so that the high-ranking man could see it, I asked,
“What’s the name and rank of that dead person, and who are you? I will treat you according to your rank following the conventions of warfare after hearing it.”
“Ugh… That man was Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Dimitri Makarov. I am Colonel Mikhail Nikolai Parnov, and those following me are the officers and staff of his direct guard.”
It was like finding a jackpot in the middle of the road.
No, capturing a high-ranking man for ransom would earn an ordinary soldier the special privilege of rank promotion, along with a territory equivalent to a building in modern terms.
Considering that staff, who were called future generals in any generation, had about 1.5 times the value when calculating ransom or merit.
It was an incomparable gain to a lottery.
“Understood. Following the conventions, we will escort you to where the Crown Prince is. Hand over all the weapons you have. We will return to the base as is.”
Saying so, Laura looked at me and asked with a discontented expression.
“Captain, the infantry of the Yaeger Battalion might have reached their limits after an intense battle. But we, the pursuit troop, still have some energy left. Wouldn’t it be better to capitalize on our current advantage to capture or kill more enemies?”
Under normal circumstances, I would have struggled a bit more to raise my merits, just like Laura mentioned.
However, our troop stands out too much on this front line, excelling to the point of receiving not only jealousy and admiration but also hatred from our allies.
This was why even a high-ranking officer who was a Colonel did not come forward to capture just a Captain during the tactical meeting when our special troop returned.
“We already won this war, and it’s not hard to capture more stragglers and increase our merits. But, Lieutenant, we, as a special troop, have reduced the enemy’s combat power without any damage, and we also have merits in securing supplies. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Moreover, our battalion was the first to enter the enemy commander’s base, securing the commander’s flag, assassinating the enemy Lieutenant Colonel, and successfully capturing several staff officers. For a single battalion, we have overperformed.”
We even indirectly shared the merit of killing the Lieutenant Colonel.
“On the other hand, other troops only gained average merits or could not even achieve that and have participated in the pursuit. If we take away their last chance to shine, it will unnecessarily create discord within the Reich Empire.”
Hearing this, everyone, from officers to soldiers, and especially Laura, who probably wanted to earn more merits, nodded in understanding.
I looked back at them, shrugged my shoulders, and spoke arrogantly.
“Honestly, from the foot soldiers who joined the pursuit to the knights and officers, didn’t everyone capture at least one staff officer? You will receive at least several golds as a reward. Why are you being so greedy? Live more comfortably.”
Since one gold was roughly the living expense of a 4-6 member household for a year, all the soldiers and officers here had gotten their windfalls.
Pointing out such reality, the faces of the officers and soldiers relaxed, realizing their positions as prospective financial therapy candidates.
“The Battalion Commander is right. Since we are all from the same empire, we should share.”
“I heard a sermon that sharing what one has is love, by Deus. I suddenly got reminded of that.”
“When I retire, I need to buy land to live with Marie. Hehe…”
Whether in Korea or other worlds, it felt real that most problems and emotions could be solved with money.
Of course, they haven’t received cash yet, so their trust in me as the Battalion Commander must be at play here.
Next, as always, I patted the shoulder of Lieutenant Laura, who always wanted recognition from me, and whispered.
“You captured Colonel Mikhail, didn’t you? Besides your activities in the special troop and coming to support when most needed, thank you very much. I remember everything.”
She wanted to thank me for the compliment, but I signaled for her to keep it quiet to prevent her from speaking out loud.
Doing special treatment only for Lieutenant Laura could make other soldiers and officers jealous.
And as a person who could read human psychology well, I obviously didn’t make such mistakes.
“If Count Benner hears about your actions, he will be really proud. Your actions impressed me the most. Frankly, other company commanders and officers definitely couldn’t perform as well as Lieutenant Laura in their first battle. I’m really thankful that you are my subordinate.”
That way, we gave up further pursuit and returned to the troop where the Crown Prince was.
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