Chapter 59 Bloody conflict, morale, and victory!
The conflict with the mercenary group to which Marquis Green Leaf belongs has lasted from day to night. Both sides have suffered certain casualties, but the two sides are still in a stalemate with the river as the boundary.
As expected, there was a truce at night, giving Taner's troops a chance to catch their breath.
Tonight, the messenger from the hideout risked his life to bypass the front line and brought a batch of clean gauze and disinfectant alcohol.
After carefully listening to the messenger's instructions on how to use it, Taner began to distribute it to his subordinates. He also asked the logistics department to start boiling water. Tomorrow would probably be the decisive battle, so he let his subordinates try the prepared juice.
Otherwise, I would die in battle tomorrow and never have the chance to drink the beverage recommended by the Rand Messenger in my life.
Boiling water is also a special requirement of the Rand God's doctrine. The Rand God strictly forbids drinking raw water when there is sufficient fuel. Taner has heard of the principle, but does not quite understand it.
But this did not prevent him from obeying the will of Rand's Messenger.
After the water boiled, Taner began to arrange for the logistics staff to prepare the juice according to the recipe. Fortunately, it was already autumn and there were still plenty of fruits.
After the mixture was prepared, he did not ask for any utensils. Those who had bowls took bowls, and those who had cups took cups and distributed them to his subordinates.
Taner did not favor the soldiers transferred by the Black and Brown Count, and gave each of them a share of the mixed juice.
It is not easy to make such a concoction that wins the approval of Ellie and Olenna.
As a blood relative of the White King, Ellie has lived a life of luxury since childhood, and Olenna also does not come from an ordinary family.
But they still expressed their approval of this kind of mixed juice.
As for these soldiers who were originally just ordinary villagers or ordinary citizens, from the time they were born to now, they have never had any chance to enjoy luxury goods.
Because for the common people of that era, the most basic necessities of survival, such as water and food, and clothes and firewood to keep the body warm, were between luxury goods and daily necessities.
As for real luxury goods, they may be very amazing just by hearing about them.
After Taner distributed the juice, the soldiers were a little confused, but since the commander said so, they all took their own portions. They waited until Taner gave the order before they tasted the juice.
In fact, since the juice is made with freshly boiled hot water, the quality of the fruits varies, and the juicing and blending skills of the logistics staff are far inferior to those of Rand.
But this is still the most delicious drink these people have ever tasted in their lives.
After tasting it, many people were either silent, or talked in low voices, and some even burst into tears.
The number of taste buds in humans is between eight thousand and ten thousand, and these people's taste buds, which had been numbed by rough food in the past, were finally partially activated.
Taner sat in front of the campfire, the light from the campfire slightly illuminating his silver and black armor, reflecting a metallic luster. He also took a small half cup of mixed juice.
The amount that Rand distributed was actually only enough for more than a hundred people, but Taner intended to let everyone have a taste, so each person's share was reduced.
It becomes half a cup per person, but it is still okay to taste it.
Taner was also born a commoner, but he was very talented. He was discovered by the bishop of the Torch Church at an early age and brought to the headquarters for training. However, as a commoner when he was young, he still experienced some pain and numbness.
Later, he became a Paladin of the Torch Church, but he never really experienced luxury.
After drinking in silence, Taner once again opened the "Reference for the Use of War Strategies". He had memorized this strategic booklet by the Rand Messenger and thought he didn't need to open it again.
Turning to the title page, there was the familiar text: "The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack his alliances, the next best is to attack his soldiers, and the worst is to attack his cities." This text was written in words that Taner could not understand.
In later correspondence, the envoy Rand sent a translation of this text, but Taner could only understand the superficial meaning of it.
But now, he seemed to understand a little.
With clean gauze bandage, the mortality rate of the wounded was effectively reduced.
Plus the distribution of juice for tasting.
Morale seems to be invisible and intangible, but Taner can truly feel the improvement in morale at this moment.
"Alright." Taner ordered his adjutant, "Those on night patrol should continue as usual, and the rest should rest. Tell them that these drinks will be available when we win the battle, and there will be more opportunities to taste them in the future."
A night passed, and in the early morning, the morning light illuminated the small stream between two high slopes. The stream water was still flowing, but because it was covered with corpses and flesh, even after a night, the stream was still stained with blood.
The soil on the high slope was still somewhat flattened by trampling. Taner put on his helmet inlaid with magic rubies and looked across.
The horn has been sounded at the Green Leaf Marquis mercenary gang camp, and it is obvious that they are about to launch a general attack.
The sky was blue as usual, and the grass was lush and green all around, but due to the confrontation between the two sides, there were signs of destruction everywhere, making the natural scenery, which should have been a beautiful sight, stained with the solemnity and bloodiness of a battlefield.
Taner picked up his sword, went down the slope and came to the river bank.
At this point, detailed command was no longer of much significance. Facing the general attack of these mercenaries, Taner decided to face it personally with these soldiers.
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Taner didn't know why the enemy's morale had not collapsed despite such bloody consumption.
Although there were casualties on both sides in the previous tug of war, Taner's side, as the defending side, also had the advantage of the river, so the losses were naturally much less.
The other side lost at least a quarter of its soldiers in this bloody war of attrition, which conflicted with the "Reference for the Use of War Strategies" given to him by Rand, which stated that if the army's casualties reached 5%, there was a chance of retreat.
Their morale was supported by the belief in the Mother Goddess, Rand's humanistic care, and the advantages of the terrain. Why was the other side so upset? Was it because if they didn't complete the mercenary mission and couldn't get the commission, they and their families would starve to death?
Taner withdrew his thoughts and decided to defeat these people no matter what.
And he believed that his side would definitely win.
As the horn was blown over and over again, the melodious and majestic sound echoed in the sky.
The mercenaries on the opposite side, who only had the most basic weapons, once again stepped into the slightly cool, blood-colored stream.
On the other side of the river was a forest of spears, and they needed to use flesh and blood to try to break through this line.
Taner was also holding a spear at this time, and he did not intend to be the only one to use a sword to fight during the positional battle.
With the commander standing with them, Taner's morale was further boosted.
The meat-grinder-like positional warfare is a test of which side has stronger morale, which side is more afraid of death, and which side collapses first.
When these men reached the middle of the stream, arrows began to be thrown at them sparsely.
There were not many arrows left at this time, and this was probably the last share. After the archers had shot, they all picked up their spears under the command of the grassroots team leaders and joined the front line.
Soon, the mercenaries from the Marquis of Green Leaf, who were walking in the front, crossed the stream and faced the forest of spears.
What Taner and the soldiers around him had to do was very simple. They just had to keep stabbing the people in front of them. When the people in front fell, the people behind would take their place until one side of the battle formation completely collapsed.
(End of this chapter)