A Person on Terra, Out of Books

"Lord Russell, why would you say that..."

"I am just a trainer at the youth academy now, I cannot violate etiquette."

Russell said indifferently. Her life had become much more comfortable lately. She no longer had to deal with domestic or foreign affairs, nor was she woken up by emergency intelligence reports at night. Her life was now extremely regular, and her recent health assessment index had improved significantly.

"Lord Russell, could you give us a place to talk? We're begging you."

The high-ranking Knights Errant present all lowered their stances considerably.

"We have many things that require your help right now."

"The current situation has exceeded our capabilities."

"We implore you to consider the future of Kazimierz..."

"It's about Kazdel..."

A group of people surrounded Russell, begging her incessantly. Their agitated state drew the attention of many unaware onlookers.

"Sigh, please follow me, everyone."

Russell gestured like a guide, leading them to an ordinary teacher's office. After the guards cleared the surrounding people, she, too lazy to waste any more time, directly asked, "Is the battle going poorly?"

Seeing their somber expressions, Russell had a rough estimate of the situation. This was a long-term campaign with extremely high supply costs, and the battlefield was Sarkaz territory. It was normal to be at a disadvantage.

"If the situation is bad, just recall them quickly. Sarkaz is a poor nation. If we offer some economic compensation, the matter should be able to be settled."

"Lord Russell, we lost."

"I know, I could tell from your expressions..."

As Russell spoke, she suddenly froze. She saw that the high-ranking Knights Errant before her actually had a hint of a sob in their voices!

Her heart sank instantly. "What exactly is going on?"

"Lord Russell, that fellow Tolk led 160,000 Knights Errant on an expedition to Kazdel and was utterly defeated..."

"160,000... Forty thousand were killed, including himself, and 120,000 were taken prisoner by the fiends..."

Hearing their words, Russell felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She even felt as if the ground beneath her had collapsed.

"Ah! Lord Russell!"

"Lord Russell!"

The surrounding Knights Errant rushed forward to support Russell, who had fainted.

"I... I was only gone for a month, how could things have become like this!"

She grabbed the current Grand Knight Captain of Kazimierz by the collar, gritting her teeth and roaring like a debt collector, "My knights, which I painstakingly accumulated over decades, you just lost them like this?!"

"No one expected Tolk to fight like this!"

Despite being robust Knights Errant, they now looked like children who had made mistakes, shouting, "Lord Russell, what's important now is to solve the current problem!"

"Solve the problem?! How do we solve it! We lost 160,000 people in a month! Neither we nor Ursus have ever suffered such losses in a month!"

Russell, dressed in ordinary teacher's attire, sat on the office chair, pressing her chest. The high-ranking Knights Errant surrounding her, however, looked like a group of trainees.

They dared not say a word, only looking expectantly at Russell, who had her head bowed.

The office was silent for a while before Russell finally spoke. "How many people know this news now?"

The solemnity on the faces of the Knights Errant lessened considerably. They replied, "No one else knows yet. It was a Sankta messenger named Mostima who told us verbally. She is a World Messenger from the Kazdel region."

"That means the leaders of Sarkaz are sending us a signal."

Russell painfully covered her forehead. "Domestically, do they know about the war with Kazdel?"

"No, the military expenses were all paid by Tolk and the others themselves. It's just the personnel..."

Everyone looked at each other. Money lost could be earned back in the future, but what about the fallen? They couldn't just be brought back to life!

"How many troops are still around the Grand Knight Territory? We need absolutely reliable troops!"

Russell's gaze swept over everyone, a hint of ferocity in her eyes. "Lord Russell, counting ourselves, we can muster thirty thousand people who meet your requirements!"

"Immediately announce Tolk and all participating high-ranking Knights Errant as traitors! Seize all assets immediately! Go now!"

"Yes!!!"

One person took the military order, signed on the spot by the current Grand Knight Captain, and ran out quickly.

Listening to the sound of his footsteps, Russell looked at the current Grand Knight Captain of Kazimierz. "Prepare to announce that Tolk initiated the war privately and also suffered a defeat."

"Lord Russell, I can announce this, but you must grant me one request."

"What?"

"Please resume your position as Grand Knight Captain," the Grand Knight Captain said.

"You want me to clean up the mess you created?"

Russell looked at the Knights Errant before her. "So, after I fix this mess, you expect me to just hand this country back over to you to do as you please? I might as well teach you all a lesson."

"We admit our mistakes, and we understand now, but please, save Kazimierz."

His face contorted in extreme pain. "With the loss of 160,000 knights, we can't possibly deal with the threats from Leithanien and Ursus simultaneously."

A document was presented to Russell at his gesture. She took it and examined it closely. Her already furrowed brow deepened.

She flipped the document face down on the table and took a deep breath.

"Dispatch a diplomatic envoy to Kazdel to negotiate a peace treaty in Laterano. I will personally participate in the negotiations."

"Understood!"

Invisibly, the position of Grand Knight Captain of Kazimierz had been transferred.

Russell looked at everyone. "No matter who attacked Kazdel, Terra will only know that we started the war and lost. I hope everyone is prepared for the price we will have to pay in this situation."

"As for the Sarkaz issue, as long as we pay reparations, there's still hope for a turnaround. However, Leithanien, which borders our country, won't be so easy to deal with... Find Nearl for me. Tell him I have something to discuss with him."

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Chapter 61: Prisoners of War

The processing of prisoners of war was proceeding in an orderly fashion. The temporary prison for the Kazimierz Knights Errant was their own constructed camp. However, all high-ranking and mid-ranking officers, such as the Knights Errant, had already been escorted back to Kazdel. Only ordinary soldiers remained in the camp.

Military craftsmen and other technical personnel from Kazdel were excitedly inventorying the captured weapons and equipment.

"Your Majesty! We've obtained more Knight Errant equipment than our active forces, and it's all complete sets without any damage."

Zeppelin's excitement was palpable as he pointed to the Beastmaster Knight armor that had been cleared out.

"This set of armor can be considered the crystallization of Kazimierz's current standard equipment! Its production process is significantly more complex than Ursus's equipment, but it's one-third lighter than Ursus's armor, yet its protective performance is not inferior."

"After all, they're riding on beasts of burden, so it depends on whether the beasts can support the weight of armor and a person."

Theresica called over a soldier wearing Ursus heavy armor and observed him for a moment. He found that it was indeed as Zeppelin had said.

He asked, "Can we use the Beastmaster Knight equipment directly?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Zeppelin nodded. "Do you intend to abandon the Ursus equipment?"

Ursus had a larger population, so their equipment style was slightly simpler, cruder, and cheaper, allowing for the rapid equipping of large numbers of troops. Kazimierz, on the other hand, had a smaller population, so they were willing to spend more money to prepare better defensive gear for their soldiers.

However, Theresica shook his head. "Kazimierz's equipment is too refined for the current Sarkaz and not suitable for us. For now, its research value is greater. However, I want to try and see if we can also form a beast-riding shock troop unit."

He looked with interest at Kazimierz's shock beasts of burden, something Kazdel did not possess. Previously, their research had focused on how to kill them; now, he was thinking about how to use them.

"Ensure that personnel responsible for raising the beasts of burden are well-controlled. Whether dead or alive, they are Sarkaz property. Also, all Beastmaster Knight corpses must be collected."

Theresica looked towards the leader of the Absolvers, who immediately bowed.

"Understood, Your Majesty. Information gathering on the corpse named Roman has already begun, with Salus in charge. Thanks to previous experiments on fallen Ursus personnel, although this technology is still unstable, it has improved significantly. I believe we will be able to obtain more information this time."

"Mm, I'll leave it to you."

This was purely a technical matter, and Theresica didn't understand it at all, so he only provided materials and received results, saying nothing more to avoid unnecessary interference.

"Your Majesty, we've found something a bit unusual here that we're not sure how to handle."

At this moment, a Banshee, who had been waiting nearby, spoke up. "This might involve diplomatic issues."

'There are still diplomatic issues even after a war?'

Theresica followed the Banshee chieftain to the prisoners, but was surprised to find several people with horns on their heads among a group of Kuranta.

'Sarkaz... no, Leithanians!'

"What are they doing here?"

"We are not Kazimierz people! You must release us immediately!"

Just as Theresica was about to ask the Banshee, those individuals shouted. "We were just accidentally surrounded here; we are not combatants!"

"Then who are you?" Theresica asked curiously.

"We... we..."

They suddenly stammered at this point. A nearby soldier angrily shouted.

"I saw these bastards beating her!"

Theresica looked to the side, and was a bit surprised because the person the soldier was pointing at was a Sarkaz girl, and she was wearing Leithanian-style clothing.

However, her foot was chained to a Caprini woman beside her, who was like a starving ghost, scrambling on the ground to pick up scattered food, completely disregarding the dirt.

"Your Majesty, we were distributing food when this person suddenly rushed out, and that's when we discovered this group of Leithanians hiding here."

The Banshee questioned, "Should we hand them over to the Absolvers?"

If Sarkaz disliked Sankta the most in Terra, then Leithanians were their second most disliked.

"There's no need for such trouble," Theresica shook his head and directly shouted to the surrounding Kuranta, "Whoever tells me what they are doing here, I'll let them communicate with their families!"

The Kuranta immediately became restless, and one person shouted at the top of his lungs, "They are here to experiment with Originium Arts!"

In Terra, besides Sarkaz, Leithanien had the highest achievements in Originium Arts. Theresica's interest was immediately piqued.

"Come here and tell me about them, the more detailed the better."

The person ran over quickly, afraid someone would get ahead of him.

"My superior told me they were here to experiment with that Sarkaz's Originium Arts. She can heal the injured, and there are many wounded here."

"You speak the truth. I will let you communicate with your family."

Theresica had a smile on his face, but when he turned his head to look at the terrible scene, his expression immediately soured. "Medic! Check her condition quickly!"

The medic, who had been unsure of her affiliation, immediately rushed over upon hearing this, cut the chains, and sent the girl for examination. Theresica then walked over to the Leithanian.

He looked at the group of nervous people and gestured to the Absolver. "You Leithanians claim to be number one in Originium Arts on Terra. I've come to see what's inside your heads."

Several Caprini were dragged away by soldiers. Their shouts and struggles were useless. However, one remained on the ground. He looked like a pure Leithanian and not an Infected. How could he have ended up like this?

The Banshee saw his question and said, "Your Majesty, under the Witch King's command, everyone in Leithania must receive instruction in Originium Arts. It's inevitable that some people are born without the ability to use Originium Arts. The Witch King then demotes these people to slave labor."

"But she eats enough for several of us, so she's very strong. She knocked down two of our soldiers... Ah! Your Majesty, please don't go over there!"

Amidst the Banshee's startled cry, Theresica walked over. Shining made no move, but her hand also rested on her sword hilt.

"Do you want to eat?" He extended his hand, holding two whole loaves of bread.

"Yes."

"You knocked down two soldiers by yourself?"

"I'm very strong."

"I'll let you eat your fill."

Theresica placed the bread in her hand. "I promise you can eat until you're stuffed if you want to, but your life belongs to me. How about it?"

"Okay."