Chapter 210 - Comforting meals.

This battle has officially ended, the Victim rate on both sides is large and this was a terrible day for everyone, even for the Winners. They won but at what cost? They lost most of the two Platoons here in Pameres Kingdom and Gaster Kingdom's Platoon is only left with 30 Guards. 50 of them had a terrible fate! They all are dead, while the ones alive have quite some injuries too.

The good news out of all of this, is that the Houses out of the wall's protection aren't damaged. Its residents were all crammed up in other houses for the moment but it seemed quite unnecessary since they are on the Kingdom's left side, specifically near the road to BaleTown. It would be terrible on another level if Pameres Kingdom lost all of those Guards plus random Civilians. It would be a considerable shift on the economy.

The losses great no doubt, but at least King Zar's revolution still stands on its own two feet. Weak and damaged defense-wise but it still stands! This loss however taught King Zar a valuable lesson, he can't rely on Soldier Count primarily to protect Pameres Kingdom, especially with under population as a big issue throughout all the Countries of Ignis at the moment, even at Meridionali Ignis thanks to the Snow Ignites. So after they won this battle, the survivors were invited for a midday feast. 

Before the feast started, King Zar approached his personal assistant Seer and ordered him. "Write a letter that we will send to the Zamerians upon the next delivery."

Surprised a bit but also lacking focus because he is trying to lend a hand with the feast preparation, he didn't want to start writing right now so he hoped he could remember this message word by word. "I suspect that it is related with today's event?" What else could there be?

"Yes. Pameres Kingdom didn't have enough Soldiers to deal with this mess and won't have them for a long while after it too! We can't rely on the Soldier count primarily, we need Weapons here which pack a stronger punch." At this point, King Zar is referring to ranged weapons. He was able to see for himself how much of an impact arrows made in this horrible battle. If it wasn't for the 200 Archers, the Platoons would be dead a lot sooner than this and the Calidum Lutum would face a lot more losses too.

"What do you have in mind Sire? Do you mean those crossbows things?" Crossbows are a late discovery, they aren't yet so common in other domains but they are sure more effective than bows for various reasons. "I don't think they will come cheap."

"Forget about Gold, we have 300,000 Gold Coins in the royal treasury room! We can spare to buy some Weapons." Replied King Zar feeling a bit annoyed by such a point of view. So many men died today trying to protect their Kingdom, their families. This is not a time to be savvy with Gold. But King Zar remained calm and thought about the bright sides of this battle. The ill.u.s.tratian Alliance is weaker than it ever was ever since its Continental Victory. "And I'm not talking about Crossbows, I'm talking about Catapults and Ballistas!"

Urging to point out how expensive they are, but hesitating to do so since King Zar doesn't look so kindly upon it. He went towards another direction with this conversation. "Those are indeed very powerful, but we will need officials to show us how to use them. Those weapons are a bit complex and can be dangerous if the Guards use them without having a hint of what they are doing." And he has a strong point, a shot from a Catapult can destroy houses and a shot from a Ballista isn't light either.

"You are correct, let the letter include that part. Request a couple of well trained men who can teach the Guards or at least one man who can teach both of these battle crafts." Getting to the most important part yet, he gave it a little thought at first. Catapults for example, require more men so he can't make a mass order for them since he lacks Guards here. The Kingdom doesn't have too many men! As for Ballistas, they only require two men or women to operate it successfully. Using these weapons isn't gender specific, it just requires agile individuals who have strength to push as well! Which might make buffing up the defenses a lot easier. "Order 10 Catapults and 30 Ballistas!"

Seeing that Seer is itching to know more about the prices, way of payment and the total sum too but refusing to say anything about it. King Zar decided to scratch his itch. Well not literally (Thank the Sources.). But by word he stated. "As for the prices, let it be how it is. Discounts aren't necessary but appreciated, we will pay it all in one sum on the next delivery or split it in two or more parts if its too much for our economy to handle with one shot. I'm sure they wouldn't mind. " Giving out a stressful sigh. He also added some slightly different thoughts. "As much as I would love for Pameres Kingdom to mass produce these glorious Weapons, we don't have the technology. All we can do, is make the ammunition so order only a few of those so we can use as an example. Maybe just order a couple full sets of ammunition in total or however it goes."

After clearing out that order, an hour after it the feast was ready. Although the Platoons lost many men, it was still hard to fit these living Guards all in this Castle for a feast. So some table cloths were set on the floor with various expensive food over them. No one minded the fact that they have to sit on the floor, there is no shame in it. Before the feast started, King Zar had to say a few words about all of these losses. He had quite a lot of sympathy and planned no scolding either. 

"Men. Friends! Brave Calidum Lutum ladies. I'm not sure how much you can understand me. But my point is, today we achieved glorious Victory but lost a lot of brave Guards too. The families of the brave heroes who died in battle, will be provided with free food and lumber for a year, longer afterwards if anyone in the house is unable to work. As much as I would love to compensate each death with Gold, our Kingdom can't afford it. As for you brave heroes who managed to survive, you will each receive a 500 Gold Coin Bonus! The Platoon that came from Bale Town will be excluded for such a reward." King Zar has all the rights to exclude them from this reward. They arrived in battle, they had the will to fight but they just arrived too late. They arrived when the battle was practically won and faced no losses. "As for the Calidum Lutum, the survivors will too earn the same reward and a compensation of 10,000 Gold Coins will be sent to your town, Gaster Kingdom too. Of course some of you don't understand me, but we will prepare everything for you so you don't have to worry."

Everyone cheered for King Zar to the point of shaking the Throne room (Which was the most appropriate for holding such a big feast.), even the 125 men who won't get any reward, were chanting. They have no reason to disagree especially after they took a glance at all of the Guards lost in battle, they are happy to be alive.

After raising his hand up, asking the Guards to settle down. He pointed out another important piece of information. "The Corpses of our fallen Guards will be honoured with a grave here in the Castle's Catacombs! They will be remembered as heroes and any family member may go down and visit the Graves, they won't have any restrictions. Please be sure to spread the word around about this, we will need help identifying the victims too so I hope all of you are willing to lend a hand in the name of your fallen friends and possibly family too."

Shortly after King Zar finished his speech, a louder chant was heard after. All of these men agree and are more than willing to cooperate, a heartwarming sense of unity and humanity too no doubt! They all appreciated how much King Zar tried to contribute, donate and support. It is rare to find from a King in these troubled times!

Finally, they all sat down to enjoy this feast. Although it is midday now, it has been tiring and troublesome for everyone without discrimination. Those who didn't fight in battle that much were at least tired of all the travelling. A nice hot luxurious meal comforts any human being after this much hardship.