14 Costs

In the defense of Windrun Town, the three squads of Charlie, Hans, and Milo totaled 58 people, 19 of whom were killed and all of them were wounded; A total of 18 militiamen, magicians, and foreign soldiers participated in the battle, and none of them were killed, and most of them were slightly injured. Djinn fought about 48 and 15 were killed. Some people will wonder why they don't send more troops to defend Fengxing Town, the answer is that the remaining djinn is very scattered, scattered all over the continent, the imperial commander will be more efficient to disperse the army in his hand and fight separately, if the army is used to find and annihilate the remaining djinn, the logistics will be dragged down. The defensive combat power of Windrun Town is calculated, and the Imperial Army Commander has calculated the results of long-term battles with the Djinn, counting the objective factors such as the defensive fortress of Windwalk, the number of local militias, and the combat power of the Aobei Army in the east, and calculated that the strength of the defense of Windrun Town is between 50 and 80 people, which is exactly the number of three or four squads - Milo's team is on its own initiative, and Charlie and Hans are transferred. Judging from the fact that the human race was completely crushed by the djinn at the beginning, to the battle loss ratio of Fengxing Town was close to 1 to 1, the human race won a real victory in this war that lasted for three years, and the human race has been able to restrain the djinn's tactics and size advantage, and finally won with stratagem and home advantage.

The drawbridge was lowered, the planks were laid, and the inhabitants gradually dispersed, returning to the town undamaged - the djinn had been dealing with humans for a long time, and knew that the humans would empty the town before the battle, leaving no one and no resources behind, and that there would be nothing to gain from attacking there. While the inhabitants slowly returned to their lives, the soldiers had to do several things: clean the battlefield, heal the wounded, and rebuild the fortifications...... Finally, there is the funeral.

Charles and Mello had already learned of the death of Captain Hans during the battle, and neither of them was shaken by this, and continued to calmly direct the battle and stand on the city wall to ensure that everyone's morale would not be lowered, at this time, it was time for the souls of Hans and the sacrificed soldiers to rest in peace. While the inhabitants were still cheering, the soldiers were already cleaning up the mess. They wrapped the remains of fallen soldiers in linen or leather, and collected some of the mutilated parts of the body—it could be severed hands, severed feet, or crushed muscles and bones...... Veterans who have experienced countless battles look up at the sky and are stunned; The young soldier's stomach was churning and he continued to collect the remains of his comrades with trembling hands. The body of the djinn was carried to a distance, and the powerful Parrett made a lot of efforts, and then there were special soldiers who would cut off the head of the djinn, whether it was a skull or a skull, which could be used as a battle merit to go to a higher general to ask for credit. But this time, Captain Charlie was selfish, and he ordered most of the Djinn heads to be given to Hans's team, which would not soothe their grief over the loss of their captain, but would ensure their livelihood after the war. Cha Li gave a head to Parrett, but the latter refused, feeling very guilty that the army of his homeland had not been able to rush to the aid in time, and Charlie was promptly reassured that it was none of his business. Charlie's men were angry, but they understood it very well, and as for Milo's men, they were indifferent to these things, and they did not desire fame and fortune, for reasons that everyone knew.

The viscount and the count greeted the soldiers on the city walls, shook hands with each of them in thanks, and bowed to the burlap sacks containing the soldiers' bodies. The Viscount leaned down into the trench and finally understood the meaning of the word "scorched earth", having led the militia to repel the harassment of a handful of djinn on several occasions, and this was the first time he had witnessed a battle of this magnitude. The perimeter of the walls along the line was blackened by the flames, and the cracks left by the boulder could be faintly seen. On the wall at the drawbridge, there is a dark black circle left behind - it was left behind after the explosion of the powder keg, Hans sacrificed himself to save the rear of the line, but his deeds will eventually be forgotten by the merciless time along with this black trace. The viscount and earl asked about a pungent smell of burning, it was two magicians using fire magic to incinerate the corpse of the djinn, black smoke billowing up into the sky.

After a brief meeting with Milo, Heidi and the medical team carried the wounded to a makeshift ward in the fortress, and began to get busy doing their duty. Compared to the more tragic and tragic scenes of war she had ever seen, the thrill and tragedy of the battle did not frighten her, and her strength inspired other medical staff and saved the lives of many soldiers. The militia were not idle, they repaired some of the fortifications, and although the djinn will never return, the basic defense of the fortress must be maintained. The militia also received orders from Charlie to collect flammable timber and set up a firewood pile north of the fortress. The militia knew what it was for, and they did it without delay.

During this busy time, three things happened:

The first thing was that the scout cavalry of the Aube Empire came to report the situation on their side, and Captain Charles personally met and learned that the Aube army encountered strong resistance when attacking the Djinn and could not break through their defenses, so they failed to aid Fengxing Town in time, and now they have defeated the Djinn with the cooperation of the Sprite Empire's reinforcements and killed more than 170 Djinn. Parrett, who heard the news from the sidelines, bowed his head and remained silent, he felt that he was also responsible for the failure of his homeland to be perfect, and he did not go back with the scouts, but stayed here to continue to help.

The second thing was that the Scout Cavalry of the Splett Empire's reinforcements came to approach, and when Charlie saw the outfit of the Scout Cavalry, he was immediately shocked - they were dressed in delicate alloy plate armor, wearing a full-face Tiekui, wearing face armor engraved with a hideous face, and the cloak was extraordinarily ornate with a golden glitter on it - not a family crest, but a royal cracked sun crest. They weren't your average Imperial army, they were the Royal Praetorian Guard. "Glory to Splitter!" At the end of the solemn salute, the Praetorian scouts gave an order for Hans's army to collect the horses and grass and send it to the camp where the Praetorian Guards were stationed outside the town of Windswept Town. Charlie was aggrieved in his heart, but the orders of the Praetorian Guards were equivalent to royal orders, and he agreed to them one by one. Seeing that the order had been answered in the affirmative, the scout cavalry marched away, and their camp was 1,500 meters west of Fengxing Town.

"The Emperor's personal conquest?" The soldier behind him asked Charlie, and Charlie said, "Definitely not the emperor." It should be the prince, who came to earn some military exploits and 'gild' himself. The "gilding" in his mouth naturally refers to the accumulation of political capital through "skillful" military exploits, and the soldiers all showed disdain. The militia wanted to take over the task of transporting the horse grass, but Charlie politely declined, and he decided to take his own men to transport it, which was polite and safer.

The third event was the return of reinforcements, and as the sun was setting, the two phalanxes of infantry of the Praetorian Guards returned from the east, and bypassed the southern side of Fengxing Town with a neat pace, followed by a group of cavalry generals, who hung the severed djinn heads on their horses to show off their exploits. The blood-colored remnant sun dyed the earth red, sprinkled on the plate armor of the Praetorian Guard, reflecting a golden light. The inhabitants of Windrun flocked to see the spectacle and beauty, and several beautiful girls smiled and waved at them, and the girls managed to show their charm, as several cavalry generals kept an eye on them.

After finishing the affairs in the fortress, Charlie led the men to transport the horses and grass, and Milo commanded the others to go to the north of the fortress, where the firewood pile had been arranged. The Earl was accompanied by the Viscount, accompanied by Parrett, Snow Dog, and Night Sparrow, and the militia was not among them. When Charlie returned with his men, the sun had already set. When he sent the horse grass, he had already inquired about the person who led the Praetorian Guard to the expedition, as he expected, was the prince of the empire and the crown prince designated to succeed him.

In silence the people began what they were going to do, the burlap bags that wrapped the bodies were already placed on the pyre, the soldiers stood in line and straightened, and the Earl and his son, Parrett, and the magician and his wife stood solemnly to look at the bodies on the pyre. Charlie lit the pyre with a torch, and the fire grew stronger and stronger, forming a pillar of fire that engulfed the remains of the soldiers and illuminated the serious faces of everyone next to him. The funeral was not attended by the residents of Windtown, Charlie did not invite them, and even those who came spontaneously would be persuaded to return. Charlie, Milo, and the rest of the soldiers understood that no one would remember their sacrifices, and that most ordinary people would rather think of an enemy who had hurt them every day for the rest of their lives than easily remember a man who had fought for his life but did not know his name - this is the sadness of heroes, and the honorability of heroes, and soldiers who have gone through the trials of life and death know this.

The funeral was silent throughout the funeral, Charlie gestured to tell everyone that it was time to disband, and everyone slowly returned to the town or fortress. Charles specially accompanied the Earl and his son to discuss the matter of night patrols, and he once again carried forward the spirit of the Grand Duke's selflessness, and he himself was to personally lead the militia to patrol at night.

Melo found Heidi at the gate of the fortress, and after Heidi confirmed that Melo was fine, she said in a low voice:

"I want to ...... Go and see the sea. ”