novelraw Chapter 414 : Hospital Knights
Chapter 414 : Hospital Knights
Chapter 414: Hospital Knights
“Nora wants to follow us to the Northlands?” Alexei widened his eyes.
“What’s so surprising about that?” Hughes laughed. “Do you really take her for a martyr? Even martyrs can have their uses.”
“You mean—”
“She herself was a Northlander. Her understanding of the situation there ran far deeper than ours, not to mention that she had personally fought against the soldiers of those Grand Dukes. Think about how much her advice at the front line could help us.”
Alexei took a deep breath and nodded. “Indeed, that was my oversight.”
“And if some Northland refugees had managed to survive, she could serve as a banner, helping us gather them together.”
Hughes stood up and gazed out the window. His eyes swept past the machine-gun bunkers on top of the church, across the northern seaport crowded with ships, and stretched all the way toward the Northlands.
After all, the Holy Guard had no roots in the Northlands. Even with the aid and supplies brought by armored trains, they were practically blind to the local situation.
But with Nora’s help, they could rally some among the refugees, even among the commonfolk of the Four Northern Territories, which would save them a great deal of trouble.
As for whether they could rally them or not?
That did not worry Hughes. Castel planned to use the most base method to draw in the poor—by giving them food.
The Mystics could form a cult out of nothing with just a bowl of porridge, and people would chant devoutly even the most haphazardly made-up doctrines.
Warm porridge was more sacred than a lofty god.
Even Hughes had not stripped away Josh’s title of High Priest—nor could he. Josh’s position did not come from an official appointment but from the devotion granted by the Mystics’ believers.
Hughes retracted his gaze and turned back to Alexei. “And seeing the downfall of her enemies with her own eyes would make Nora happy too.”
Alexei nodded solemnly.
The recruitment for the Expeditionary Army was in full swing, and the Banshees’ War Correspondent Team had truly begun selecting people.
“This time we only have twenty slots. If you want to join, come to me to sign up.” Nini crossed her six arms in pairs and looked at the Banshees in front of her.
“What? Only twenty?”
“How is that enough?”
“What do we do? Fight it out?”
“If we’re going to fight, there has to be rules. What, just a brawl? Do you trust Monica not to use bombs, or do you trust me to beat Ash?”
“Nini, you went to Lord Castellan and only managed to get this? Everyone wants to go to the Northlands to report, what can twenty people do?”
Nini coughed lightly, pretending to be serious, but quickly put her hands on her waist with a grin.
“Lord Castellan only restricted the number of correspondents, not anything else.”
“Heh, you think we didn’t think of that? I already asked. Recruitment for the Holy Guard and workers is off limits to us!”
“But heading to the Northlands isn’t limited to just those.” Nini glanced at the group. “I checked the Eleven Regulations—doctors aren’t restricted.”
Doctors indeed had no restrictions, because Castel had far too few qualified ones.
Medicine was a systemic discipline. Unlike industry, where the technology tree could be forced upward, Hughes’s bits of modern knowledge were useless here.
Unless he could bring over an entire framework of modern medical theory—but in his previous life, he had been an engineer, not a doctor.
Currently, throughout all of Castel, only Richard was capable of leading medical research, but he was tied up with improving the Dragon’s Breath Cannon and had no extra manpower.
Hughes had already started building a medical system, but they were still a long way from training qualified doctors. All they could spread were some basic concepts of sterilization and first aid.
And that gap was exactly what Nini had her eyes on.
“But we don’t know medicine. If we start treating people blindly, won’t that cause trouble?”
“Hmph! Just flip through the shared files in Mind Link. I uploaded an entire battlefield medical manual. As long as you follow it, you’ll pass Richard’s medical team assessment!”
Would checking a medical book during treatment really work?
For most, it would be too late. But for the Banshees, it was actually fine.
Their multitasking ability was simply too outstanding. They could observe the patient, flip through the medical handbook, and consult other Banshees about the case—all at once.
Richard did not care whether these Banshees crammed last minute or not. Passing his test meant they could save lives on the battlefield, whether from memory or from reference.
The Banshees exchanged glances and saw the same excitement in each other’s eyes.
“Good idea, good idea!”
“That’s brilliant!”
“As expected of Nini, only she could think of this!”
“Compared to Nini, Monica is nothing!”
Nini’s rattlesnake-like tail was already curling upward. She proudly lifted her head. “We can even apply for some weapons and equipment. After all, battlefield doctors need to protect themselves!”
“That makes sense. If we kill all the enemies, our comrades won’t get hurt!”
“As long as we charge fast enough, death won’t catch up to us!”
The Banshees grew more and more excited in their discussion.
Before long, a new application was placed on Hughes’s desk. At just one glance, he buried his face in pain.
“The medical squad is overstaffed by eighty Banshees? And they all passed the assessment?”
Richard helplessly wiped his monocle. “That’s right. I can assure you they absolutely meet the definition of battlefield doctors, and in fact, they treat faster than doctors trained long-term.”
“I don’t care about that. As long as they can treat, whether they’re Banshees or humans, it makes no difference to me.” Hughes sighed and pointed to another part of the report. “But why are there five hundred Dragon’s Breath Cannons under medical equipment?”
Nini chuckled awkwardly on the side.
“Ahem, medical equipment, medical equipment—”
“What kind of illness can this treat? Forget it. But five hundred cannons? All six of your hands are holding cannons now—do you still have hands left to treat?”
“Lord Castellan, you’re thinking about this the wrong way.” Nini straightened with excitement. “If we kill all the enemies, our comrades won’t be wounded. Six cannons each—that’s the best treatment!”
Even Richard could not stand this anymore. He turned his head away, pretending to study the orientation of the machine-gun bunkers on the opposite wall.
“And what’s this about applying to form an independent unit, acting separately?”
“That’s for cluster charges.” Nini nodded confidently. “As long as we charge fast enough, death won’t catch up to me or my comrades.”
Military merits probably wouldn’t catch up either.
Hughes was speechless.
“Why don’t you just call yourselves the Hospital Knights.”
Nini’s eyes lit up. “Great name.”
Hughes sighed, flipping through the application. “Why isn’t Monica in here?”
“Mm, she didn’t apply as a battlefield doctor. Looks like she doesn’t plan to go to the Northlands.”
Cold sweat nearly broke down Hughes’s back. “She’s not going? Impossible. She must have thought up another sinister idea!”