"Colonel, what's Claude's condition now?"
Asked a rather chubby captain. He was Fitney's backer, Captain Cantaya of the logistics department.
He'd also played a part in Sderi's decision to make Fitney the temporary jarl of Claude's squad.
However, he didn't expect the consequences to be so severe. He was already cursing Sderi and Fitney to death in his mind.
What do you mean by killing a chicken to warn the monkeys? Do you think you caught a chicken? It's clearly an eagle! How could you not investigate such a powerful background?
"Claude was unconscious for two days after the incident and only woke up on the third day.
Perunt said that his injuries were rather serious. Fitney went all out. If his injuries were any worse, he would've been a cripple even if he was saved.
However, his constitution is still decent and the treatment went smoothly. Perunt estimates that he'll need two to three months to fully recover.
I went to visit him last night. He's bandaged up like a mummy, but he's still in good spirits. "
Mentok grew angry as he spoke and glared at Captain Cantaya. "Even if Claude doesn't have Maria's support and is just a normal soldier, it's still a huge scandal for Bluefeather to be beaten up so badly by his own jarl during training!
Is this an accident during combat training? He's clearly treating the other party as a mortal enemy and tried to kill him!
You haven't been in war for more than two decades. Have you let down your discipline and allowed these veterans to bully the new recruits? Aren't you afraid of being shot in the back? "
Mentok felt thirsty after talking for so long and went to look for a cup of water, only to find that it had been thrown at Sderi.
Cantaya, on the other hand, was more quick-witted. "Please wait a moment, Colonel. I'll get you a cup of tea immediately."
With that, he turned and ran out.
Another lieutenant asked, "Colonel, how's Fitney now?"
"How?
He became the laughingstock of the corps. While he was explaining to the new recruits how to deal with the enemy's final counterattack, he suffered a fatal kick from Claude, giving the new recruits the most vivid demonstration of how to deal with an enemy on the battlefield.
That day, his screams shook the entire camp! "
A mocking smile appeared on Mentock's face. "When I went to the infirmary last night, Doctor Perunt told me that he had just operated on Fitney in the afternoon and removed the thing that all men have.
There was nothing he could do about it. The thing had been reduced to a pulp by Claude's kick. Both of the eggs were crushed and swollen like freshly baked bread.
A few days ago, he couldn't urinate, so Perunt had to use a reed tube to release the blood, pus and urine. Fitney was in so much pain that he begged for someone to kill him.
Therefore, Doctor Perunt could only anesthetize him and cut off his thing. If he didn't do it, his life would be in danger … "
Perhaps Colonel Mentok's description was too vivid, but the junior officers standing in the wooden hut suddenly felt a chill down their legs, and involuntarily clamped their legs together.
Mentock hadn't noticed the change in their standing posture. "Doctor Perunt told me that Fitney's life won't be in danger after his penis is cut off, but he won't be able to urinate while standing anymore.
He believes that it's best to let Fitney retire and go home. Otherwise, he'll be laughed at in the camp. Losing that thing might turn him into a psychopath. Given how strong he is in combat, he might become a very unstable factor in our corps. "
"I think it's best to let him retire and go home. Can he still be considered a man after losing that thing?
Even if he's strong in melee combat, this is the era of firearms, not the medieval era where swords and sabers were used to kill. His personal combat prowess won't be able to increase the strength of our corps. Instead, he'll become a laughing stock due to his lack of a penis.
Doctor Perunt is right. If he continues to stay in the camp, he might continue to seek revenge on Claude and bring chaos and instability to our camp.
We can punish him for taking revenge on someone during training and have him retire. I believe that will be enough to appease Claude. "
In this era, being discharged from the military wasn't a good thing. Most people were only discharged because they were injured or disabled.
The system of waiting to be shot made every country pay attention to every soldier. Generally speaking, healthy soldiers wouldn't be discharged until the end of their term of service.
Since he had become a soldier, wanting to violate military discipline and be discharged from the military to avoid the fate of becoming cannon fodder on the battlefield could only be wishful thinking. It was simply impossible.
Fitney, who had his penis cut off and was discharged, could be said to have retired due to disability.
He didn't just lose the symbol of a man. It also meant that his six years in the camp had been wasted. He could only be a commoner for the rest of his life.
This was especially true when he was only one step away from becoming a second lieutenant. It was a cruel ending for Fitney to be discharged from the military.
"I think Lieutenant Hockham is right. Since Fitney had his penis cut off, he can't be considered a real man anymore. We can use the excuse of disability to send him home and tell Claude the news to appease him.
After he recovers, we can give him the vacant position of sergeant major. I'm sure he'll be satisfied with this arrangement. "
Maxx couldn't wait to support Hockham's suggestion. He felt that he had suffered an undeserved calamity.
He had been doing well in the main camp, only to be sent here to be a chief instructor.
Being a chief instructor was fine too. He would return to the main camp after three months and he would be able to serve as a commanding officer. If he was lucky, he might even become a battalion commander. At the very least, he would be able to become a vice-battalion commander.
When war broke out and he made some contributions, the three green stars on his shoulder would be replaced with a silver crescent moon.
But who would have thought that there were so many things going on in the Fukby Hill Barracks. That damned Military Judge, First Lieutenant Sidley, actually took advantage of his unfamiliarity with this place and arranged two soldiers who had a grudge against each other together, giving them a chance to retaliate. This was clearly not giving him face and was trying to stir up trouble.
In the end, he really caused such a huge commotion. That new recruit Claude's background is so great that even I got dragged into it and was criticized by the commanding officer for no reason. Just you wait, Sideri …
No matter what, Bluefeather was one of the four ace corps of Aueras. No matter how much they feared Baroness Maria's influence with Stellin X, they wouldn't lower themselves to fawn over her disciple.
Soldiers had their own pride. What they were troubled about was how to calm down the training incident and how to appease Claude so that he wouldn't complain to Baroness Maria and write a letter about what happened to him after he joined the army.
After all, it was easier to ruin things than to succeed. At this critical moment when the Bluefeather Legion was vying for dominance with the other legions, no one wished for this revenge training incident to reach Baroness Maria's ears. She would then stand up for her disciple and complain about the unfairness of the Bluefeather Legion in front of His Majesty.
So, pacifying the injured Claude became their top priority. Mikes felt that Hockham's words made sense and he wanted to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
It wouldn't be hard to kick Fitney, who was no longer a man, out of the camp. Without that symbol of a man, he could be discharged on the grounds that he was disabled.
Without Fitney, Claude wouldn't have to worry about revenge in the future. Also, if Fitney was given the rank of sergeant major to Claude, he wouldn't say anything about it. Even if Baroness Maria found out about it, she wouldn't be able to accuse Bluefeather of being unfair.
"B-but Claude is injured and it'll take him two to three months to fully recover. He can't continue with officer training anymore. Isn't it a little unsuitable for him to be a sergeant major?
If he can't convince the others, the squad won't be able to fight at all and won't be able to cooperate with the other squads in battle.
Colonel Mentok also said that war will break out in less than half a year. They'll only add to our troubles when the time comes. "
Nobody had any objections to Fitney's retirement, but Claude's promotion to sergeant major was questionable.
Claude hadn't even completed officer training and had only undergone three months of recruit training. To be precise, he was only a private, not even a corporal.
Letting him take the position of sergeant major and become the official captain of a squad of soldiers, the meaning of appeasement was too obvious. Which squad of soldiers would be willing to go to the battlefield under the leadership of such an unreliable captain?
Also, would the squad he led be able to work well with the other squads on the battlefield and listen to orders in the face of artillery fire?
That was indeed doubtful.
"It's fine.
Max said confidently, "We don't need Claude to be the sergeant major of those combat squads.
Every time we expand, we'll always find some new recruits who aren't suited to be soldiers. While they're healthy, they're slow to react or have some mental issues.
In the past, our way of doing things was to gather them together and throw them to the logistics department or the supply transport unit, let them do some manual labor, and let them fend for themselves.
This time, we'll pick some normal ones. Once the war breaks out, the medics will have to follow the troops to the frontlines to set up infirmary. When the time comes, we'll have to set up guard squads and stretcher squads as well. We'll have to draw personnel from the combat units.
This time, we might as well use these fellows to form a squad of guards and stretcher bearers and let Claude be in charge of it. That way, it'll be perfectly justifiable for him to be the sergeant major and it won't affect our combat prowess.
Baroness Maria, we're doing our best to take care of her disciple. "
Captain Cantaya came in and respectfully brought a pot of freshly brewed black tea to Colonel Mentok. The aroma of the tea wafted into his nostrils.
It was clearly Captain Cantaya's private collection and Colonel Mentok was quite satisfied.
As an officer of the logistics department, Captain Canthaya was quite considerate of his superiors and did a pretty good job of observing their expressions and fawning on their superiors. His service was very thorough.
Colonel Mentok took a sip of the black tea, then nodded to Captain Max who was standing in front of him. "Your suggestion is very good, I'll leave this matter to you then.
At the same time, you have to subtly let Claude understand that we're only doing this for the sake of his herbalism teacher, Baroness Maria.
However, you forgot two important points in your suggestion. Firstly, four nobles who were on good terms with Claude were sent to the infirmary by Fitney. According to the investigation, Claude only challenged them because he felt threatened by Fitney. "That's right, that's why he challenged them.
According to our investigations, these four noble children were all abandoned by their families and were sent to our corps to receive officer training. Moreover, their families are not very famous or powerful, and it can be said that they are on the verge of decline.
Sending the four children who had given up was also to fight for a future for them. There were many noble children like this in the various legions of the kingdom, so there was nothing strange about it.
However, they were injured because of Claude, so Perunt believed that they would need at least a month or two to recover. That way, they would miss out on the officer training that was to follow.
Since Claude is going to be the sergeant major and form the infirmary's garrison and stretcher teams, let's have these four nobles help him after they recover. I believe this information will earn Claude's gratitude.
One more thing, Lieutenant Hockham. Find out how many veterans are on good terms with Fitney, and transfer them to the other battalions once you've found out.
I don't want to hear about any more revenge related to this. "
"Yes, Colonel."