Resolution and Stabilization

"You're right, Viscount Golden Sunflower's army is indeed outnumbered by the opposing Allied Army, but I believe they will win."

As for you, you might as well have drunk some water earlier, since you won't be able to drink any more soon!

After saying that, Old Buck reached out and grabbed the prisoner's collar, then drew the knife from his waist and stabbed it directly into his abdomen.

The captured soldier, probably exhausted from the labor, hadn't even realized what was happening. When he looked down, he discovered he had been stabbed through. He clutched his stomach, making a "heh heh" sound, his face showing disbelief.

Old Buck looked at the expression on his face, as if to say, "How dare you?"

Old Buck didn't bother reading his expression anymore. He kicked him directly, then pulled out his knife, and blood splattered all over his leather armor.

He shouted at the guards behind him, "Where are your weapons? Do what you're supposed to do. Even if those nobles win against Viscount Golden Sunflower, do you think they'll let us go?"

"Get started!"

After saying that, he rushed forward. Seeing the ferocious expression on Old Buck's face, the prisoners finally reacted and raised their wooden shovels and pickaxes to try to resist.

But Old Buck, clad in iron-plated leather armor, had his vital parts protected by the sturdy armor. Those wooden sticks and shovels couldn't hurt him at all. Even if they hit Old Buck, he could withstand them with his strong body.

Old Buck charged into the crowd, parrying and slashing left and right. Although he lacked skill, his brute strength and the long knife in his hand were enough to make him invincible among these captured soldiers.

Seeing their captain's bravery, the guards behind him rushed forward one by one. This time, they no longer hesitated and picked up their swords to slash and stab with abandon.

The guards were basically disorganized; they would swing their weapons and slash and stab, and if they didn't use their strength properly, they couldn't kill anyone, but it was torture for the person they attacked.

One of the younger guards went straight to one of the prisoners who had just mocked him. The prisoner tried to block with his wooden stick, but the guard chopped the stick in half with a powerful blow. Then, he chopped it more than ten times in a row.

By the time the young guard stopped, the prisoner in front of him had already been chopped into pieces. These guards, like Old Buck, were untrained Serf Soldiers, at most, used wooden poles to make a few gestures under the guidance of the local veterans.

But this time, wielding sharp weapons, their killing intent arose spontaneously. Although the heavy farm work had greatly depleted their bodies and caused them to lose a lot of energy, they had also gained some strength. During this period, they had enough to eat and drink, and their physical strength had also increased.

They didn't stop until there wasn't a single standing prisoner left. The open space was a mess, with blood everywhere, limbs and corpses scattered all over. Only a few prisoners, barely alive, lay on the ground groaning.

The surrounding prisoners and guards were stunned. Many of the prisoners had been eager to join in when they saw the rioters, but they never expected that the rioters would be suppressed so quickly and meet such a tragic end.

When Old Buck stopped, he found that there were no more prisoners of war standing. All the other guards had stopped, except for a few bloodthirsty guards who were still wielding their knives at the rotting flesh on the ground.

Old Buck knew they were in a bloodthirsty frenzy, but he dared not step forward to stop them, fearing he would be attacked by these bloodthirsty guards. Just as he was hesitating about what to do...

A detachment of garrison troops suppressing the prisoner-of-war camp ran over. It was an Auxiliary Troops from the Logistics Department. This Auxiliary Troops force was better equipped, wearing the same armor as Old Buck, and carrying long spears and crossbows, making them ideal for dealing with unarmed prisoners.

Upon seeing the scene, the officer in charge immediately deduced the general situation. He gave an order, and several Pikemen from the Auxiliary Troops came out and walked over to the guards who were still making slashing motions.

Old Buck thought they were going to attack the guards and tried to stop them, but the Pikemen simply swung their spears, the shafts of which swept across the guards' legs, knocking them to the ground.

Then, the Pikemen, in pairs, used their pikes to hold the guards by the necks, pressing their weight directly onto Changqing, pinning them to the ground, and disarming them with their feet or hands.

Seeing this, Old Buck was relieved. The Auxiliary Troops, led by their captain, drove the guards out of the open space and began to check on the prisoners.

"Captain, there are 39 people on the ground. Most of them are dead, and there are 6 seriously injured. Although they are not dead yet, they are close to death and probably won't live much longer!"

After checking all the prisoners, an Auxiliary Troops reported to the captain.

The captain nodded. "Give them a quick death!"

He made a downward gesture with one hand, and soon those prisoners who were barely clinging to life were directly stabbed to the ground by the Auxiliary Troops with long spears.

After the assassination, the Auxiliary Troops lined up in two rows again and followed behind the captain. The captain called out to Old Buck, instructing him to lead the guards and leave the work area with them. Immediately afterward, the Auxiliary Troops split up and surrounded Old Buck and his men.

Along the way, the captured soldiers looked down at the bloodstains on Old Buck and his men, and didn't even dare to make eye contact.

However, apart from Old Buck, the other guards didn't notice any of this. They hadn't recovered from the fight yet, and these serfs, who had only ever farmed before, were experiencing something like this for the first time.

During his visit, Old Buck also encountered his two sons, who looked at him with concern and wanted to speak to him, but Old Buck shook his head and refused.

Old Buck felt he should be punished, after all, dozens of prisoners had died at once. The Regimental Commander who had assigned Old Buck and Eagle Eye to guard the prisoner-of-war camp had instructed them not to kill prisoners indiscriminately.

Especially those prisoners of war from the regular army are valuable laborers who can be exchanged for ransom in the future. Old Buck was still thinking about how much the prisoners of war he killed this time would be worth. He estimated that even if the guards worked farm work for a lifetime, they still couldn't pay back the ransom.

They walked all the way to the gate of the prisoner-of-war camp. Eagle Eye arrived with several guards. During the last riot in the prisoner-of-war camp, Eagle Eye mishandled the situation and was supposed to be removed from his position as the guard captain, but Old Buck intervened and allowed him to stay.

This time, it was Old Buck's two sons who notified Eagle Eye. After learning that Old Buck was in trouble, Hawkeye also intended to repay Old Buck's favor. He went up to the Auxiliary Troops captain.

"Sir, I am also the guard captain of the prisoner-of-war camp. We have met a few times before. You see, my comrade was only doing that to quell the riot. Please be lenient with me."

After saying that, Eagle Eye took a bag out of his pocket and stuffed it into the captain's hand. As he did so, Eagle Eye looked very reluctant. This money was Eagle Eye and his men had squeezed out of the junior officers among the captured soldiers over the past few days, and it was no small sum.

But after the captain got the money bag, he rummaged through it, stuffed it into his pocket, and continued leading the team forward. Eagle Eye thought he had agreed to release Old Buck, so he rushed into the team, ready to pull Old Buck away.

As Eagle Eye prepared to pull Old Buck away, the Auxiliary Troops blocked him with their spears. Eagle Eye was stunned. He hurriedly tried to ask the captain for confirmation, but was also stopped. Eagle Eye was now stuck in the group.

Eagle Eye was on the verge of tears. He didn't know why he had gotten himself into this mess. Old Buck patted Eagle Eye on the back gratefully, but Eagle Eye flicked his hand away.

Eagle Eye gritted his teeth and whispered to Old Buck, "It's all your fault. You should have just kept quiet. Now I'm going to be finished too. Poor me, I haven't even spent all that money yet."

They were taken directly by the Auxiliary Troops to the garrison camp where the prisoner-of-war camp was being suppressed. The captain waved to Old Buck and Eagle Eye, while the other soldiers and guards stayed where they were, and the three of them continued forward.

They arrived at a tent, and the captain led the three men inside. Inside the tent was a simple table with a wooden scale nailed to it. An officer was sitting at the table, and he seemed surprised to see the group of men enter.

The captain walked over and whispered something in the officer's ear. After listening, the officer nodded and sized up Old Buck and Eagle Eye.

He then waved his hand, signaling the captain to leave. Before leaving, the captain took a bag from his pocket and placed it directly on the table.

Eagle Eye recognized his money bag immediately, but when he saw the officer looking at them with a smile, he didn't dare to move.

"Your name is Buck? Your name is Eagle Eye?"

The officer asked the two men a question, and they both gave answers.

"Sir, this is Buck!"

"Sir, I'm Eagle Eye, but that's just a nickname. My real name is..."

The officer interrupted him abruptly, "You guys are really bold, killing so many prisoners of war at once. That's almost as many people who died in the past few days while rushing to finish the job!"

"I'm sorry, sir, it's all my fault for getting too excited! Just let me handle any punishment, my brothers did nothing wrong..."

Eagle Eye immediately covered Old Buck's mouth. "Sir, it's not really his fault just now. It was those prisoners of war who were being naughty and trying to cause trouble. You see, he didn't deserve to die. Why don't we keep him in the prisoner-of-war camp and let him atone for his crimes? He's got some strength."

After saying that, Eagle Eye patted Old Buck on the shoulder, making a loud pat, as if to prove the persuasiveness of his words.

The officer didn't say anything, he just smiled and shook his head.

Eagle Eye thought he had been rejected and was about to step forward to speak up for Old Buck when Old Buck stopped him.

"Forget it, I'll take responsibility for my own mistakes. I can't trouble you with that!"

"What are you saying? I only managed to keep my position last time because of you. I'm going to repay you this time. Don't you know what kind of person I am, Eagle Eye?"

The two began arguing quietly and started pushing each other.

"Cough cough!"

The officer coughed twice, interrupting their conversation.

"You probably don't know me, so let me introduce myself. I'm Lodan, and I'm currently in charge of the camp."

Eagle Eye was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and immediately knelt down on the ground with a thud.

Old Buck didn't quite understand what was happening, but he was also pulled to the ground by Eagle Eye.

"This Lodan Lord Lord is the logistics chief of the entire Southern Marching Legion, and also a high-ranking officer in the Golden Sunflower Territory, on par with Regimental Commander James."

Upon hearing James's name, Old Buck immediately realized that he and Eagle Eye owed their success to the appreciation of James, the Regimental Commander.

He knew that the Regimental Commander was already the second highest-ranking officer in the entire Southern Marching Legion after Viscount Golden Sunflower, which showed that Lord Lodan Lord was also an extraordinary figure.

The two men knelt on the ground, Eagle Eye in particular trembling. Old Buck listened as he muttered to himself, "Pliff, you're really bored. You knew Old Buck had committed such a serious crime and still got involved. Now look what happened, you've fallen into the hands of such a high-ranking official, and you think you're doing well!"

Old Buck felt extremely ashamed after hearing this. It was the first time he had ever heard Eagle Eye's real Pliff. After thinking for a moment, he immediately began to kowtow to Lodan, his head hitting the ground with a loud thud. After kowtowing three times, he said, "My lord, I did everything by myself. I gave the order to kill. Please, just kill me. Spare my men and brothers!"

After Old Buck finished speaking, Lodan did not reply, and then the entire tent fell silent.

"Actually, you didn't do anything wrong?"

After a while, Lodan spoke.

Old Buck and Eagle Eye immediately looked up, both of them with expressions of disbelief.

Seeing their expressions, Lodan immediately laughed, "It's just that the prisoners of war caused trouble. If they're going to be killed, so be it. Do you think I would punish you for something like this?"

The reason you came here is because I wanted to see you. I mentioned this to my Detachment Commander, Mendepo, and I didn't expect to run into you today, so I brought you back.

It seems he didn't explain things clearly to you. Sorry, he's always been a man of few words!

Upon hearing this, the two kneeling men instantly collapsed to the ground, their legs giving way. Eagle Eye, in particular, felt his breathing become much easier.

Lodan pointed to the chairs behind the two of them and said, "You two sit down and talk to me. It seems you were really scared just now!"

Upon hearing Lodan's words, Old Buck and Eagle Eye immediately stood up and sat down in their chairs, still trembling as they did so.

Seeing this, Lodan spoke again, "You really don't need to worry. As guards, it's your responsibility to handle the riots in the prisoner-of-war camp. As long as the riots are quelled, you can do whatever you want."

Baron James and Michael had both told me about you guys before. I've actually wanted to meet you guys for a long time, but I didn't expect to have the chance until today, especially since the main team is out playing.

However, it seems you're all exhausted, so I'll give you an order.

"You must ensure the stability of the prisoner-of-war camp. If you do well, I will recommend you for command in the territory after the war."

Eagle Eye asked in surprise, "Really?"

"Of course it's true!"

Old Buck, however, was not so happy. He asked hesitantly, "Sir, can we really win? I don't have any bad intentions, I'm just a little worried!"

Unexpectedly, Lodan said in a resolute tone, "Your worries are unnecessary. Under the leadership of the Viscount, our army will undoubtedly be victorious."