World Conquest Online

The Enemy Warriors had been disarmed and placed in an encirclement. Those that were injured were separated and were being monitored by the Hua Tou and some of the Legionaries who had some medical skills. The other Doctors, Phoebe and Hua Xiu were looking over the injuries from the Riverside Warriors. They had been lucky again and no one had received a major injury, with the injuries mainly being grazes with the occasional slash wound on an arm or a thigh. Thankfully the armour and formations of the Riverside contingent had won the game and they hadn’t received any losses.

Tomyris had jumped on a horse, and with half of the Horse Archers, she headed back towards the Nomadic Camp to check on Gan Ning and his part of the mission. Dom and Subutai stayed behind with the Warriors to work through their current situation.

Whilst this happened, Dom received a notification from the system.

[Congratulations on completing Quest 5 - Win a Battle

Battle Difficulty - C

Total Score - S

Outnumbered, but not outgunned, you used deception and intelligence to pull the enemy in to a well planned and executed trap. You received only minor injuries in a battle that could have caused the end to your excursion force.]

[Mission Rewards have been placed in your Personal Chest]

Dom was happy with the mission completion, he and was excited to see his mission rewards, both for this and the Learn A Skill mission he had completed. he also hoped this would allow him to counter attack and also conquer the town the enemies had come from, but first he needed intelligence from the enemy and to check up on Gan Ning and his situation.

"So, what do we do with these?" Subutai asked Dom.

"Game Support, is there a way to trust their surrender?" Dom asked.

[No, the system doesn’t control individual’s loyalty levels, this needs to be managed by the Players.]

"I’m not sure." Dom replied seriously to Subutai after hearing Game Supports response, "We can’t guarantee their loyalty, and we don’t really have anywhere to put them."

"We could just kill them all." Subutai said, putting his hand in the air to stop Dom from interrupting, "Historically it is known for armies to kill the enemy prisoners if they are more of a hassle than to keep. We could even have them bury their own graves. It isn’t heartless before you say, it is war."

"It may have been that way." Dom replied, "But it isn’t from where I am from. I can’t order the death of all of these men"

"Octavian, Alexander both come here please." Subutai ordered the two leaders who were overseeing their men who were guarding the prisoners.

They both jogged over, their armours both still covered in the dirt and grime of battle. Their crested helmets shining in the moonlight. Octavian’s voice was sore from the shouting in the battle with visible exhaustion in his eyes, where as Alexander looked ready to fight a few more rounds with his spear. They were both proud of how the Riverside Warriors had fought during the battle, with this being the first time both units had fought alongside each other.

"How are the men?" Subutai asked as they arrived.

"Happy with the Victory, but tired." Octavian replied for his group. "They want to get their armour off and put their feet up for a bit."

"Very similar." Alexander commented, "We had to march hard to get here in time for the battle, and even though it was short, the battle was still intense. I think the lads would appreciate some sleep soon."

"Agreed." Subutai stated, "We will start to put them in shifts to guard the prisoners whilst the rest of them get some sleep. First though I would like both of your opinions on what we should do with the prisoners."

They both looked at Subutai and Dom, before looking at the prisoners that were looking depressed and in bad conditions. The prisoners seemed exhausted as well, with no moral remaining after their loss.

"If Riverside was bigger, or we had contacts with larger cities and states." Alexander started, "I would say take them as Slaves. But I am aware that Lord Lazarus is against Slavery so I am not sure."

"We could kill them." Octavian replied, "If they are no use as Slaves, they are of no use at all. We could crucify them so that other’s wouldn’t think to attack us on our lands again. It is what we would do with a slave rebellion or similar."

"I understand all of your opinions." Dom stated, "And I am aware, but I just can’t see us killing prisoners. I understand the benefits to taking them as slaves to be sold as loot, but I just don’t see it as a human thing to do. Crucifying them seems extreme, but I can believe that it worked."

"To be fair Lord Lazarus." Subutai replied, "We are Warriors, our job is to fight your battles and conquer the World for you. Lucius and Shang Yang are your Civil Officers, they may give you a better option than we could. They look at the bigger picture, not on who we are defeating next or where we are exploring to wider our circle of influence."

Dom stood in silence for a minute and thought of his options, Subutai and his Commanders all had good points, historically they would turn the fallen foe in to slaves or execute them. Some armies would release them, but Dom couldn’t release eighty warriors within the lands he was trying to claim as his own. He was torn on what he should do.

"That is a very good point Commander Subutai." Dom said, "I am sorry for putting everything on you. I’m sure Commanders Tomyris and Gan Ning would have similar thoughts. Whilst we decide, rest some of them men and we’ll talk with some of the prisoners."

"Very well." Subutai replied, "Alexander, please see to a rota for the men."

Dom headed towards the prisoners, flanked by Subutai and Octavian. Alexander however disappeared to start organising a rotating schedule for guard duty and rest. Dom looked at his combined forces, as well as the nearby Horse Archers and felt overwhelmed at the amount of Warriors he currently had under his command. It made him feel quite powerful.

As they walked though, they soon walked past the remains of the last battlefield. It was a grim place, and the realism had caught him again. The smells from the nearby bodies and the fluids that had left them reached his nose and he had to control the urge to want to be sick.

"We need to get this cleared in the morning." Subutai commented, "But for now, the men need rest. We could potentially have the Prisoners clean it under guard."

"That does sound like a use for them for now." Dom agreed as they reached the first line of enemy prisoners.

"I have dispatched a rider to Riverside to update Lucius." Subutai said, "Hopefully he can prepare us a nice meal for when I take my men back in the morning."

"How has the excavating been going?" Dom asked.

"It’s been going well, we have some more goodies and the amount of wealth is also growing." Subutai commented, "I think you’ll be more interested to know how it’s going with the horses. They believe they have a plan for taming them, and Helena has been working on creating a temporary bridge with Wang Shu that can be floated to cross the River."

"That’s a really good idea!" Dom stated, "If we can eventually build a permanent structure that can be opened and closed, we could completely control the River and it’s crossings. I’ll have to speak with Lucius, Shang Yang and Sostratus when I get back!"

Some of the prisoners looked up at Dom as he approached, and he looked back at them, seeing the fear in their eyes. He felt that if this was his Hoplite or Legionaries that had fallen, they would still have fight in them. These men however seemed to have lost any hope, their earlier exhilaration gone.

"I need to speak with your leader." Dom commented to the crowd. Their were some murmurs, whilst some of them looked around to see if they could recognise who would step forwards. There was silence for a few seconds.

"I said, I need to speak with your leader." Dom repeated himself sternly, trying to look intimidating.

"If the leader doesn’t announce himself, I will take you one by one for questioning." Subutai added. "It will not be a pleasant experience, especially when you attempted to ambush my Lord and my men!"

The warriors panicked and continued to look amongst themselves, trying to see if anyone would stand up for them. Eventually a warrior stood up, he wore a short grey robe that was tattered, and had a slight wound on his arm that was bandaged tightly.

"Our Commander was the Blonde Haired Warrior Guthrum. He was hot headed and directed the charge." The Man started, "However our unit leader, who would be the best to speak with, I believe died during the retreat, I believe his body will be over there somewhere with the rest of our comrades."

Dom looked at where he pointed, seeing it was the battlefield he had just walked past. Bodies lay everywhere, stabbed by spears or swords, or punctured by an array of arrows that had caught them unprepared.

"Very well." Dom replied to the man, "Will you come and answer some questions?"

"I will." The man replied, "Just please don’t hurt any of my fellow men, we have lost enough tonight."

"I can’t make any promises, you attacked us, not the other way round." Dom stated, "But we can see. If you all behave, no one will die tonight."

The man nodded, knowing that he didn’t have any rights as the defeated side. He paced through the crowd, with his fellow Warriors looking at him with looks of thanks and some wished him good luck. He was soon escorted by two Hoplite and followed Dom, Octavian and Subutai to a tent that had been moved from the previous camp and set up.

They entered the tent and Dom sat at the far end, with Subutai on his side. Octavian stood by the door, whilst the two Hoplite stood outside on guard. The man was let in to the tent and stood at attention in the middle.

"My name is Lord Lazarus of Riverside." Dom introduced himself, "What is your name and where are you from?"

The man quickly got to his knees and bowed on the floor, his head touching the ground in a sign of respect.

"Esteemed Lord, I am sorry for my digression earlier." The man replied, "My name is Meng Gao, I am a Sergeant within my unit, we are from a local Town called Tongpai Town. I would not have dared speak back to you if I had known."

"It’s ok, I am not one of those kinds of leaders that needs to be bowed to. Now tell me Tongpai Town?" Dom asked, "Where is this?"

"It is around a days march to the North." Meng Gao replied seriously, scared that if he didn’t answer correctly, the staring warriors of Subutai and Octavian would do something to him.