Winters finally underestimated the power of hope.

Because this time hope not only defeats reason, but also overcomes experience.

On the night of the battle, Aldame experienced a painful struggle and did not issue an order to break through.

Too many things to abandon when breaking through, too many things to give up.

The wounded, the equipment...and the dignity.

And the hope of turning defeat into victory remains:

The Jade Ferry is still in his hands, and the first, second and third brigades with the strongest combat power of the "Twelfth Legion" are still intact; and the warships on our side are still tightly strangling the waterways of Paratu, the Amber River, Anya River, and the Jinliu River are natural barriers for the rebels, but are open to our side.

So Van Sgoyle Aldame decided to stay overnight and decide whether to leave or stay the next day depending on the situation.

He said this: "The enemy is large and we are few, and we also have high-level spell casters. The night battle is not good for me. The whole army formed a large formation, rested on the spot, and looked for an opportunity to fight again at dawn."

At night, the main force of the "Twelve Legions" surrounded and the Jade Ferry defenders communicated with the beacon and signal flares.

Five brigades integrated their troops and formed a retro large array. At the same time, they drew up people to dig trenches and build walls on the edge of the highland.

The Unionists on the hillside raced against time to strengthen their positions, but the Paratus under the hillside were not idle either.

The people of the United Provinces were digging hard, while the people of the Paratu were cutting down trees.

In the darkness, there were sounds of cutting wood everywhere, as if countless butchers were swinging their axes to chop big bones, making people feel scared.

The next day, at dawn, when the rebel cavalry who should have been lured to the other side of the river appeared under the hillside with great fanfare, the position of the "Twelve Legions" fell into death.

Aldame discovered that he had lost even the chance to defeat the death.

Even the stupidest person has realized it now:

The Twelve Legions not only lost a field battle, but fell into the enemy's trap from the beginning; they thought they were hunters, but they did not know that they were prey; [steadfast] no longer had the possibility of breaking through with their own strength; variables were only reinforcements.

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The sun was hot at noon, and Winters and Kaman walked in the wounded barracks one after another.

For the caster, death is obviously a worse ending than disfigurement and disability, because there is only a piece of nothingness after death.

But people cannot lie to themselves. Looking at the soldiers who are destined to suffer permanent disability and the seriously injured people who are still struggling on the brink of death, Winters' heart is even more painful than when he bid farewell to the dead.

The deceased are at least peaceful, and the farewellers can deceive themselves and say that they have gone to a quiet place and will no longer suffer.

Those who "lucky" survive have to embark on a journey of unknown where the end is with terrible trauma that can never be recovered.

Winters stopped beside a camp bed, and the poor child on the bed drank sedatives and was sleeping soundly. His eyes were so peaceful, but his nose was unbearable.

Most of the poor child's chin had disappeared, and his pale tongue and gums were exposed to the outside in blood. The magic technique could only save his life, but could not repair his bones.

Winters couldn't imagine how this poor child would survive the days ahead, because every second of his life would be tortured by this terrifying old injury.

He is obviously so young, and his days are still so long. It is precisely because his days are still so long that it makes people even more sad.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise as usual.

One day, the wounds left by gunpowder on the earth will be smoothed.

But the scars of the soldiers will never heal, and the chins, eyes, noses, palms, calves... they will never grow back.

Winters even had a terrible idea - he thought, it would be better to just die!

Immediately, he was angry at the idea again, and he was angry that he had such selfish thoughts.

"If anyone likes to fight, don't take him to the battlefield, take him to the wounded barracks," Winters said gloomyly after a moment.

"At least he's still alive," Kaman leaned over and put his back on the forehead of the child on the camp bed, confirming that the latter was not having a fever.

"It's great to be alive, live, live!" Winters was inexplicably angry. He poured his whole stomach out of his mouth, "I'm willing to believe this, do you know why? Because I've never seen a suicide animal.

"You might say that animals will also commit suicide. Indeed, hunters told me that they had seen rock sheep jumping from the top of the mountain, but what I would rather believe was a fall-and-fall-because I have never seen any animal killing itself intentionally like a human!

"Have you ever seen dying war horses? The priests? After the war, the poor war horses left on the battlefield. Even the intestines and internal organs fell out, were trampled and lying on the ground and could not move. They were still saying with their eyes, "Life, live, I want to live."

"And the cavalry would return to the battlefield and kill the horses. They put their pistols next to the horse's ears, turned their heads and looked into the distance, and then pulled the trigger.

"Bang! Wipe the blood clean, next one!

"They said that they did not want the horse to continue suffering - it was not the case at all!

"The cavalry killed the horses not because the horses wanted to die, but because they could not bear their horses suffering.

"But horses want to live, even if they can only live one minute or one second more, they want to live. They can't bear the pain, not horses, but those cavalrymen, people.

“So the cavalry killed the horses.

"So it's great to live, right, Father, it's great to live."

Kaman finished listening quietly, and after a moment, he whispered:

"Before I was awarded the rank, I had practiced in a monastery of the Franciscans. The brothers of that monastery were devout good men, who had deliberately set up the monastery in a slum outside the city, where the nobles' carriages never passed. They believed that there would be brought closer to the Lord.

"During the day, they would treat the poor after the morning ceremony. Sometimes, mothers with acute illnesses would knock on the gates of the monastery at night and beg for help.

"Those mothers... were their children who were obviously sick, but the ones that were most painful were them. They sat and stood by the side with distorted faces due to anxiety. Some mothers did not dare to speak because they were afraid of hindering the monks' medical treatment, so they kept biting their fingers until they bit their nails and didn't notice them."

Kaman paused, "I think the cavalry who killed their beloved war horses, the reason for their suffering is probably similar to the mothers I have ever seen."

"What the hell do you want to say?"

"I really don't know if animals will commit suicide, nor have I seen a rock sheep jumping from the top of the mountain. However, I think that since suicide is an unforgivable sin for humans, then animals with the same creation will naturally not want to take the initiative to end their lives."

A sneer of sneer passed over Winters' tightly pursed lips, and he replied:

"I don't think animals don't commit suicide because they are worried that they can't go to heaven, priest. If you want to use this reason to intimidate them, you have to prove to them that there is heaven first.

"Survival is just an instinct - if you don't want to live, you will die. The rest are all about living, it's that simple.

"Those humanists usually say that they are mothers, and when they are natural disasters, they are ruthless mothers. They are very wrong, and naturally they are not mothers. Maternal love is negative because it is unconditional and does not need to be fought for.

"Father's love is conditional, because it requires fighting for you to do the right thing before you can get rewards. Just like buying your indulgences, doing good things, and accumulating good deeds to go to heaven.

"And nature, nature is nothing, it is not even ruthless, because it has no emotion at all. It will not reward you for what you have achieved, nor will it care for you because of your existence. It is nothingness, it, nature, the world, everything, it is nothingness, we are thrown into the island in the sea of ​​nothingness, come for no reason, go for no reason, this is the truth of the world!"

Winters' chest was undulating and his cheeks were filled with a sickly blush.

Kaman patiently listened to Winters' cathartic long speech on everything in the universe.

"But, in this small island, we are connected," Kaman whispered, "so close."

Winters stopped talking.

"Actually, sometimes I thought about it," Kaman glanced over a tent, "Since he knew that living would be a torture that never ended for them, why should he save them? Is the magic of divine art to bring pain to people? Why can't he let them go to heaven?"

Winters listened quietly.

Kaman continued: "I even doubted whether I have repeatedly ignored their will and snatched them from the hands of the Lord because of vanity and arrogance."

Kaman's voice became quieter and quieter, "I even thought about whether to give them relief."

Winters remained silent.

Kaman lowered his eyes and said, "But, as you said, the horse just wants to live, although it is incredibly painful, and although its pain makes its owner extremely painful, it still wants to live, very, very much.

"I should not assume that the dying wounded people have no desire to survive, nor do I not save them for this reason. Moreover, since the Lord has not taken back His authority from me, it proves that He has allowed me."

Kaman looked at Winters: "I'm probably the one who understands your pain best, and the anger, powerlessness and guilt that is implicated in this pain, because I'm always surrounded by these things."

Winters had no expression on his face.

Kaman's eyes swept across a tent next to the road, "Their next life is destined to be hard and full of hardships."

He looked at Winters, "But you shouldn't assume that they are weak and cannot bear the torture; you shouldn't assume that they have no courage and can only live miserably--will you feel too arrogant when this thought comes into your mind?"

Winters was finally touched a little bit.

After waiting for a while, Kaman calmly said, "What's more, if a person really wants to end his life, he can't stop him. So there is no need to assume in advance that what the result is or what they will decide on themselves."

After a while, Winters asked earnestly, "Is there really no way to get them back? Even if they can't recover as before, it's just that, it's good to recover at all."

"[God took one of His ribs and made the flesh recombine in its place], [using the ribs taken from that man, to create a woman, and bring him to that man]," Kaman sighed, "The authority of the Lord has given creation is a great favor. How can we ask for more?"

Winters refused to give up: "Is it really not possible? Have you never tried it? Have you not studied it?"

Kaman shook his head heavily, "As far as I know, no priest can restore the bones, no one can."

Winters was disheartened.

The two stood silently for a while.

"I don't think you should come to this kind of place," Kaman said softly, "not that you don't come once - knowing that you are still cared about is of great benefit to the recovery of the injured, so you can visit him occasionally.

"But you shouldn't come so often. Just give it to me. I will do my best to take care of them. Those who will eventually leave us do not have to feel sad for them, because their lives have been entrusted to the merciful Lord. One day, we will meet them again."

"You mean, I shouldn't have come, but you can stay here all day."

"Yes," Kaman signaled around, "This is my mission, not yours. Being able to feel the pain of others is an amazing ability. It is this ability that connects us closely.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content behind! "But ability is not always good. You should go back to flowers and applause to accept cheers and cheers. Generals who have won the battle should not appear in the wounded barracks. See too many... I am worried that these will hinder your judgment and affect your determination."

"Does the general be cold-blooded and ruthless in the eyes of monks? Don't you always keep your compassion and conscience on your lips?"

Kaman would no longer be angry at this level of accusation, and he answered calmly: "But you should also admit that sometimes morality and emotion will prevent us from making the right choices. This is especially true for those who shoulder the lives of millions of people."
To be continued...