A Person on Terra, With No Books Left to Read

Theresica surveyed the Kazimierz High-Ranking Knights before him one by one. He was a little surprised; he had only asked for the Banshees and Absolvers to bring the main generals of Kazimierz to him, and they had managed to capture all of them alive without a single one missing.

"You are Tolk, aren't you?"

His gaze settled on the oldest man, who was wearing the best equipment. This man had only a minor wound on the back of his hand, but it had festered like an old, untreated injury, and the man himself looked extremely weak. This was likely the work of an Absolver.

The old man kept his head bowed without a word. Theresica had no desire for further conversation; asking about why the war started was a waste of time.

"Your Majesty."

"Manfred, how are the statistics?"

Theresica looked at Manfred, who approached him. Manfred opened a file. "The Kazimierz Remnant Forces have all surrendered."

Upon hearing this, the Kazimierz High-Ranking Knights kneeling before them twitched as if electrocuted. Manfred continued, "On our main battlefield, Division One suffered over 4,000 casualties, and Division Two suffered over 1,000 casualties. We killed over 23,000 Kazimierz Beastmaster Knights, with the rest surrendering. We killed over 16,000 Kazimierz Foot Knights, with the rest surrendering."

After hearing Manfred's report, the kneeling Kazimierz High-Ranking Knights fell silent. Their 60,000 troops had suffered a casualty rate far exceeding half.

Theresica took Manfred's report and looked at the numbers on it. Despite winning, he still felt a pang of heartache.

After hours of bloody battle, both sides were red-eyed, leaving almost no uninjured soldiers.

Division One, which had initially held off 10,000 Kazimierz Foot Knights and 5,000 Beastmaster Knights alone, suffered the most severe losses. Even with the full support of the Arts Users, they had lost a third of their personnel.

One of their battalions had been dispatched to guard the ruins and protect the flank of the main force. With fewer than a thousand men, they had held off an attack by 6,000 enemy Foot Knights, killing over 3,000 enemies while suffering the loss of all but one deputy battalion commander, one communications soldier, and one severely wounded soldier.

Where would Kazdel find replacements for these men now?

Suddenly, a commotion erupted ahead. The Absolvers, who were responsible for clearing the battlefield, seemed to have discovered something. Theresica quickly asked the leader of the Absolvers.

"What's wrong?"

"Your Majesty... I suggest you take a look for yourself."

Theresica immediately walked over. This was Division One's initial position. What greeted his eyes was an unfurled banner, flying alone in the wind. Someone tried to pull it up but found it impossible.

It wasn't stuck in the soil, nor was it planted anywhere; it was enveloped by layers of corpses, with countless hands tightly gripping the flagpole.

"Banshee."

"Yes."

Theresica took a deep breath. "It seems rather inappropriate for those High-Ranking Knights to be kneeling there."

"What do you mean?"

"Have them all kneel over there, in a line."

The Banshee followed Theresica's gaze. It was precisely beside the road that the Sarkaz troops were returning to Kazdel.

"As you command, Your Majesty."

Golden runic symbols reappeared. The kneeling High-Ranking Knights, though reluctant, walked to the side of the road and knelt down, straightening their chests. Amidst the jeers of the Sarkaz soldiers, they let out soul-tearing screams.

"Your Majesty, what should we do with these Kazimierz prisoners? Should we kill them all?"

Manfred asked. Capturing over twenty thousand prisoners meant a significant amount of supplies would be needed to maintain them.

"No, keep them alive. Don't let them die."

Theresica said, "It's more worthwhile to keep them alive than dead."

As night fell, despite the victory, there wasn't much joy in Kazdel City. Many families had suffered losses today.

The medical staff were extremely busy, racing against time to reattach the severed limbs of the soldiers using Originium medical arts.

"It's been a year, and Kazdel's medical system has actually been rebuilt. The equipment is from Siracusa, and the technology... it's a bit like Columbia's."

In the royal residence, Theresica and Kal'tsit sat together in a dining room, with Shining and Ascalon standing behind them.

"As expected of you, Teacher Kal'tsit. You figured it all out just like that."

Theresica exclaimed with genuine admiration. Kal'tsit had only passed by the operating room once and had already discerned so much.

"Kazdel still only has the most basic medical capabilities. It can't even reliably treat common illnesses, let alone special conditions like Originium-related diseases."

"What are your plans next?"

Kal'tsit leisurely cut the beast meat on her plate, appearing like a Victorian noble.

"We will advance into the desert. There are still Kazimierz reserve forces there; the war is not over."

Theresica put down his cutlery. "And you, how is your research progressing?"

"The data from Catus in Leithanien has been collected."

"Would you like to come to Kazdel? I will do my best to provide you with..."

"I will likely be going to Ursus next, and then I'll visit Victoria."

"Oh... is that so."

Theresica picked up his cutlery again. "I wish you success in your research, Teacher Kal'tsit. If there's anything I can help with, you can try telling me."

"How will you continue the war with Kazimierz?"

"I don't know, Teacher Kal'tsit. You know I'm not exceptionally brilliant. I can only take things as they come."

Upon hearing this, Kal'tsit, who had been staring at her plate, suddenly looked up. Meeting her gaze, Theresica asked curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Kal'tsit lowered her head again.

"Then I'll be leaving. Teacher Kal'tsit, I think I need to get some rest early today."

The next morning, after a simple night of rest and burying all the fallen soldiers, the Sarkaz Second Division, reinforced by Division One, boarded the transport ships.

They would march into the desert, link up with the guerrilla forces, and deal with the remaining Kazimierz forces.

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Chapter 59 Surrender

Even after splitting his forces, Kazimierz still had tens of thousands of men left, enough to fight Kazdel, posing a significant threat.

Theresica personally accompanied the Second Division into the desert, establishing an outpost outside the Kazimierz camp.

"How many people are left in the Kazimierz camp?"

"Your Majesty, they've received some reinforcements. There are over ninety thousand… nearly a hundred thousand now."

After hearing the report from the reconnaissance personnel of the guerrilla forces, Theresica gained a more detailed understanding of the situation. He had initially thought Kazimierz's attacking force was 150,000, but now it seemed they had exceeded 160,000.

"Manfred, I may have to get fully involved in this battle."

Theresica said to Manfred. Previously, he had only issued orders or provided general guidelines, leaving the specific implementation to them.

He looked around. "I know your capabilities, and I believe our 25,000 men can absolutely crush them. But Sarkaz cannot afford any more losses. At least… I don't want to see any more Sarkaz die."

After losing five thousand young and strong men in the battle for Kazdel, Theresica felt no joy in victory. This was not the outcome he desired.

Inside the outpost command center, after a brief silence, all the commanders, including Manfred, lowered their heads.

"We obey your will, Your Majesty."

The army is a very unique place. If you're an outsider, they'll find you annoying even if you're just on the fringes. But if you're an insider, whatever you say goes, and no one will argue with you.

In Theresica's eyes, it seemed that through a series of passable operations in this war, he had won the initial trust of the Sarkaz army officers and soldiers.

He asked, "How much supply does the Kazimierz camp have left?"

"Your Majesty, they have about half a month's worth. However, they will occasionally force their way out to purchase supplies from Leithanien, so the actual support time might be even longer."

"Good. From now on, surround them and cut off all supply lines."

Under Theresica's command, the Sarkaz troops brazenly moved to reinforce the outpost in front of the Kazimierz forces. After calculating, Kazimierz's reconnaissance personnel arrived at a terrifying figure.

Sarkaz had reinforced their troops in the desert to 70,000!

These were all their Foot Knights!

The Kuranta were a little panicked. All their transport and shock beasts had been taken by Lord Toke, and they currently had no Beastmaster Knights to assist them. With only a 20,000-man advantage in pure foot combat, they might not be able to defeat the Sarkaz.

The scouts had witnessed Sarkaz establishing several Arts User positions around the camp!

Didn't Lord Toke launch a surprise attack on Kazdel?! What was going on?! Did the demons abandon their homes?!

Just as the commander of the Kazimierz outpost was constantly guessing, a Knight Errant, who claimed to be under Lord Toke, was released by the Sarkaz in front of the Kazimierz camp.

From him, the commander of the remaining forces received astonishing news.

"Lord Long Rider, Lord Toke has been defeated."

"What?!"

"Lord Toke has been defeated, and he's been captured!"

The commander's eyes widened. He didn't dare to think further and directly drew his sword, killing the Knight Errant. He then sent out several waves of messengers, heading to Kazimierz's homeland and towards Kazdel to search for Lord Toke's troops.

All of this was clearly seen by the Sarkaz. After intercepting all the messengers, Theresica, seeing that the time was right, ordered drones to drop leaflets into the Kazimierz camp.

The content was extremely simple, only showing Lord Toke and others kneeling, with Sarkaz soldiers standing around them mockingly. The back read:

'Surrender, and live.'

The Kazimierz commander ordered the drones to be shot down and the leaflets collected and burned, but the effect was minimal. The morale of the Knights Errant had been severely hit.

Not only the ordinary knights, but all the dispatched messengers had disappeared without a trace, and Lord Toke had not reported back for several days. Being isolated, without support, and with limited supplies, the officers also felt considerable psychological pressure.

Seeing his soldiers' increasingly low morale and the gradually dwindling supplies, the commander knew he couldn't drag this out any longer. He ordered the troops to prepare for a night breakout to return to Kazimierz!

As for Tolk… everyone actually knew what had happened, but they were unwilling to say it out loud. And for this military operation, everyone had reached a consensus:

'It has nothing to do with us who are executing orders.'

Deep in the night, as the Knights Errant were just beginning to assemble, Sarkaz Arts Users, who had long been prepared, directly launched large-scale positional bombardment spells, forcing the Knights Errant to retreat to their barracks before they stopped.

The Kazimierz commander made several attempts, but they were either driven back by Sarkaz crossbow bolts or scattered by Sarkaz spells, making a breakout impossible.

"Damn demons! Fight us head-on!"

The trapped Knights Errant yelled frantically, but no Sarkaz paid them any attention, as Theresica had issued an order strictly prohibiting private engagements!

The last reserves of exploitable vitality in their bodies vanished with time. After being besieged for 19 days, the Kazimierz forces completely ran out of food. At the same time, there were many wounded soldiers in the camp who had no medicine and wailed all day long. It sounded like a dirge, causing a hint of fear to arise in the hearts of those who were still alive.

Deserters began to appear. At first, it was a few, then a dozen. After Theresica intentionally let a team of messengers from Kazimierz enter, the Knights Errant began to surrender in batches.

That group of messengers was responsible for transporting family letters.

On May 1st, seeing that the troops had completely lost control, the Kazimierz commander offered surrender to the Sarkaz, and Theresica accepted this surrender.

Without losing a single person, the Sarkaz dismantled this force of one hundred thousand. The Knight Errants walked out of the camp one by one, disarmed their armor and weapons, and then exchanged them for Sarkaz provisions next to a mountain of equipment.

These people were truly starving. They didn't hesitate to take the enemy's food and immediately began to devour it on the spot.

After a brief tally of food consumption, Manfred, filled with worry, found Theresica.

"Your Majesty, we are supporting one hundred and twenty thousand prisoners of war. The pressure is immense. We should deal with some of them."

"No, they still have a purpose. Trust me, living people are far more useful than dead ones."

"What do you intend to use them for, Your Majesty?"

"To negotiate with Kazimierz. Ursus's army is still on the border right now. I believe they will make the appropriate decision."

Theresica said with a smile, "What's a little food for 120,000 people now? Later, they'll have to spit it all back out. Go find Mostima."

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Chapter 60: Russell: How did I end up with such a group of people

"Instructor Russell, someone is looking for you."

The ongoing class at the Kazimierz Knight Errant Training Camp was suddenly interrupted. The students curiously looked towards the doorway and saw a large group of High-Ranking Knight Errants. They were clustered at the entrance, as if waiting for someone.

"Continue training!"

Russell ignored them, maintained classroom discipline, and continued to correct the various errors in the students' training movements. She only left the classroom when the lunch break arrived.

"Grand Knight Commander, hello."

Russell bowed respectfully to the High-Ranking Knight Errants before her, causing those around them to immediately look embarrassed.