Chapter 171: Casualties

The following morning, Roderic woke up feeling like he’d been hit by a truck.

’’Fuck me...’’

He groaned as he pushed himself upright.

All the small cuts and other wounds on his body had closed.

Yet, for some reason, his muscles hadn’t recovered in the slightest!

’’Maybe... I should just head back to sleep.’’

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

Finally, Roderic let out a groan as he got out of bed.

’’Fuck,’’ he mumbled. ’’Can’t even do that, huh.’’

There was much on the agenda today.

His rest could wait until after all of that was finished.

’’At least I managed to get some sleep in,’’ he sighed.

After washing up and getting dressed, Roderic left his room.

Outside, Edmund was already waiting for him.

’’Good morning, young master!’’ he said, greeting him with a warm smile.

Roderic nodded with a smile.

’’Good morning to you too, Edmund,’’ he replied, stretching his arms overhead.

The two made some small talk as they continued down the corridor.

Before long, Roderic found himself seated in front of a luxurious table filled with all kinds of meals.

’’Eat up,’’ Edmund said, smiling from ear to ear. ’’The chefs specially made it after hearing of your work.’’

Roderic didn’t need to be told twice.

His gaze swept across the delicious meals, and he immediately began eating.

As he ate, Edmund’s smile grew warmer.

Eventually, just as Roderic was about to finish devouring everything on the table, Edmund cleared his throat.

’’Oh, and young master,’’ he said. ’’Your father has requested your presence in his study after breakfast.’’

Roderic raised his head and swallowed another piece of meat.

’’My father?’’ he repeated slowly.

Edmund nodded calmly.

’’Yes, young master,’’ he replied warmly. ’’I believe he wished to discuss the aftermath of yesterday’s battle in detail.’’

A glint of realization flashed across Roderic’s face.

’’Ah, right,’’ he muttered, glancing down. ’’Tell him I’ll be there in a bit.’’

Edmund nodded once more.

’’Of course, young master.’’

...

Some time later, Roderic arrived at his father’s study.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

’’Come in,’’ a familiar voice echoed out from inside.

Roderic pushed open the door.

Inside, Arthur sat behind his desk, several documents spread out before him.

’’Morning,’’ Roderic greeted, casually raising a hand.

’’Good morning, Roderic,’’ Arthur replied, looking up from his papers. ’’Take a seat.’’

Roderic nodded and settled into the chair opposite him.

For a moment, silence fell between the two.

’’So, what’s the situation?’’ Roderic finally asked, his voice low.

Arthur let out a heavy sigh.

’’I don’t know what to say,’’ he began. ’’The reports came back... and I’m not sure whether we can call them pleasant or not.’’

He picked up one of the documents.

’’Our soldiers have finished counting the casualties from yesterday’s battle. Although we managed to defend the city, our losses were considerable.’’

Roderic’s expression grew serious.

’’How bad?’’ he asked right away.

Arthur lowered his gaze toward the document.

’’Three hundred and forty dead, and many more wounded,’’ he said. ’’Some of the injured may never be able to fight again.’’

Roderic remained silent.

He’d already expected their losses to be quite significant.

Even so, this was quite a lot higher than he’d originally thought.

’That reckless charge of theirs,’ he thought, clenching his fist. ’That’s the only reason this happened.’

Arthur wasn’t done talking yet, though.

’’On the other hand,’’ he continued, ’’we killed well over a thousand Deres soldiers and knights.’’

Roderic’s brows shot up.

’’Huh?’’ he blurted out. ’’Over a thousand?’’

Arthur nodded slowly, a complicated expression on his face.

That’s when it finally started making sense to Roderic.

’No wonder he feels so conflicted about this,’ he thought. ’That’s an absurd number.’

The Deres army had suffered more than three times the casualties they had.

It was normal for an attacking army to suffer greater losses than the defenders, but for the difference to be this large?

’That’s one hell of an accomplishment on our part.’

Still, it didn’t make the loss of three hundred and forty soldiers any easier to swallow.

Roderic let out a deep breath.

’’That’s good,’’ he said. ’’But what about the families of our fallen?’’

A small smile appeared on Arthur’s face.

’’Most have been informed,’’ he replied. ’’We’ll be able to provide substantial compensation thanks to the ransom we negotiated... but I’m afraid there’s little we can do to ease their grief.’’

Roderic lowered his gaze slightly.

’’Yeah... it’s going to be tough for a while.’’

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Eventually, Arthur placed the document back onto his desk.

’’We’ll be holding a funeral for the fallen tonight,’’ he said. ’’I expect you to attend.’’

Roderic nodded without hesitation.

’’Of course I’ll be there,’’ he replied seriously.

That was the least he could do to show respect to those who had fallen and the families they left behind.

...

For the remainder of the day, Roderic spent his time moving throughout Whitemane City.

He visited the blacksmiths, ordering several more ballistas to be installed after the walls were repaired.

At other times, he found himself helping those on the streets once more.

Whether it was sweeping rubble or carrying supplies alongside the workers, none of it mattered to Roderic.

There were many purposes and benefits attached to his actions.

Yet, most of all, Roderic simply wanted to help.

The people had suffered enough already.

It was time to show them that he’d suffer alongside them in more than one way.

Whenever he wasn’t occupied with helping the citizens, however, his attention was focused elsewhere.

’’Hmm...’’

Blue windows appeared and disappeared before his eyes as he scrolled through the archive.

’’That’s the sensing method,’’ he muttered. ’’But how can I explain this best?’’

A few moments later, his eyebrows suddenly rose.

’’Oh! I didn’t know you had such a function.’’

Almost immediately, a grin spread across his face.

And so, the hours passed.

...

Before long, night began to fall over Whitemane City.

Back at the manor, Roderic stood beside a window, gazing out at the darkening sky.

Several stacks of papers laid neatly arranged on the desk behind him.

’It’s almost time.’

The funeral would soon begin.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Roderic turned around.

His gaze fell upon the documents.

At the top of each page stood a single title.

’’Sensing Method: Knight Detection’’

It was something he’d managed to create with the System earlier that day, using a thousand throne coins.

Everything in the archive had been condensed into a single document containing only the information needed to identify potential.

’This should make recruitment a whole lot easier.’

A satisfied smile flashed across Roderic’s face.

If everything went according to plan, these papers would become the foundation of Whitemane’s future knight recruitment process.

And with enough time, they could build an army unlike anything the world had ever seen.

’Just wait,’ he thought. ’It won’t be long before I take over this damn kingdom!’

Roderic carefully gathered the documents.

For now, however, there was something far more important that required his attention.

His smile slowly left his face as he turned towards the door.

’The funeral... huh.’