Douluo: The Adventures of King Skin

"Human beings have such a strong yearning for a better life."

——Euripides

Happy time always passes quickly, but life always has more pain.Especially now during the war.

Pyrrhus has always felt difficult to face his soldiers in the past two days.

An army will falter when its personnel is reduced by more than 10%, and the 3400-man army he led suffered nearly 1000 wounded, disabled, and killed after the battle at Philais City.

Light infantry had the highest attrition rate.In the Battle of the Gap, they fought in a small space and neither side was able to retreat, ultimately causing horrific casualties.

Next are the heavy infantry, and the least number are the pikemen.

Killing people with your own hands on the battlefield is a completely different feeling than sewing up your teammates, amputating their limbs, and carrying their bodies after the war.

Seeing familiar people gradually die and turn into corpses, with his body stained with their blood, Pyrrhus regretted it more than once and asked himself more than once:

Why did you bring these people here?Why take them on this path that is destined to be full of sacrifice, death, and separation?

Are the promises I made to them actually just unrealistic pictures made just for personal ambition?

Is it because of his fault that he led these people to death?

**

There are no uniform customs in various places regarding the time of mourning.However, on the fifth day, the conditions of the injured who survived were basically stable.

Pyrrhus thought that he couldn't keep pretending that nothing happened.

The weather was also very good that day, with clear skies and neither cold nor hot.

In the distance, close to the city, are golden barley fields, while nearby are dry and green weeds, with scattered white flowers with a hint of yellow.

The bloody smell that filled the fields during the battle a few days ago has also dissipated, leaving only the fragrance of autumn grass and wheat fields.

So the white cloth tent of the field hospital was lifted up on all sides so that the wounded did not have to move.All other soldiers were summoned at the same time.

More than 3000 of Pyrrhus's men were here. The wounded, maimed, intact, and dead were wrapped in white cloth and placed in the open space in front.

——In fact, there are more than these people, there are more than 3000 enemy troops, intact prisoners and prisoners lying under the same hospital tent, and there are also dead ones, but they are only wrapped in rough gray linen.

The linen bandages of the lying people were still stained with blood, and there were many standing people with wounds wrapped and leaning on sticks. There were so many people.

Pyrrhus was standing on a simple high platform piled on a cart, with thousands of packaged corpses separated from these people.

"My promise is still valid!" Pyrrhus said this first:

"All those who have died in the battle will be allocated corresponding land from the final fruits of victory and handed over to their beneficiaries!"

The subordinates didn't make any movement, they just looked at him with their necks raised, as if they didn't understand what he said.

Pyrrhus could only bite the bullet and continue:

"The same goes for those who have been injured or disabled and can no longer fight, but they have to wait for some time. Likewise, I can let them go back to Athens and arrange an easy job for them."

Finally there were some cheers, but they seemed a little weak.

Is the so-called ideal army still too difficult?Pyrrhus felt a little uncomfortable. He hated this feeling of not being trusted.

If I can't exercise authority in the military, is it time to let them go?

"Those who are unwilling to continue fighting now, I allow you to leave!

"But I don't have any money to give you for the time being. I can find a way to find you a job in Athens so that you can make a living for the time being..."

At this moment, there was an explosion, and everyone was talking among themselves, and there was a buzz.

Pyrrhus looked at it and his heart felt like a knife.The so-called prestige is nothing more than this.

Suddenly there was a loud shout

——"I don't allow it!"

When Pyrrhus saw it, he turned out to be the old silver shield soldier Oandros. He saw his eyes wide with anger and his white beard spread out. He glanced at Pyrrhus, and then shouted to the soldiers around him:

"No one who can fight is allowed to leave!

"Anyone who leaves is a betrayal of our cause! I will never tolerate such cowardice!

"King Pyrrhus is an excellent warrior, an excellent general, and a kind king! I will never abandon him, and I will not allow you to abandon him!"

He strode forward and pushed through the crowd, walked to the front, looked left and right, grabbed a soldier lying on the hospital blanket, and asked him loudly:

"You bastard who pretended to be dead! I hope you still remember, who stuffed your intestines into your belly that day? Who personally sewed your wounds?"

The seriously injured man's face was pale, but he still struggled and answered:

"It's King Pyrrhus!"

Oandros asked the other wounded and bloody men: "Who worked all night for you, brewing precious 'pure wine' with the scholars to clean your wounds?"

Several wounded people answered in unison:

"It's King Pyrrhus!"

"Who will arm us who are at the end of our rope?"

Several other veterans responded loudly: "King Pyrrhus!"

“Who will take care of our wives and children in Athens and give them a place to stay?”

More people began to shout together: "King Pyrrhus!"

"Who personally kills the enemy general and seals the victory?"

"Who will lead us to defeat many and powerful enemies with less?"

"Who will lead us lost dogs to victory?"

……

The veteran kept asking questions at the top of his voice, and the responses became louder and louder. Soon all the soldiers joined in and shouted his name in unison!

"King Pyrrhus!"

"King Pyrrhus!"

"King Pyrrhus!"

……

Pyrrhus felt that the depression in his heart was dissipated at this moment, and he raised his right hand to salute the soldiers below.The people below also raised their hands to salute him in return.

After everyone's excitement subsided, Pyrrhus signaled everyone to be quiet, and then began to shout to the prisoners:

"Macedonians! And the mercenaries who work for them!

"I can let you go, because you are just being led by fate to blindly become my enemy.

"But I will confiscate your equipment! I will also take your belongings!

"However! Please believe that I did it out of necessity! It was for a good purpose!

"It's to prevent us from fighting each other again! It's because we hope peace will come as soon as possible!

“I will definitely return these coins to you eventually!

"Because I don't like your money!

"Because I have known from the beginning to the end that the wealth a person can create with his own hands is far better than robbery!"

Pyrrhus said the last words to the prisoners, but for some reason, after he finished speaking, a burst of approval broke out among his subordinates.

Everyone still looked at him with such eager eyes.

"There is still hope."

…………

…………

"Oandros, thank you for your help just now."

"Your Majesty, you have been too good to them, they should work for you!" Oandros said seriously:

“If they don’t obey, it’s often not because you’re not good enough to your soldiers, but because you’re not good enough to yourself.

"Think how poor Eumenes died!"

Pyrrhus was a little shocked. He did not expect that the veteran would take the initiative to mention Eumenes.

He thought for a moment and then responded:

"Oandros, I don't know what kind of person Eumenes is, I only know what kind of person I am.

"I will only tell my soldiers what I believe in and what I agree with.

"Because I hope they will be willing to fight with me if they understand the consequences! Not for me, but for themselves!

"To deceive, coax, and intimidate one's comrades for temporary purposes is nothing but fraud. Fraud can only succeed for a short time, and in the end it can only lead to more hatred.

"Only sincerity can unite people, and only those who unite have real power!"

"Alas..." the veteran sighed:

"Alexander also cherishes his soldiers, but you and he are really two completely different people.

"While you may never achieve that, I'd rather fight for you."