The arrival of Alan proved to be a tremendous boon. Unlike Bradley, Alan proved to be a very reliable ally. Even though he kept his identity hidden most of the time, the lower half of his face concealed by a mask, and rarely spoke, in battle he was a consummate warrior. More than a few dozen monsters fell to his blades within the first few seconds of beginning combat.
The guy was probably on par with a silver ranked or gold ranked adventurer, definitely above me in terms of skills and experience. I was sure my master would be able to defeat him, but he was only ever interested in slaying goblins. He wouldn't fight a human opponent unless they got in the way of his slaying goblins or were trying to kill him.
Within a few months of his joining, we went from being a joke of a Hero party into a force to be reckoned with. To be fair, it wasn't just Alan. Miranda had improved a lot during the last few months, and she was finally able to cast intermediate spells without difficulty. Irene also helped with her healing spells to ensure that we recovered after a fight. Herman also adapted quickly, becoming a totally different warrior from before. He benefited plenty from accumulating combat experience, and it was clear that the gods had chosen him to be a Hero for a reason.
In any event, we were now exterminating high-leveled monsters and high-ranking demons without any issues. Our burgeoning reputation saw us shuttled toward the frontlines, where we occasionally led regiments of knights to victories over demonic companies or brigades. No one treated Herman and his party as a joke any longer.
"RUOOOR!"
The earth wyvern roared before it toppled over, blood streaming from its neck. Herman drove his blade deeper, beading it. He didn't have to worry about the creature's death throes because Bradley was on hand to parry the claws and sever them with his huge axe. Even Bradley had gotten better somewhat, willing to follow Alan's silent directions.
I didn't know what kind of training the assassin underwent, but it included coordinating a squad to work well together. I recalled that he said he came from the League of Shadows, but I had never heard of such an organization before. And no, the fictional league from one of the best ever superhero movie trilogy to grace cinematic history didn't count.
"Great job, everyone!" Herman called out as he dropped down from the back of the earth wyvern, flicking the blood off his sword. Irene hurried over to him. Recently, she had been paying him more attention and no longer clung to me. Which was only a good thing, because I hated the loose slut. Remembering how she willingly opened her legs for Chad and the others made me shudder.
By the way, healing magic didn't work on diseases. It only worked on physical injuries. So if Irene had contracted any venereal diseases, she couldn't simply heal herself from them. That was one of the reasons why I avoided Irene like the plague – because she literally was a walking plague if you thought about it.
Given how she was still alive and healthy up to now, though, I might have been worrying too much. But better safe than sorry, right? I wasn't going to take the risk just to satisfy lust. I wasn't some horny idiot desperate for any woman. I had standards.
"Are you guys all right?" I asked, checking on the party members. Alan nodded quietly, whereas Yvonne snorted.
"Of course we are. All we did was shoot from the back. Isn't that right, Miranda?"
"Yeah." Despite the mage's agreement, she was glaring sourly at Irene, who was tending to the wounds of Herman and Bradley. I could see a hint of dark jealousy in her gaze. Deciding not to press her because I didn't want the atmosphere getting awkward, I went to check on the knight regiment who had accompanied us.
"Are you guys all right?"
"Yeah," the knight commander replied. He glanced at the regiment under his command. "The medics are doing the best they can, but if you could ask your priestess…"
"All right, I will." I glanced at the injured knights, whose injuries were essentially being bound by tourniquets and bandages. Hurrying over to Irene, who had just finished taking care of Herman and Bradley, I bowed my head. "Irene, if you don't mind, could you also help the knights who fought alongside us?"
"Huh? Why should I?" Irene shot them a look of contempt. I couldn't help but be taken aback by the scorn in her voice. "They aren't worth spending my mana on. It's their fault for getting injured, even though Herman and Bradley were the ones who tanked most of the damage from the wyvern! And don't they have their own medics? They should do their jobs."
"They don't have enough priests," I protested. "And medics don't know healing magic…"
"Who cares? They are just common knights." Bradley scoffed. "Why should we worry about them? We are the Hero party. They are just cannon fodder. It's an honor for them to sacrifice their lives for us to take down the enemy.���
Herman looked uncomfortable, as if he didn't agree, but he also didn't object to Irene and Bradley's caustic remarks. Probably because he didn't want to get on their bad side. Also, he was also staring at Irene with desire in his eyes.
"Irene has been doing a lot for us," he finally said hesitantly. "You can't expect her to cast so many healing spells. I appreciate that you're worried about the soldiers who courageously fought alongside us, but it's also my job to take care of my own party members."
"…right."
Rebecca's supervisor's voice came back to me at that moment. Something about the other party members being a bad influence on Herman. That, and the loathing I felt, but again, destiny had already been set and there was nothing I could do now to change it. That feeling of compulsion forced me to instead do what I had seem to have done in another time and place long ago.
Curling my lip in disgust, I turned away and proceeded toward the knights. The knight commander looked up at me expectantly, but I shook my head apologetically.
"The priestess says that she has no mana left to perform any healing spells." I bowed my head. "Sorry. She's still young and inexperienced, so she doesn't have much mana to begin with. I'll do my best to help in her place."
Kneeling by the sides of the wounded knights, I tried to stop their bleeding with ice spells and clean them to prevent infection. Usually, it wasn't the injuries that killed them but the diseases that followed. Often, when left untreated, the wounds would become infected, leading to high fevers, gangrene or fatal diseases that would spread throughout the infirmary, where packed cluster of injured soldiers were housed so close together. The best treatment would be to clean and disinfect the wounds, as well as feed the patients antibiotic herbs and medicine that would help them combat invading bacteria.
"There's no need for you to apologize." The knight commander smiled wearily, and I noticed that he had a head wound as well, recently tended to by the medics. "It's not your fault. And we really appreciate your help."
"…I'm not doing enough to help." Despite forcing a smile on my face, I could hear the bitterness in my tone. "I wish I could do more."
"You have already done more than some people."
I glanced up, surprised at the acidity in the knight commander's tone. He immediately looked guilty and turned away, coughing to cover up his embarrassment.
"In any event, we are grateful for your help, Sir Klein. I'm sure the soldiers will have a higher chance of survival under your care."
"Let's hope that's enough," I muttered.
"Klein! What are you doing?" Herman called out from the distance. "We're going!"
"Helping the knights again?" Miranda snorted. "Why bother? It's not like you know healing magic. You can't do anything."
"Besides, they have their own medics. Let them the jobs they are supposed to do." Yvonne's voice was mocking.
"You're wasting our time," Bradley grumbled.
"I'm tired, let's go already!" Irene complained.
Only Alan remained silent and detached, his arms folded as he waited. But with the mask concealing the lower half of his face, I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"Just give me a few minutes," I growled, glaring at them, but the knight commander placed a hand on my shoulder.
"It's all right," he assured me. "You've already done more than enough for us. I appreciate all that you've done for us, but you can leave the rest to the medics. Also, we have a small contingent of priests arriving soon. Thanks to you, they can expend lesser mana to heal our wounded."
"Thanks." It occurred to me that their healing magic wouldn't work against diseases and infections, but it was true that uninjured soldiers were able to fight off infections and fevers much better than terribly weakened ones.
Not only that, priests and priestesses usually possessed vast knowledge on medicinal herbs and they would bring the appropriate remedies to help any soldiers suffering from infections. So I could rest easy. Nodding at the knight commander, I hurried after my party.
"Why are you wasting your time helping cannon fodder?" Miranda sneered when I reached them. "Their role is to die for our sakes."
"You shouldn't get too attached to them," Bradley advised gruffly. "They will all die sooner or later. You'll get numb to it eventually."
"They aren't worth our time and energy," Irene agreed.
"Being too soft-hearted will get you killed," Yvonne added. Then she smiled ominously. "Or perhaps it has already gotten you killed."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Yvonne looked a little shock, especially when Miranda nudged her and shot her a glare. She folded her arms and glanced away. "Nothing."
"Now, now." Herman raised his hands, trying to defuse the situation. "It is true that the soldiers Klein helps have a higher chance of survival. I heard it from the general, you know? Whenever Klein helps out, the wounded in their regiment has a 90% chance of surviving, as opposed to a 42% chance when they don't receive any sort of help."
"What's the use?" Bradley scoffed. "Helping soldiers survive won't help us catch up to the other Hero parties. We don't get rewarded for saving soldiers and grunts. I would rather focus our energies on killing more demons."
"That's right!" Yvonne agreed.
"It's just a complete waste of mana, since they will die in another battlefield elsewhere," Irene said dismissively "So why should we care about cannon fodder?"
These bastards…they were so shortsighted. I could list a number of advantages, even if they couldn't accept the altruistic reason that we should help whoever we could – that it was our duty as the Hero party to save as many people as we could, especially the knights who fought by our side – and that we should show compassion…that they would be grateful to us.
Firstly, human resource was scarce in a war. Carelessly spending away the lives of soldiers would mean you would run out of them quickly, so obviously the tactical advantage went to the army who was able to preserve more lives of their soldiers at a much higher rate. Cost-effectiveness of one's army, in other words. This was nowhere truer than in a war of attrition.
Secondly, the soldiers who survived would retain their experience and knowledge. They would become veterans who became better at fighting. So if you were sacrificing your soldiers and constantly replacing them with fresh, inexperienced troops who barely had any training, your army wouldn't be as effective. Skill and experience would often prove to be the decisive factor in a clash between armies. Frankly speaking, soldiers who survived more battles would have a greater wealth of experience and knowledge to draw upon, and they would be tactically and strategically wiser, knowing the best ways to survive and win. They would learn from previous battles, be able to spot traps and detect ambushes, and avoid past errors that greenhorn troops tended to make. They would also be hardened veterans and be less likely to crumble before the enemy and flee from battle.
Thirdly, morale. A knight regiment who had sustained lesser casualties would have higher morale than one that had suffered extreme casualties, and thus their performance on the battlefield would be more optimal. Also, they would be more loyal to a cause and fight all the more harder when they were aware that their superiors cared for their lives than knights resigned to throwing their lives away for uncaring higher-ups. There would be less desertion and defection.
Of course, none of these mattered to me. I was only interested in doing the right thing. If I was a soldier, I would appreciate it if someone came to help me. Do unto others what you want others to do unto you. That was the creed that I adhered to. Of course, it applied the other way – if someone wronged me, I would pay him or her back a hundredfold.
"Finally…we're here!"
Irene stretched herself when we reached the next town. Already, there was a sizeable knight regiment here, which made sense. Herman had received the request to reinforce the regiment from command because there was a sizable orc and kobold force marching upon this town. Given how it was a major outpost for merchants and soldiers, the Havan Kingdom had resolved to protect it at all costs.
"Let's drop by the inn," Herman suggested. "We should have a reservation."
"Great!" Bradley was rubbing his hands in glee. "Hopefully they have women there too."
The girls glanced at him in disdain, but didn't say anything because they were already used to his lecherous actions. No one condemned him for his behavior, though, because he had proven himself essential through our battles. Most of the time, he would fight as the vanguard, drawing the enemies' attention to himself and tanking most of the damage. Without him, it was fair to say that the party would fall apart.
However, as we entered the inn, I overheard one of the knights chatting to each other while drinking ale.
"Did you hear? They said that Mai Village is also facing an incursion from demons."
I jolted up when I heard that. Mai Village was my village. It was where my parents and friends lived. Even Irene looked a little alarmed at that.
"Worse, because of this invasion, they are pulling all available knight regiments to this town. The royal family has deemed it impractical to defend Mai Village. They are left to fend for themselves."
"What?!" I turned toward them, unable to control my shock and fury. "What did you say?!"
Everyone turned to me, but I ignored them. Striding over to the surprised soldiers, I stared hard at them.
"Tell me whatever you know about what's happening in Mai Village right now."