Shi Hao walked on the dirt road covered with blood and walked towards the first carriage. The ground around him was already full of corpses, most of whom had expressions of fear or confusion on their faces. They didn't even know what had happened to them, and their lives were frozen at that moment. He also saw the bullet holes on the bodies of the dead, which were still oozing blood.
The dozen or so prisoners who were captured were kneeling on the ground not far away, tied up and bruised. Several cavalry soldiers were interrogating them for intelligence. If they hesitated, they would be met with close contact with the butt of a gun.
Leo followed him and wiped the blood off the blade with a cloth. "Three of our people died and five were injured. There were three mid-levels on the opposite side. Most of our casualties were caused by these people. This is already a good result."
"I know." Shi Hao walked to the first carriage with a sullen face. He pulled the door and found it was locked from the inside. The glow of fighting spirit gathered on his hands. He pulled hard and the whole door panel was lifted out. Three people were lying in the opened carriage. Their clothes were of good quality and similar to the steward's attire. They all looked like important servants or assistants. One of the old men was shot in the forehead. He opened his mouth and fell on the chair with his head tilted back. Another middle-aged man curled up on the floor, covering the blood on his chest. The last young man, who was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, was shot in the neck and abdomen. He was seriously injured, but he was still alive. He was already confused. When he saw Shi Hao coming, he kept saying in a very weak voice, "Save me, mother, save me."
Shi Hao looked at him for a few seconds, pulled out the Type 54 pistol from his waist, and shot him in the temple.
As the gunshots rang out, blood spurted out from the young man's head, and his body tilted and he fell dead on the seat.
"These are not the real ones. I guess the Viscount and the others are in the second carriage." Leo said.
The door of the second carriage was obviously heavier than the first one. Shi Hao pulled hard and found a body hanging on the door panel. It was a man in his thirties, dressed elegantly. He held the door handle tightly until his death, pressing his body against the door, as if he wanted to block the bullets with his body to protect the people behind him. There were many bullet holes on his body, but the wounds were small, which was a typical performance of a fighting warrior after being shot. The fatal wound was in the head, where two bullets entered from his cheek and mouth respectively.
"He should be a low-level warrior who blocked himself against the door to block the bullets." Shi Hao said.
"He's a good guy," Leo said.
Shi Hao looked into the car. There were three people inside. One of them was a girl in her teens wearing a skirt. She was shot in the chest and fell on a chair. She died before she even had the chance to show much pain. Her pretty face had lost all color, and a trace of blood was flowing down the corner of her lips. Her eyes were still open, and she looked towards the door with a blank look.
This pair of eyes made Shi Hao feel very irritated. When he looked into her eyes, a chill rose from the soles of his feet, making him very uncomfortable. He picked up a scarf on the floor of the carriage and threw it on the girl's head.
On the seat opposite, a woman in her thirties was holding a little boy, huddled in a corner of the car. There were large patches of blood behind the woman's head and on her body. She must have been dead. However, the little boy she was protecting lay face down, motionless, and it was impossible to tell whether he was dead or alive.
Shi Hao hesitated for a moment, then pried the woman's hands apart, revealing the boy's profile. The boy was well protected, with no blood on his face. Shi Hao's action seemed to startle him, and the boy's eyebrows moved, obviously not dead. He might have been frightened in the previous battle and fainted.
Shi Hao pulled the boy out of the woman's arms. He was about seven or eight years old, with his eyes closed and lips slightly open. He looked very handsome.
Shi Hao's pulling woke him up. The boy looked around in confusion and saw the bodies of his mother and sister. He seemed to have not understood what happened. He tried to pull his mother's arm, but his mother fell down, revealing the wound and a large pool of blood on her back. He reached out and touched the blood on her back, stared at the bright red palm for a few seconds, and then screamed loudly.
Shi Hao tried to pull him out of the car, but he began to slap Shi Hao's hands frantically. Shi Hao took a step forward and tried to grab him, but he retreated to the corner, sat on the ground, and began to kick his hands and feet to prevent Shi Hao from approaching.
"This kid is quite energetic." Leo said from behind Shi Hao, "Captain, if you can't help it, let me send him to reunite with his family. This kid is already a bit old, and it will be difficult to deal with him after he remembers the past. I will be very efficient."
Shi Hao glared back: "Shut up."
Leo shrugged and said, "I just don't think we have time to deal with such a small thing."
Shi Hao ignored him, walked into the carriage, subdued the little boy, pressed his neck, and a wave of fighting spirit came out of his hand, knocking him unconscious. Shi Hao carried the unconscious boy out, handed him to a soldier outside the carriage, and said, "Lock him with the prisoners."
At this time, the platoon leader of the cavalry company came over and said, "Report to the regiment commander. Twelve prisoners were found in the cars behind. Three of them were seriously injured, and four were slightly injured. After preliminary questioning, it turned out that most of them were minor officials, stewards, maids, and the like under the viscount."
"How serious is the injury? Is there still hope?" Shi Hao asked.
"It's possible to save him in the river bend, but it's difficult here."
Shi Hao said, "Send them on their way. It's their bad luck. Tie up those who are fine or slightly injured, and push them to the open space behind the small slope with the prisoners. Send a squad of soldiers to guard. If anyone escapes, kill them without mercy."
After Shi Hao finished dealing with them, Leo said, "Captain, although we have all learned how to treat prisoners, I still have to say that our military's rules are too kind. These people are against us, so what if we kill them all?"
"Leo, do you think I hesitated during the battle? Did I not dare to kill anyone? Did I shrink back because I was afraid of hurting ordinary people by mistake?" Shi Hao asked.
"That's not the case." Leo said truthfully, "When you asked us to attack the convoy, you knew that many ordinary people in the convoy would be accidentally injured, but you didn't hesitate at all."
"We have our own system for how to face the enemy during battle and how to treat prisoners and civilians after the war. When fighting, I must ensure that the life and death of our soldiers is the first priority, so I must do my best to strike the enemy. I can only feel regret for accidental injuries. But once the enemy lays down their weapons and they no longer pose a threat to our lives, if we still kill them without hesitation, then we have degenerated into an army like a demon. We cannot lose our bottom line and become such monsters."
"We have armies like this." Leo looked at the prisoners who were being gathered together and said, "I'm afraid these people will cause trouble again in the future."
Shi Hao smiled for the first time on the battlefield: "I heard Xiao Chen say: If our system can't even deal with these surrendered prisoners, then how can we have the confidence to change the world?"