On the Nameless Highlands.
The Prosens' third charge was repelled.
Ilyich walked along the trench, picking at the bandage on his left shoulder as he went—he felt as if some beetle was crawling beneath it, making it unbearably itchy.
His fingernails were already caked with charred dirt and bloodstains from scratching at the bandage.
The soldiers on the front, whether they had been there from the start or were later reinforcements, were almost all injured. As Ilyich passed by Nurse Maria, he saw her bandaging Stepan with a bandage that was already filthy and no longer white.
Ilyich said, "Stepan, you've finally been hit?"
Stepan shook his head, "It's just a scratch, nothing serious. I told the nurse that using this bandage might infect the wound, and then I'd have to amputate my entire arm. Better to leave it alone, just pour some alcohol on it, that way I can keep my arm."
