Chapter 214: Chapter 177: Compensation (2)
No matter how you looked at it, this was a net gain.
"Viscount Fuman, is there something you need?" Robson asked, looking at the viscount with a feigned expression of confusion.
Prince Noah’s heart skipped a beat. ’Don’t tell me there’s more,’ he thought.
From his time with Robson, Prince Noah had come to understand him quite well. The man never missed an opportunity to demand some benefit. If he ever let something go, it only meant he was aiming for something much bigger!
"This is our list of the fallen. Please take a look, sir," Viscount Fuman said, handing over a document.
Robson took it.
In reality, he didn’t even need to look to know how many men his army had lost. The statistics on his system panel were far more accurate than anything Viscount Fuman could have compiled.
This was one of the reasons Viscount Fuman never dared to overreach. He always had the feeling that this Baron Robson had his army in the palm of his hand, as if he knew absolutely everything.
This war could be considered Robson’s costliest yet. The first regiment alone suffered nearly two hundred fatalities. The survivors were almost all wounded, and some had injuries that even the Divine Water couldn’t heal.
After all, the Divine Water couldn’t restore lost limbs.
If Robson hadn’t arrived in the nick of time like a veritable god of war, and if the Beastmen had truly broken their lines, the number of casualties could have easily doubled.
The other regiments didn’t have it easy either. Their casualties were also around two to three hundred men each.
Their casualty count being similar to the first regiment’s didn’t mean they were on the same level.
After all, the first regiment had faced the fiercest of the Beastmen forces head-on.
These men were Lord Robson’s lifeblood, especially the Soldiers of the first regiment. Not only were the casualty numbers high, but most of the fallen were high-quality troops—the vast majority being Tier Six Soldiers.
It just went to show how ferocious the Beastmen’s offensive truly was.
At the very least, if the Beastmen continued a war of endless attrition like this, Robson would certainly be the first to break.
Of course, these grievous casualties also brought enormous gains—and that wasn’t even counting the prestige gained with the royal family and various other factions.
Just looking at Robson’s system panel, the first regiment now had over 400 combat-ready men, almost all of whom were now Tier Six Soldiers. There were a few Tier Five Soldiers left, but not many.
As for the other regiments, the second had nearly 600 men and the third had nearly 700. The percentage of Tier Three soldiers in their ranks had reached 95% and 97% respectively, with about 30% being Tier Four.
These two regiments could now be considered the mainstays of Robson’s army.
The soldiers of the fourth and fifth regiments were originally on the same level. However, since the fifth regiment didn’t technically belong to Robson—he would have to return it to someone else in the future—he had trained the fourth regiment more rigorously.
A gap was already beginning to show. Among the fourth regiment’s 600 men, 70% were Tier Three, which was ten percentage points higher than the fifth.
Furthermore, most of those who earned promotions during this war were archers. These, of course, were the soldiers who were fit for immediate duty; more would surely return to the ranks as they recovered from their injuries.
What surprised Robson the most was that above Tier Six, there really was something called Tier Seven.
Perhaps "Tier Seven" wasn’t even the right way to describe it. The experience bar was full and indicated that an upgrade was possible, yet Robson was unable to complete it.
Robson suspected it might require certain specific conditions, which he would have to discover later.
"Sigh... they’re just a few lines of numbers on a war report, but who knows how many families have been shattered because of them," Robson said, his tone a mixture of truth and pretense.
After all, these Soldiers had fought their way here with him from his homeland. Many of them came from families who had been loyal to the Odogin Family for generations.
Although Robson now commanded three to four thousand men, he actually spent most of his time with the original group of Soldiers from his homeland.
Like Ais, his first Officer of common birth.
But throughout history, what war has ever been without death? The casualty rate among Robson’s troops was actually quite low. By comparison, less than half of the defenders of Vanguard Fortress had escaped with their lives.
What Robson needed to do now was to secure some benefits for his men, or request more equipment.
Robson quietly handed the war report to Prince Noah, but the Prince wasn’t falling for it and pushed the report right back.
"Matters of the army... It is best if you decide them yourself, Baron. There is no need for me to trouble myself with it..."
"But you are the army’s Commander-in-Chief, Your Highness. These are things you must know. If others were to hear of this, they might think that I, Robson, was being insubordinate and deliberately keeping you in the dark."
"There’s no need for that. I have faith in your character, Baron. Who would dare to slander you? Just point them out, and I, Noah, will help you deal with them."
"Ahem, Baron, I wanted to ask, with so many casualties, how are we going to write the report for His Majesty the King?"
At this, Viscount Fuman could watch no longer and interjected with the question.
Robson shot Viscount Fuman a grateful look. The viscount’s divine assist had struck Prince Noah right where he was weakest.
The army was still in Robson’s hands. The accounting of spoils and the specific results of the battle—all of it had to be tallied by Lord Robson himself.
Prince Noah? He couldn’t command the troops. He couldn’t just invent some numbers and submit them, could he?
Prince Noah hadn’t expected Robson to lay this trap for him. He had no choice but to concede.
"Viscount Fuman’s question is indeed a crucial one. I suppose I should look at the report after all. Tell me, what were our gains in this battle?" Prince Noah wanted to cry but had no tears. In his time with Robson, he felt like he had become the baron’s personal piggy bank, constantly being bled dry.
Now that Prince Noah had agreed, Robson smoothly handed the document to him.
Prince Noah took one look and nearly coughed up blood. The report listed only his army’s casualties, with no mention of how many enemies were killed.
’Did he have to be so blatant with his extortion?’
"Sigh... these are all Warriors of the kingdom," Prince Noah said. "I wonder, Baron, what are your plans for them?"
"Well, these Soldiers were all brought from my family’s domain. Many of their parents are already advanced in years."
"Your Highness Prince, you may not be aware, but many nobles in the south distribute rations based on the labor provided by their subjects. With their husbands gone, I don’t know how many women and children will now freeze to death this winter."
"If only there were a sum of money to provide for these subjects who have lost their husbands and sons..."
"Unfortunately, I lack the financial means, and I will soon be heading to my new domain..." Robson sighed.
This was Robson’s plan. An army’s elite status couldn’t be maintained by training alone. Without proper funding, everything else was just empty talk.
Prince Noah understood. In the end, it all came down to money.
"And how much money, Baron Robson, do you intend to use to compensate these subjects?" Prince Noah asked. His meaning was clear: ’Cut the crap and name your price.’
"Where we come from, able-bodied men are scarce. A family of seven or eight might depend entirely on a single man’s hard labor to survive."
"I believe that ensuring these families can survive would provide a tremendous boost to the army’s morale."
"Our army’s casualties number around two thousand. I think three Gold Coins per man should be enough," Robson said.
"How many?" Prince Noah nearly spat out his wine.
"Come now, Your Highness. You’ve achieved such a great victory. The Beastmen suffered at least ten thousand casualties, a great many of them from the Magic Crystal Cannons. And this was all because you helped me secure the support of Thermopylae."
"For such a great accomplishment, His Majesty the King’s reward is sure to be generous," Robson said with a smile.
’Ten thousand?’
Prince Noah frowned.
"Did we really kill that many Beastmen?"
"At least ten thousand *casualties*," Robson replied, mincing his words. Casualties didn’t necessarily mean deaths.
Prince Noah understood.
"Three Gold Coins... Isn’t that a bit too generous, Baron?" Prince Noah frowned, trying to haggle.
Hearing this, Robson put on a sorrowful, sighing expression again, and Prince Noah quickly moved to stop him.
"Fine, fine, I understand," Prince Noah said, truly afraid now. "How about this: five thousand Gold Coins, plus three Magic Crystal Gunner crews?"
’He’d learned from experience that every time Robson started his sorrowful act, his own coin purse was in for a violent shaking.’
"Then on behalf of all the soldiers, I thank Your Highness for your generosity."
Five thousand Gold Coins was no small sum, and it came with three Magic Crystal Gunner crews as well.
After all, every single Magic Crystal Gunner who had been through this major battle had gained a massive amount of experience.
The Beastmen were mostly high-level troops, Tier Three and up. A single cannon blast yielded a mountain of experience points.
Besides, these Magic Crystal Gunners hadn’t been discharged from Robson’s army yet. This meant Lord Robson could hand-pick the most elite crews for himself.
Robson already had four Magic Crystal Cannon crews under his command—three at Tier Six and one at Tier Five. By selecting a few more high-quality crews, he would have more than enough firepower to cope with the intensity of the Eastern Front.
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