Battle of Stella (6)

There are only three ways for Li Weier to attack Chunie.

1. Cross the Daqiusha Mountains and attack from the west. 2. Take a detour from the southern end of the Daqiusha Mountains along the bay to enter the southwest border, or go around the northern three-country trade junction. 3. Take the sea route across the ocean and land on the eastern coast of Qiunie.

How difficult is the first route? The Daqiusha Mountains are composed of a group of continuous high peaks. The average peak height of the middle peak group is three zeduo, and the highest can reach four. Even a flying dragon would find it extremely difficult to fly at this height.

It is also unimaginable to navigate through the deep forests and mountains with complex terrain and monsters everywhere. The fact that there are knights everywhere in Levi'er does not mean that all their soldiers are composed of knights, and supply is also a big problem.

The second route must pass through the Catalonia Bay, which is located at the intersection of three land masses. Across the bay is a large delta with no country and a mix of all kinds of creatures.

Not to mention that the Catlan Bay Pass is one of the important places guarded by Qiu Nie for many years. If the chaotic small countries in the south come together, the war situation may be out of control. The Red Rock countries have never stopped fighting during the peaceful times when the three major countries lived in peace.

As for the third point, Levi's navy was notoriously rubbish and was generally not taken into consideration, so the second point was basically invalidated as well.

The attack by Livil was originally planned for a long time before it began in 1895. The route was from the north, to the former Sarambula, the junction of Livil and Chunie, which is also the northern end of the Great Qiusha Mountains, and Boyi, the junction of three countries. This place is also a place without a master. To touch this place, one must deal with two major powers, and the journey is also full of difficulties.

The rebellion of Duke Amiel directly eliminated all the above difficulties and opened a way for Levi's invasion.

Although it was not the Duke of Southwest who was guarding Catlan Bay, it was indeed easy to occupy this area due to its geographical location. With the help of Duke Amiel, the Liweier army gradually entered the Southwest Territory.

The battle line was drawn here as the Earl of Stella's territory bordered the Amiel territory.

This is also where Alex and his men fought against the Dragon Riders.

In the initial battle, they took advantage of numbers, new weapons, terrain, and information gap, and at one point forced the advance troops of the Liwei side back into the center of the Amiel territory.

There, an internal rebellion broke out within Amiel.

The bureaucrats, police, soldiers, knights, and wizards who found the Duke of Amiel's rebellion absurd jointly blew up the Duke's palace and fled to the front battlefield in Chune.

The leader among them was the Duke of Amiel's only son, Melian Amiel.

He denounced his father's crimes to Alex, explained his reasons for the rebellion, and vowed to devote his life to suppressing the rebellion and fighting the enemy.

Alex did not trust him directly and sent him and those who came with him to a prisoner-of-war camp.

After testing him for a period of time, he released him and sent him to fight on the front line.

Mo Lian, who was a fourth-level knight and could use new magic, had indeed made a great contribution.

He seemed to vent his guilt and humiliation on the battlefield, hunting down the enemy without mercy.

The enemies he captured always looked the most miserable. The reason why he didn't kill them was because Alex had issued a death order, and the surrendered enemies could not be killed.

Although he didn't know why friendly soldiers who killed enemy prisoners were punished, he still strictly obeyed military orders.

Mo Lian would only calm down when Inger scolded her harshly.

The Battle of Stella began in April 1893, and in the blink of an eye it was already July, the first of the hottest months in Chugne.

Private Hall, who was guarding outside the prisoner-of-war camp with a spear, rolled his eyes and swept his hand across, so fast that there was almost no shadow, and slapped his own arm.

A pool of fresh home-produced blood exploded in the palm of my hand, a big mosquito with thick legs and red and black stripes, a species unique to the southwest.

He squatted down and washed his hands in the puddle on the ground.

Dozens of dead mosquitoes were already floating in that small puddle.

"Fuck, when will this end?!" Mike, a private first class soldier next to him, couldn't help but complain, scratching his chin.

Hall held his friend's hand expressionlessly, "If you scratch it, it will easily get infected, which is very troublesome."

Mike felt uncomfortable when he grabbed his hand, but he didn't resist. He cried, "Hold on tighter, I can't stand it anymore. Why are the bugs here so poisonous?"

He pointed at his buns and complained, "Look at my head. The buns in the steamer can't rise as fast as my face."

Hall stared at his face for a few seconds and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.

Mike couldn't take it anymore: "You're still laughing at me! I feel so uncomfortable! Why don't mosquitoes bite your face?!"

Hall said, "Major Neka sent people to each camp to tell them that applying the mucus of silver dew branches on the face can repel mosquitoes. You went to the bathroom at the time, so you didn't hear it, did you?"

Mike yelled, "Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

Of course, this thing is not 100% mosquito-proof.

Anyway, the mosquitoes here have evolved to a certain extent. When the weather gets a little warmer, they start to come out in groups to suck blood.

But he couldn't change shifts now, and he kicked the big cage behind him angrily.

Hall stopped him immediately, "Don't mistreat the prisoners!"

Mike gritted his teeth and said, "I know! Of course I know! I just kicked the iron cage! It's not them!"

The captured knight in the cage looked up at him, then lowered his head weakly.

Soon, the knights came to pick up the prisoners. They put stronger shackles on the prisoners in the cages and led them into the prisoner camp.

On the way, Mike could see rows of captured soldiers repeatedly peeling potatoes under the supervision of Chuone soldiers.

He couldn't help but mutter: "It's so cool to be a prisoner here! Free food and free sleep, no one will bully you, and you don't have to go to the front line with injuries!"

Several prisoners glanced over.

Hall poked Mike gently.

Mike was so angry that he raised his voice and said, "Am I wrong? If someone punches and kicks a prisoner, he will be severely punished. How can this be so outrageous... Ouch!"

A corporal supervising the prisoners came over and hit him hard on the head.

Mike and Hall stood up straight and hammered their fists to their hearts.

"Don't make irresponsible remarks about military orders!"

The corporal was their instructor during the training, so seeing that the two recruits had just been transferred from the mainland, he made a few remarks.

"You two have good grades, so I don't need to explain the other rules. But there are two people on this front line. You must not fall into their hands."

"Who?"

"Major Inger Nyka, His Royal Highness Alex Chune."

"Huh? Why isn't Commander Neka a staff officer, a combat wizard, and a military doctor? Even though he's scary on the front lines, he's pretty good to the soldiers, right?"

"That's when you've done nothing wrong. He's more ruthless than any other officer. You can never imagine how bad it would be for any soldier who violated military discipline and fell into his hands."

"Ah? Can he really beat someone to a pulp?"

"No, he doesn't hit anyone."

"That?"

"…Do you know what solitary confinement punishment is? It means locking people up in a small, completely enclosed dark room where you can only sit curled up. There is only one basin inside for defecation and peeing. There is only one opening for delivering food and changing excrement. After the room is closed, people inside cannot see a single ray of light or hear a single sound. The room has been cast under a spell. He will not starve people to death, nor will he maim people, but no one in there can survive more than two days. After they are released, they dare not cause trouble again. They would rather lose their hands and feet on the battlefield than go back in."

Mike brushed his arms. Even in such a hot and humid air, he felt a little cold. "…………Is it really that scary? How did he come up with this idea?"

"…You can try it yourself. When I was a private soldier, I was also imprisoned for torturing a prisoner. He cried for mercy in less than a day, but the prisoner still didn't let him out. He had to be locked up for two and a half days before he was allowed out. If someone tries to commit suicide in there, he will also find a way to make it impossible for him to die…"

“………Stop…………I feel like vomiting…”

Hall asked, "What about His Highness? Isn't he always so kind?"

"…Don't provoke him. Although he rarely gets angry about his own affairs, if you dare to cross the line in front of him, he will laugh and throw you to Chief Neka."

"………ah."

"Oh, by the way, don't touch on military discipline in front of him. You absolutely cannot say anything bad about Commander Neka in front of him. This is his biggest red line."

“…Why?”

"Uh... don't ask why. It's just not possible. You can't even mention it. He'll be very angry. You just need to know that the consequences of doing so are worse than any other situation."

Mike asked curiously, "I heard at home that thanks to Commander Neka and His Highness, the casualties on the front line are unprecedentedly low. Is the wizard's healing magic really that powerful?"

The corporal laughed sarcastically: "Really? Is this a good thing? You should never tell these things to your seniors or captains in the future, or they will beat you up."

Hall asked in astonishment: "Not many people died. Isn't that a good thing? Most people survived. I heard that he could even heal broken limbs."

The corporal lifted up his sleeves, revealing thick scars on them.

"Did you see it?"

They both gasped, "This is it!"

The corporal smiled and said, "Guess how many times this hand has been broken?"

Dumb.

The corporal answered himself, "Four times." He went on, "It was cured every time. Isn't that amazing?" He moved his arm. Not only was it cured, but he could also move it flexibly every time just like before. There was no deviation in the nerves and muscles. This is something that surgery cannot achieve.

他放下袖子，也知道不需要多說了，只反問道：“現在你們還覺得這是好事情嗎？”

兩人不再問，明白了他的意思。

不約而同地沉默了。

下士望着西方，眼神中包含着很多意味。

他很慶幸，自己能調到戰俘營這個崗位上，稍微離開了最前線的戰鬥營地。

可和他同批次，幸存下來，或者說被迫幸存下來的那些人，只是一次又一次地治好傷口，然後再次投入戰鬥。

軍銜軍功是不斷上升的，可是精神也快到極限了。

兩個月前，他們還對這次戰争抱有盲目的自信。

騎士儲君和天才巫師的組合一戰成名，連續擊退了享譽盛名百年的龍騎士兵團，以及黎微爾先遣精英部隊，不出半月就把戰線推到了西南領地中部。

消息傳回首都，所有報紙都在慶祝他們的勝利。

坐在路邊攤喝一杯酒，就能看到花瓶旁邊擱着一份報紙，耳邊就能聽到“驅逐黎微爾人，剁下叛徒阿米艾爾和魯道夫的狗頭。”

可誰也沒想到戰争就這樣拖到了7月，西南戰線戰況一直膠着不下。

雖然死傷人數比往年戰争少很多，傷亡仍是在堆積。

丘涅這方面一開始因為布局獲得的先機，也在黎微爾那邊大軍的抵達後失去了優勢。

雙方投入的兵力在短短三個月內各達到了四十萬。

黎微爾高階的騎士不要命地派往前線，大軍碾壓，以絕對的兵力頻繁進攻。

丘涅這邊雖然采取的是相對保守的戰鬥方式，也計謀頻出，急切地想取得勝利。

可是，兩方都沒能得償所願。

最後那下士對倆列兵說：

“閉嘴，少說話，多做事，少耍花招，少抱怨，那幾位長官都是眼裏揉不得沙子的。”

醫療營裏，程度不同的新傷兵哀嚎連天。

護士醫師左奔右竄，一會兒拿繃帶，一會兒拿注射針和吊瓶，手指間還夾着幾瓶藥。

“巫師！為什麽巫師不來！好痛！”有傷兵痛叫。

露奈面無表情給他纏上繃帶，一邊道：“你擡頭看看你對面的。”

傷兵看過去，一個士兵正悠閑地喝水，端着錫杯的樣子，那姿态宛如在品什麽下午茶，但往前一看，他的腿斷了一條，正吊在架子上。

另外一個士兵拿着本破爛不堪的書在看，他的一只手吊在肩膀上，一條腿只剩下一半。

還有一個躺在床上一臉祥和地睡覺，順便和身邊的護士聊天 。

那喊疼的傷兵傻眼了。

【這些前輩心理素質這麽硬的嗎？是我太矯情了？】

可是他低頭看了眼自己肚子上的傷口，血色從層層繃帶裏透出來，即便打了麻醉，還是疼得他直呲牙。

類似這樣的傷口身上還有好幾處。

他在戰場上被刀劍刺中的時候，真的以為自己要死了，幸虧暈過去之後，敵人以為他死了才沒再補刀，後來被戰友送了回來，菜救下了這一命。

對此前輩士兵淡淡地說了一句：“嗯，習慣就好，又不是快死了。”

和他一樣的那些傷兵聽此，不約而同閉上了嘴 。

然而醫療營裏的确還躺着一些重傷病患，他們眼看着下一秒就要撅過去。

恰在此時，簾子一掀，有一群人進來了。

英格爾看向管理醫療營的醫師，“把重傷的都擡過來。”

對方立刻叫來了幾個守營士兵擡人。

英格爾略微掃了一眼系着紅色綁帶的傷者，指了指其中一個口吐白沫四肢抽搐：“這個中毒了，需要另外治療。”他随後指向身邊一個巫師，“你給他祛毒。”

裏頭的傷兵，見到他，露出了不同的反應，叫得最響的那幾個反倒不太認識他，看着他的軍銜，愣住了。

但是那些老兵眼睛一翻差點暈過去。

英格爾沒管他們，皺着眉頭，魔杖在地上畫出法陣。

柔和的光芒湧起，如清早的霧氣淹沒了地上外傷嚴重的傷者。

良久之後，光芒減弱，那些猙獰的傷口已經只剩下一些淡薄的痕跡了，只有地上濃稠的血泊證明他們剛才命懸一線。

英格爾道：“護士們，過來。”

露奈連忙領着一衆有經驗的護士，各自擡起重傷患者，主要是胸腹部受傷的。

先是用摸和聽的方法，确認內髒修複完成，然後輕輕将他們身體托着向前。

噗！

好幾個人嗆咳了起來，都從口中和鼻中噴出了鮮血。

而護士們則幫助他們排出這些瘀血。

魔法可以幫助他們修複傷口，可是這些多餘的血液和廢物不代表不存在，會有人因為血腫受苦，也有人因為瘀血而嗆住。

那邊毒素也排出了，護士幫忙清理口鼻，給他側過身子，情況穩定了許多。

英格爾看着那邊，眉頭沒有松開，嚴厲地道：“去查這個士兵來這裏前吃了什麽喝了什麽，把嘔吐物保留下來方便檢查。”

醫師和士兵連忙點頭。

英格爾陰沉着眼睛掃了一圈：“這就是亂吃東西的下場，都給我記住了。”

“是！”

士兵們顫抖着回應。

他們此時已經完全忘了眼前的人和他們差不多，也不過17歲。

英格爾道：“下一批，斷手斷腳的擡過來，把保留的四肢也拿出來。”

他的語氣是很熟稔的姿态。

這才三個月，他見到的斷肢都可以壘成一座山了，早就見怪不怪。

營帳裏面徒然寂靜了下來。

英格爾面無表情地将魔杖往地上輕輕敲了一下，道：“我知道你們想多休息一會兒，誰不想呢？你們如果想偷懶，可以不治，打個傷殘報告申請回家。”

“不不不！”

有幾個人面露惶恐直接爬了過來。

首都哪有巫師有空給他們治療，畢竟也沒人想下半輩子就半殘地過日子。

英格爾歪了一下腦袋，“這次不是我，由他們給你們治。”

他身後跟着的，都是送來的新一批的巫師，似乎都是下一屆的巫師學生，還沒完成學業就被送來了。

實在沒辦法，上一批巫師因為勞累而病倒的人實在太多了。據說下下屆将要入學的巫師也将展開體能訓練和測試。

英格爾就帶着他們熟悉。

“咒語都記住了吧，往他們身上試，不成功的，有我。”

英格爾冷冷的語氣，讓巫師們噤若寒蟬，哪還敢說句不是。

而那些老兵的臉色就更菜了。

有新兵忍不住小聲問：“失敗了會怎麽樣？”

露奈拍了拍他的肩膀道：“沒事，頂多再截一次肢，然後再長一次罷了。”

新兵臉色刷地慘白。

不過在雙方都戰戰兢兢地氛圍下，治療還是有序完成了。

英格爾覺得這一批巫師資質都還不錯，臉色略微好了一點。

只是多花時間比他更長，但是也沒辦法，這些巫師需要次數去熟練，畢竟他自己一個人無法打理也這麽多傷員。

全部治療結束後，那些已經四肢健全的士兵活動了一下身子，不情不願地站起來。

英格爾沒有憐惜他們，冷酷無情地下令：“列隊。”

士兵條件反射行軍禮排成一列。

“出去進行半天的康複訓練，然後歸隊找你們隊長報道。”

“是……”

這個回答就有氣無力了。

事實上，快速康複的結果就是他們身體上康複了但是情緒上還沒有，靈魂軀殼有着明顯脫節。

但是戰況的急促，根本容不得他們休息。事實上，他們自從受傷到來到這個醫療營也不過半天。

“再來一次？”英格爾冷聲道。

“遵命！長官！”洪亮地回答之後，一列人忙不疊滾出去了。

英格爾又讓人把一筐東西運進來。

“剩下那些輕傷的，就用這個治療，用法知道的吧。”

裏頭是一些綠玉印章一樣的東西，手掌大小。

露奈連忙接過來，分發給護士們。

這是用來治療外傷的魔導石道具，上頭刻着小型的修複法陣，對于治療一些輕微外傷很有效，而且消耗不大，接觸傷口直接起作用，即便是沒有魔力的人也能用的道具。

她前幾天在其他的醫療營已經用過幾次，她猜是魔法研究院送來的。

英格爾見她了解用法便不再多說，帶着巫師們就要離開。

那個身上多個刀劍傷的士兵難以置信，忍不住喊道：“巫師大人！順便治療一下我們吧！真的疼死了！”

英格爾停下了腳步，他身邊一位年輕的巫師就忍不住罵出聲了：“哪有這麽多魔力給你們消耗！印章就夠了！我們都已經跑了這麽多地方了！”

這時，士兵們才注意到這些巫師們臉上的倦意，尤其是英格爾眼下的青黑和眼中的血絲。

任誰奔波了一整天，情緒都不會很好。

而且，他們都是以優先級為準的，随便浪費魔力就沒辦法救下更多的人，這是英格爾這三個月最切身體會到的。

然而這些事，與傷者講，他們也不會理解，畢竟人們只能感受自己身上的痛。

Inger patted the wizard on the shoulder and glanced at the new-looking soldiers. Although they were not on the same battlefield, he still said, "If you don't want to feel pain, become stronger and get hurt less. I hope you can survive tomorrow."

As he left, Luna couldn't help but say, "Sir, you should also take a good rest."

Inger glanced at her and said, "...It's you. Well, I'll pay attention. The nurses and doctors have also worked hard."

He didn't take it seriously. In fact, he had to take care of his body. If he fainted, there would be countless deaths among the soldiers. He had experienced this many times before. Wizards were never enough.