Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

The vanguard marched a whole day's journey ahead of the main force.

On the first day, they advanced along the southern bank of the Confluence River.
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Downstream, the riverbanks were strewn with Herder corpses that had been washed ashore. Every few steps, Winters could see new swollen bodies.

Many crows and vultures rushed over for a feast, pecking at the rotten flesh with abandon while keeping a close watch on the living passing before them.

"Looking at what!" Xial, unable to bear it any longer, picked up a stone and threw it at the crows.

The black birds screeched horribly and took flight with a flap, circling above Paratu's army.

The other militia members also started picking up stones and flinging them at crows and vultures.

Winters did not issue any orders to stop them.

"Looking at what?" he thought somberly, "Food."

...

Shortly after the dispute between Winters and Haug had resolved, a messenger returned with the final decision from the two generals.

A carelessly written word was scribbled on a sealed piece of parchment:

[The Wheel]

The Wheel, that meant not sparing any man taller than a wheel.

The order was executed efficiently, and the remaining Herder women and children were driven across the river to fend for themselves.

Brother Reed looked down upon General Paratu's decision.

Brother Reed asked Winters, "Absolute cruelty or absolute kindness, one must choose one. Killing the fathers, sparing the wives and sons, what does that count as?"

Winters had no answer.

But Alpad and Sekler had their reasons.

For the Herder tribes, women were precious resources and property.

Without women, there are no men—no one knew this better than the Herders who lived in harsh conditions.

"Let the Red River Tribe deal with that headache," Alpad said carelessly during a senior officers' meeting, "Let's see if Yasin can keep those women. He might even have to fight a battle over it."

...

Marching in the wilderness where there were no roads, the commander usually kept the daily distance to 20,000 steps.

One step was counted as the left and right foot moving once, 20,000 steps measuring approximately 24 kilometers, so that the soldiers had the energy left to fight.

If they were marching on hard-surface roads, they could walk up to 30,000 steps a day, about 36 kilometers.

But on the first day of departure, the vanguard Winters was with only managed to cover a mere dozen kilometers, not quite 15,000 steps.

The reason was simple: the speed of the wagons could not match the pace.

The supply camps they had built along the way had been burned down, and Paratu's army was unable to procure forage on the spot.

Thus, the wagons carrying the provisions became the shortcoming of the barrel.

Seeing that the sun was setting, Colonel Bod—the vanguard's commander—ordered the camp to be set up.

[Note: Colonel Daniel Bod is the commander who defended the northern stockade]

A short march did not mean an easy end to the day.

The soldiers also had to dig trenches and construct a camp large enough to accommodate the main force.

Standing Army and auxiliary troops alike, everyone had to work.

Coachmen unharnessed and fed the horses, soldiers responsible for cooking busied themselves with chopping wood and starting fires, while others were buried in digging trenches and building walls.

The defensive works were divided into sections and assigned to each centuria.

Winters surveyed and supervised the work in the section his troops were responsible for.

Every person in the vanguard was given a shovel or a mattock, significantly speeding up the digging process.

Never underestimate shovels and pickaxes; equipping regular soldiers with tools is a major "renaissance" tactic for land forces and part of the [Ned Smith Military Reforms].

However, due to their size and weight making them inconvenient to carry, a squad of ten only had two shovels, one mattock, one axe, and one saw in its inventory.

The night before their departure, Sekler concentrated most of the tools in the hands of the vanguard and arranged for their transport by wagon.

Even with everyone equipped with proper tools, the troops worked into the darkness before the work could be barely considered finished.

Afterwards, upon Colonel Bod's personal inspection and approval, the militia under Winters finally heard the command to disband.

The returning militiamen shoveled a few bites of food and drink hastily and started to pitch their tents.

Everyone was utterly exhausted and solely wished to sleep and rest.

Winters too returned to his company's headquarters, looking for something to eat.

The headquarters were quiet; Lieutenant Colonel Jeska had finished eating and left, and the other three centurions had not yet returned.

Inside the tent were only three men: Father Caman and Brother Reed dining, and blacksmith Berlion tending to the stew pot.

Ever since Lieutenant Colonel Jeska transferred the blacksmith to the company as a cook, Father Caman and Brother Reed had also come to the company headquarters to cook.

Winters helped himself to a bowl of thick soup and asked Caman, "How's it going?"

Father Caman put down his utensils, made a sign of the cross, and said in a low voice, "Today, five believers have reached their place of rest through the mercy of the Lord."

Brother Reed sighed, "Just say that five died, no need to beat around the bush. The lad doesn't understand that."

Most of the severely wounded would die within seven days, and some of the lightly wounded would also pass away from fever or shock.

Winters had seen too much and was becoming somewhat numb to it.

He consoled Caman, "Don't think too much, if it weren't for you, there would be more dead."

Caman remained silent.

...

The recovery rate for officers was much higher than for soldiers, not only because the officers were stronger physically, but also because injured officers received good care.

If soldiers received the same treatment, the lightly wounded had a high chance of survival.

But in reality, the wounded were barely cared for, since the army's structure was composed solely of combat personnel.

The few doctors accompanying the army were full-time; the rest were dual-duty soldiers and officers.

Having someone to stitch up their wounds or remove an arrowhead was all they could hope for; beyond that, it was down to luck for the wounded.