Knight: Becoming King of the World

Chapter 141: Chapter 120: A Beautiful Reunion

Henry was sitting at the head of the long table. Maps and battle reports were spread out before him, and he looked somewhat weary.

"Baron Henry, we demand to be treated fairly."

Henry looked at them, silent for a moment, before speaking slowly. "Fair? I guaranteed your lives. That is perfectly fair. You are now my prisoners, and I will treat you according to the rules of war.

Until you have paid your ransoms in full, you would be wise not to anger me."

"But—"

"No ’buts.’ What you should be considering now is how to ransom your freedom, not arguing with me here."

Henry waved his hand and said, "Take them to the dungeon. Let them play face-slapping checkers with Knight Huno."

The three Barons and the unconscious Knight were led away by the Senior Infantry. Henry turned to Bain. "Bain, you all did well. Go help Claude tally the casualties. After the count is done, you can rest for the night."

"My lord, what about the castle gate?"

"First, dispose of the bodies outside the walls. Then just block the gate with earth and stones."

Bain bowed and left the council hall with the Attendants.

Henry sat back down in his chair, his gaze falling once more upon the map.

Claude stood at the edge of the battlefield. The war was far from over; they needed to prepare for the next attack.

"Bain... Philip and his men are counting the prisoners. You and Selas will be in charge of tallying our army’s casualties. We need to finish our work here as quickly as possible."

Bain took charge of counting the wounded, ensuring they received proper treatment. Vasco and Philip were responsible for tallying the enemy prisoners, while Roland directed the removal of the corpses from the battlefield. The bodies needed to be burned together to prevent the spread of disease.

The battle was over, but the soldiers were still moving about the battlefield.

Some were carrying the wounded, some were counting prisoners, and others were moving bodies. Though the war had brought death and pain, their faces showed a kind of fearlessness.

Claude stood on a small hill, his gaze sweeping across the entire battlefield, his heart filled with complex emotions.

He mourned for the Warriors who had lost their lives in the war, but at the same time, he felt proud of their courage and sacrifice.

’It’s a pity most of them came from serfdom. They have no families, so we can’t provide their relatives with subsidies or preferential treatment.’

Under Claude’s command, the soldiers began to stack the enemy corpses together, preparing for a mass cremation.

The soldiers worked in silence, showing little emotional fluctuation. For them, the main concern was how to complete the task safely and efficiently, without letting the fire spread to the surrounding woods.

They built a firebreak of soil and sand around the pile of bodies to ensure the flames would not get out of control.

When all preparations were complete, a soldier lit a torch and carefully tossed it onto the pyre.

Flames quickly engulfed the bodies, the firelight leaping into the air with a crackling sound.

Meanwhile, the bodies of their own soldiers were collected separately, prepared for a more solemn cremation ceremony.

The burial rites of the Empire were numerous and varied: being eaten by eagles, buried in the earth, cremated and placed in urns, or having their ashes scattered in a river, among others.

The soldiers removed their helmets. These dead men were their comrades-in-arms, their friends from the training grounds.

Presided over by Claude, the soldiers neatly arranged their comrades’ bodies in an open clearing.

They covered the bodies with clean cloths as a sign of respect.

Before the cremation, Claude summoned Henry, who delivered the eulogy.

"We hold this final farewell for our comrades. They fought bravely. They will forever inspire us to press forward. Now, let us send them off with fire."

As Henry finished speaking, he personally lit a torch and threw it onto the cloths covering the soldiers’ bodies.

The fire spread quickly, enveloping the bodies in its warm glow.

The soldiers stood in silence, their eyes filled with respect and sorrow. It was as if the spirits of their comrades were bidding them farewell in the light of the flames.

As the fire gradually died down, the soldiers began to depart in silence, returning to the task of hauling away the spoils of war.

Henry had declared that this debt was owed by Count John and the Second Prince. And so, his men would point their swords at Count John and the Second Prince.

Henry watched the burning pyre, his mood somber. ’These were living, breathing people. How could he not be heartbroken?’

He sighed.

Inside the castle’s barracks, the Medical Masters dared not rest for a moment. They treated the wounded soldiers, their eyes full of sympathy and concern.

To these soldiers, the Medical Masters were their lifesavers after the battle.

Of course, if they failed to live up to the high salaries Henry paid them, he would make them pay the price.

The busy figures of the Medical Masters moved back and forth. Among them, the father and son pair, Thomas and his son, were the most conspicuous.

They were the most skilled Medical Masters in Henry’s army, and their medical expertise had saved the lives of many soldiers.

Thomas’s hair was now streaked with white, but his eyes remained sharp and his hands steady and strong. Over half a year of clinical experience had made him Skillful and Confident in treating all kinds of wounds.

His son, Vasily, had likewise inherited his father’s medical skills, possessing a pair of nimble hands and a cool head.

"Vasily, this soldier’s leg has a stab wound that needs suturing."

Vasily quickly cleaned the wound with boiled water, then disinfected it a second time with clear spirits.

He skillfully stitched the wound with a needle and thread, each stitch piercing the skin with precision to ensure it would heal properly and to minimize the soldier’s pain.

"Keep the wound dry to prevent infection," Vasily instructed the soldier as he wrapped the wound with a clean bandage.

Elsewhere, Thomas was treating a soldier with a broken bone.

He carefully examined the soldier’s arm, then gently set the fracture, aligning the bones correctly.

Beads of sweat broke out on the soldier’s forehead from the pain, but Thomas was unaffected, his movements swift and precise.

"A fracture needs to be immobilized to ensure the bone heals correctly," Thomas said as he secured the soldier’s arm with splints and bandages.

After treating the soldier with the fracture, old Thomas turned to another with a head injury.

He carefully inspected the soldier’s head, then gently cleaned the wound with lukewarm water.

"Head wounds require special care. Any infection can be fatal," Thomas told his son.

And so the father and son busied themselves in the barracks, their skill and care bringing hope and comfort to the soldiers.

"Father, your medical skills are getting better and better."

Thomas shook his head. "Practice makes perfect. We used to make a living just by gathering and selling herbs; we treated very few actual patients... It’s a good thing we joined the lord’s army."

"Oh? It seems you like this job."

Thomas turned his head to find Henry standing right behind him.

"My lord, you pay generously and trust me. Of course I like this job."

The soldier struggled to sit up, but Henry gently pushed him back down.

Henry glanced around the crowded barracks and said to Thomas, "Don’t worry about using up all the herbs. Treating our Warriors is what’s most important."

"As you command, my lord."

In the dungeon, a dim light flickered, and the air was thick with the smell of damp and mildew.

The three Barons and the unconscious Knight were roughly shoved into a cramped space, their footsteps echoing clearly off the stone walls.

Their eyes darted around the dungeon until, by the weak candlelight, they spotted Knight Huno lying on a pile of straw.

Knight Huno’s face was somewhat pale. His left leg was immobilized with a crude wooden splint, and he clearly couldn’t move.

"Knight Huno? Are you all right?" Gabriel asked cautiously.

Knight Huno lifted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the three Barons before finally resting on the unconscious Knight.

"I’m all right. At least I’m still alive."

"How did you all get captured? Did you lose?" Knight Huno continued to ask.

Unless it was a trick of the dim light, Gabriel could have sworn he saw a trace of surprise in Huno’s eyes.

Gabriel sighed. "We lost. Baron Henry’s army is much stronger than we imagined... Their tactics and strategy were completely unexpected."

"How could this happen?!" Knight Huno’s voice held a hint of accusation.

He couldn’t understand. The besieging force was completely wiped out by the defenders?! ’What kind of joke is this!’

Gabriel shook his head, a trace of bewilderment in his eyes.

"We underestimated Baron Henry. He actually had his army sally out to fight. Our Cavalry was careless and failed to rally, and our infantry line was cut apart by Henry’s Cavalry units."

"Then why were you all captured?"

Another Baron gave a bitter, self-mocking smile. "We were surrounded. Surrounded by an enemy force far smaller than our own. We had nowhere to run. Can you imagine? All of our soldiers surrendered."

Knight Huno was silent for a moment, then asked, "So, what should we do now?"

’The only thing I care about right now is getting out of here! This dungeon is no place for a human being!’

’I originally thought Gabriel and the others outside would be able to breach Ximira Castle and free me. At worst, I’d just have to wait for Count John’s army to arrive. So what if I was locked up for a little longer?’

’But in the end, look at this grand reunion! We’ve all been rounded up!’

"If I were you..."

Huno thought for a moment, then shut his mouth. There was no point in saying anything now. The three Barons found places to sit, not saying a word.

’Humiliating. This is absolutely humiliating!’

CREAK~

The door opened and a soldier walked in. He lit two candles and tossed them a game board.

"The lord was afraid you’d be bored, so he sent you a set of coastal-style checkers to play."