Chapter 353 Treat Kindly
Greven decided to ignore the somewhat awkward question. "Good morning, Mr. Chief. I'm glad you're safe."
"The battle situation is basically under control," he said, straightening his back and regaining the calmness of a general's voice. "Now we'll prepare to count the prisoners. Our next plan..."
Mr. Ghost listened intently. He didn't seem to mind the previous conflict between the two. When Greven finished speaking, he nodded. "Well done, Greven. Reliable as always."
The tone was calm, as if stating an established fact.
The compliment was so bland, yet it inexplicably made the young general's ears warm. He coughed uncomfortably, trying to suppress his awkward embarrassment. He nodded slightly and said, "It's my duty."
The professor remained silent on the polite words, his eyes quickly scanning the man: at this point, most of the tall and muscular young man's body was stained red with blood, especially his right arm holding the heavy sword, which was almost completely soaked in the slippery blood, most of which was probably from the enemy - but high-level warriors were not ordinary people, and he was not sure whether his judgment was completely accurate.
"Are you hurt?" he asked expressionlessly.
Greven froze for a moment. He subconsciously flexed his numb arm, and the movement affected a deep arrow wound in his right shoulder that had been visible to the bone. It seemed to have completely torn open, bringing a sharp, blinding pain. The general frowned slightly, but he still replied firmly, "It's just a superficial wound. It's nothing serious."
The enemy general in Osiris City was a capable warrior, but after days of wandering, he'd given away his remaining high-level healing potions to the seriously wounded. Besides, Greven didn't consider the injury serious. He'd suffered far worse injuries as a slave in the Scarlet Bazaar, even while working under whips. So what was a minor arrow wound?
"Don't be so stubborn," the black-haired young man glanced at him with some dissatisfaction. "Go find Azuka, he will help you get treatment. I don't want to see you with only one arm left one day, and the two of you and Yialos combined can't even make up a right hand."
Greven: “…”
Should he laugh now? He thought hesitantly.
In those highly transparent, smoky-gray eyes, Greven suddenly realized how utterly miserable he was. The long, secret marches and days of fierce fighting had left him gaunt, his face covered in stubble, his muscles grimacing with tension. Within his sunken eye sockets, his bloodshot pupils still held a lingering murderous aura, like a monster crawling out of a pile of flesh and blood.
...Besides, he must smell like a stinky leather boot that has been thrown into a dead horse's stomach and fermented for three days and three nights.
An indescribable feeling of shame suddenly gripped Greven's chest. His throat tightened for no apparent reason, and he took a step back, as if to hide his disgraceful appearance. He tried dryly to divert the other party's attention, "...According to your previous instructions, I have strictly ordered my soldiers not to plunder or harass civilians, and not to abuse or harm prisoners. Violators will be immediately subject to military court..."
The professor frowned and asked bluntly, "Are you trying to change the subject?"
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, studying the stiff face carefully. "Why? Did you have a conflict with Azuka?"
Logically, he thought seriously, these two weren't Orel, neither of them was prone to conflict. One was kind, calm, and good-tempered, while the other was adept at disguises. While there were indeed some conflicts in their "previous lives," as mortal enemies, it was hard to imagine them reenacting the famous elementary school brawl between the three protagonists.
...Of course not. Greven didn't consider conflicts that couldn't be brought to light, much less shared with the person before him, to be "contradictions." He didn't want the already overworked Mr. Ghost to have to worry about his trivial interpersonal relationships.
He was about to open his mouth to deny it, but the next second he heard a voice slowly speaking behind the black-haired young man: "Sir, I don't think it's for this reason."
Greven jerked his head up, peering over Mr. Ghost's shoulder to see the blond youth who had unknowingly stood behind him. The explosions hadn't yet completely died down when the young man appeared on the battlefield, untouched by dust, a faint smile on his face that even gave him an awe-inspiring air of holiness.
The god's blue eyes fell calmly on Greven, and a chill, born of biological instinct, instantly ran down the general's spine. But the icy gaze was fleeting as he lowered his gaze to the black-haired young man beside him, his aura visibly softening.
"Why is that?" Nova frowned in confusion.
"For reasons I don't want you to delve into." Azuka sighed gently and skillfully straightened the man's collar, which had been ruffled by the wind. With a touch of soothing tone, he said, "But I will restore General Woriv to his former self. I promise."
...For a moment, Greven actually thanked the gentleman bitterly for helping him out and somewhat considering his secret and embarrassing dignity in front of others, although he knew that this was all for Mr. Ghost's sake.
"oh."
The professor blinked slowly.
Maintaining team harmony was incredibly troublesome. He wasn't good at this sort of thing to begin with, relying entirely on his meager, bookish experience, which he couldn't quite place. Now that someone had taken over, he breathed a sigh of relief and stopped investigating.
So he naturally ignored the inexplicable stalemate between the two of them and cast his gaze towards the end of the chaotic street.
The breach in the city wall stood wide open, bricks and rubble piled high. The smoke from the gunpowder had not yet dissipated, and columns of gray-black smoke rose into the gray-white sky. A group of prisoners, wearing tattered uniforms and with faces filled with numbness and fear, were being escorted by armed civilian soldiers.
Perhaps because the prisoners were walking too slowly, a soldier couldn't help but hit the prisoner who fell behind with the muzzle of his gun, cursing and pushing him so hard that he staggered. Then the soldier suddenly met Greven's cold and stern eyes.
He immediately pulled his hand back as if it was burned, lowered his head stiffly, closed his mouth, and his movements became much more honest.
Before this, for all existing armies in this world, looting civilians or simply massacring the city to vent their anger was the greatest reward after winning a harsh and oppressive siege.
Not only can it deter and retaliate against the enemy, but even the most ordinary soldiers can benefit from it. They can vent the tension and fear of facing death, the hatred and anger of their comrades' sacrifice, the dissatisfaction and resentment of being bullied and beaten by their superiors for a long time, etc., all of which can be completely vented under the crazy stimulation of wanton robbery, rape of women, and even massacre. After all, these are civilians and slaves in the enemy's territory.
In a sense, this is another form of "military pay", which can also prevent the lower-level soldiers from accumulating too much pressure and causing mutiny and retaliation against their superiors.
However, at the beginning of the formation of the People's Army, Mr. Ghost strictly demanded that such a situation must not be allowed to occur within the army, and he ruthlessly killed a group of soldiers and officers who violated military orders, including some who had made great military achievements, and no one's plea was of any use.
Many soldiers didn't understand why this was happening. Not only were they forbidden from robbing civilians, but they couldn't even beat or scold prisoners. They were also required to provide them with food and drink, wasting precious medicinal herbs. If their identities were confirmed, they would be easily released if they wanted to return home, and even given travel expenses depending on the circumstances.
Even though those known as "commissars" told them that their enemies weren't innocent civilians being deceived, nor were they low-ranking soldiers who had laid down their arms, but rather their compatriots, those they needed to liberate and unite with, they were still human. They watched helplessly as enemies who had just killed their comrades were treated kindly simply for laying down their weapons. Some even returned to the enemy ranks, continuing to fight and kill their own comrades after being released. Many were furious, and all sorts of harsh words were uttered. Even some in the upper echelons of the People's Party were extremely dissatisfied with this, and Ashes was one of them.
Military orders are military orders. Mr. Ghost had indeed taught at a university, but he was not a soft-hearted teacher. On the contrary, he was extremely decisive and ruthless. Although many people complained behind his back that he was too cold and merciless, he always did what he wanted and never made any exceptions.
But soon people began to notice the benefits.
The resistance they encountered on the battlefield seemed to have weakened, especially in areas where the reputation of the People's Army had spread. The sallow-faced enemy soldiers seemed unwilling to fight them. Some of those who had been released and then returned to the Imperial Army would simply feign surrender upon seeing them, firing a few random shots into the air before immediately throwing down their weapons. After earning a small amount of money, they would return to repeat the process, which was simply laughable.
Moreover, these people would often encourage their comrades to become "captives" together, surrendering to the People's Army in batches and in a systematic manner, or even simply decide to mutiny, kidnap an unpopular commander, seize a batch of imperial weapons, and use this as a way to surrender to them in the hope of joining the People's Army.
This made the empire, which noticed this "wonder", extremely angry. Words like the People's Army treated prisoners well immediately became taboo words in the imperial army. Soldiers who dared to spread it would be immediately executed as traitors. They even wasted a lot of manpower and material resources to slander them, describing the enemies of the empire as inhuman beasts and ferocious and cruel demons, hoping to use this to resist this army that seemed to be able to control the enemy's will.
Unfortunately, in addition to being very good at "charming people", Ghost also has a group of very capable generals under his command.
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