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Chapter 939 - 939 106 Aftermath of the War

939: Chapter 106: Aftermath of the War 939: Chapter 106: Aftermath of the War After inspecting the battlefield, Hudson let out a sigh as he looked at the compiled casualties.

“One general’s triumph often comes atop thousands of bones.”

Last night’s battle was the perfect embodiment of that saying.

The situation of the Expeditionary Army wasn’t too bad, as it was a surprise attack against the enemy’s weary troops, resulting in just over two thousand casualties.

Compared to the glorious victory of crushing three hundred thousand enemy troops, slaying one hundred twenty thousand, and capturing fifty thousand, it could very well be described as an “epic triumph.”

The Kingdom’s Army’s losses were not significant, but the Augustusburg defensive forces suffered heavily.

Used by Hudson as bait, they lost as many as seventy thousand men, with nearly every survivor wounded.

If they hadn’t been trapped in the inner city with nowhere to run, such numbers of casualties would have caused the army to collapse early on.

Of course, the seventy thousand fatalities also included the losses from the outer city’s breach during the day.

The battles were continuous, leaving the defensive forces no way to separate the count of their losses.

“Have someone send the news of our victory back!

Everyone is anxious, we need this information to stabilize the morale.”

Hudson said expressionlessly.

War always demands sacrifices, and any price is worth paying for victory.

To win at the least cost proves the competence of a commander.

Without offering words of comfort to the wounded officers of Moxi Duchy, Hudson believed they would all overcome this.

Casualties were of no consequence in light of the victory news.

No matter how depleted, Moxi Duchy would replenish their ranks.

In the eyes of many Nobles and royal dignitaries, soldiers’ losses are nothing more than a cold set of numbers.

Especially among the Augustusburg defensive forces, which were filled with a large number of Eastern War Hammer Kingdom deserters, now buried on the battlefield.

Perhaps they even saw it as eliminating a potential problem.

“Understood, Marshal!”

Rakel immediately replied.

It was apparent that he had adjusted his mindset.

Whether he was internally strong or truly indifferent, it was a quality essential for a leader.

Dwelling on the heavy loss of one’s forces without being able to extricate oneself might seem compassionate and righteous but was actually irresponsible.

With innumerable changes on the battlefield, regardless of the circumstances or events, a commander must always remain rational.

The deliberately arranged “pawn sacrifice” from last night went unmentioned by both.

The city was breached by the enemy, not because the Commander in Chief intentionally revealed a weakness to lure them in.

The truth can remain hidden in the long river of history.

There’s no need to lay everything out in the open.

Sometimes knowing too much is not good for anyone.

As for whether someone would guess it, that’s not important at all, as victors are above reproach.

After nodding his head, Hudson added, “Also, report on the prisoner issue.

Apart from those few hundred elf captives for whom I promised to abide by the Ancient ‘Covenant of all races’ and grant them prisoner of war treatment, the respective governments can discuss what to do with the rest of the prisoners!

Note: To facilitate the political subjugation of the Ancient tribes, I suggest we refrain from slaughtering the prisoners.”

The hatred in species warfare runs deep, and unless one side falls completely, the conflict will persist.

Unable to change the overall situation, he still had to fulfill his promises.

Even though everyone knew the elf captives were valuable and would not likely be executed, Hudson still needed to show a gesture.

The suggestion he raised was in fact a decision.

Reporting was just a formality to demonstrate respect toward the high levels of both governments.

From the moment he spoke, the destiny of fifty thousand prisoners had been decided.

Given the trend of future warfare, combined with the weight of the “victory news,” no astute politician would reject Hudson’s suggestions.

Of course, sparing these prisoners was not only convenient for future political subjugation but the underlying reason was: these Ancient tribes were precious species, not just because their existing numbers were small, but their fertility was also pitifully low.

In the entire Ancient Heritage Alliance, even the most numerous species did not have one million people.

Restricted by their population, these small species, no matter how they develop, lack the capability to threaten the dominant status of the Human Race.

There are plenty of species that have vanished in the long river of history, and these small, low-risk-bearing species could cool off at any moment.

A major earthquake, a great flood, a severe cold snap, a Cult rampage…

any major natural disaster or catastrophe could spell their end.

“Victory news!”

“A great victory at Augustusburg!”

…

When the news reached Dapes, the first reaction of everyone was disbelief.

Just yesterday, Augustusburg was reaching out for help, and they had even held a meeting to discuss sending reinforcements, but today they received news of victory.

It was as if they were kidding kids!

With everyone staring until he felt uncomfortable, Count Martins quickly explained, “Reinforcements have arrived!

Last night, the Alien Coalition Army broke into the inner city, and, at the most critical moment, Marshal Hudson led the great army to the battlefield, counterattacking the enemy alongside the Augustusburg defensive forces.

This battle defeated three hundred thousand enemy troops and killed one hundred twenty thousand, capturing fifty thousand, completely reversing the unfavorable situation since the start of war.

However, we also suffered heavy losses, with just the number of dead…”

Before the Minister of Defense could finish, George interrupted, “Stop!

Let us digest this good news first, we can discuss the casualties later.”

The sudden reversal of the war situation was too abrupt; if not for their sturdy constitutions, it might have given them quite a shock.

Even if the defense forces of Augustusburg fought to the last, it wouldn’t have been enough to severely damage the enemy.