Chapter 269 265. Sunk costs
This escape incident from the small town of Otaka, which occurred on October 16, was interrupted by the sudden sound of artillery as it was approaching its final stage.
There were five Prussian soldiers left in the south. Now something went wrong. Any fool could guess that they must have been attacked by the Austrian army.
And this was no ordinary artillery attack. The sound of artillery kept dancing on their eardrums. In the first half minute, there was almost no intermission, and the frequency of shelling was comparable to the previous gun battle in front of the church, and slightly less than when the forward troops of the First Army attacked Gablenz.
It feels like a crazy berserker, venting his anger wantonly after encountering his enemy.
The "results" that were about to be obtained were right in front of them, but they were drowned in the bursts of bursts of artillery shells. Mendelstein's heart fell to the bottom. Failure seemed inevitable, but it was too early to give up now: "It turns out this kid is so important."
He had always wondered why the escort had to protect Kavi.
Military doctors and soldiers are both consumables in war, and they are far from the point where a life-saving escort is needed to ensure safety. What's more, the Sixth Army is still fighting on the front line, so it would be strange for such an excellent medical team to be separated from the team for no reason.
Therefore, in his logical thinking, Kawei could not be just a doctor, he should have a second identity. For example, an extremely noble noble, or the heir of an important member of the royal family.
Before, this might have been just a hypothesis, because only in this way could it explain why the other party refused to surrender.
But now, Mendelstein firmly believes in this, because only in this way can we explain why the other party sent such a force to attack the town.
"Company Commander, are they the enemy?" Duke hadn't reacted yet and was squatting in a corner in disbelief. "That shouldn't be the case. Our troops should come first. How could it be the Austrians?"
Mendelstein fixed the bayonet on his rifle: "Don't worry about it."
Duke really couldn't think of the possibility of the First Army's failure: "Did he admit his mistake when they met?"
"Do you think it's possible?"
Duke's face turned cold and he had already realized: "What should we do next?"
"If we escape now, we may still have a chance." Mendelstein looked back at the east path and said, "But escaping means the destruction of the entire company, which is meaningless."
"I understand." Duke also saw that the situation was not good. "With such a scale of artillery fire, there may be more than one regiment of troops coming. The other party will definitely conduct a blanket search, and there is no point in resisting or hiding."
"So I want to live and let those brothers die worthily."
Mendelstein looked at the dark alley not far ahead and said, "We have to get that 'doctor' as soon as possible."
Duke nodded and mounted his bayonet as well.
"Duke, rush in with me!"
"yes!"
Mendelstein's idea was simple.
Kawei has a special status, and there is only one person around him. As long as he gets rid of the commander and captures Kawei, he will have an extra bargaining chip in his hand. At that time, you can choose the method of handling at any time according to the attack speed of the Austrian troops. It would be best if you can escape. If you can't escape, you can also use Kawei as a hostage, but that's not possible.
If it doesn't work, just get rid of this guy. It will definitely be beneficial to Prussia in winning this war.
Changing the established battle target, the two quickly stepped out of the corner and rushed towards the dark alley.
Mendelstein is indeed a very good commander. It is not easy for him to immediately think of a counterattack when the situation is reversed and he is extremely passive.
At this time, Aresta in the dark alley had just analyzed the situation in the town, and had just realized that he should run away to delay time rather than die, when the other party rushed over at full speed.
He raised his gun and fired, but unfortunately the unaimed bullet missed slightly.
Aleister dropped the rifle in his hand, immediately picked up the gun of the dead soldier beside him, and shot again. This time the bullet seemed to hit the soldier next to Mendelstein, but it only hit his shoulder. After staggering two steps, he took another step and continued to rush towards him.
By the time he was about to pick up the third gun, Mendelstein was already within ten steps and had no time to make a shooting move.
Although the opponent was also holding a gun, he had already fixed the bayonet and made no unnecessary movements with his hands. He gripped the barrel of the gun tightly and pointed it toward his stomach.
The three weapons in Aleister's hands were all bare. He had no way to fight back, so he could only dodge with his gun. Unexpectedly, the soldier who had just been shot had guessed his actions long ago, and stepped out from behind Mendelstein. He also made the same assassination move and stabbed his stomach with a knife.
Aleister groaned and took a few steps back against the huge impact. After releasing the force, he threw his hand and hit the opponent's head with the butt of the gun.
However, the opponent reacted quickly and kicked him in the abdomen, relying on the rebound force to dodge the blow.
At this time, the three of them had entered the dark alley. The narrow street made it impossible for Mendelstein to fight with Duke and could only stand behind him. Aleister was kicked to the ground, but he just put some distance between himself and the opponent.
The opportunity was fleeting. He endured the wound on his stomach and raised his gun to shoot.
The bullet shot directly through Duke's left chest, and blood quickly poured out. But before Aleister could be thankful that he had hit the vital point, the bloody bayonet he had just pulled out passed through the smoke raised by the gunpowder and struck again.
"ah!!!"
This time, there was the ground behind him, and there was no way to reduce the damage by offloading force. The severe pain forced him to shout, and at the same time he threw the butt of his gun and hit Duke on the head.
"Duke, get out of the way and let me come!"
Maybe the damage from the shot just now was too high, so Duke didn't hide or give in. Instead, he lay on Aleister's body and continued to perform the thrusting and pulling movements while holding his last breath. In just ten seconds, one skull exploded, and the other one was pierced into a sieve, and they fell into a pool of blood.
Mendelstein glanced at his subordinates, raised his gun and pointed it at Kavi, who was not far away: "Follow me, I won't embarrass you."
Kawei had no choice. He was exhausted and didn't have their fighting qualities, so he had no choice but to give in.
"The sound of gunfire has stopped." Mendelstein frowned, stepped forward to grab Kawei and ran out of the alley, "Don't resist, and don't have any thoughts of escaping, otherwise I'm not sure what I will do. Come."
"I understand." Kavi followed him and stepped over Aleister's body, "Where are you taking me?"
"Go back to the First Army Headquarters." Mendelstein did not hide his destination. "Don't worry, your surgical skills are so good, no one will make things difficult for you. Of course, the premise is that you guarantee it."
As soon as he stepped out of the alley, before he could finish his words, he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the town entrance to the east. As the captain of the cavalry, Mendelstein quickly guessed the number of people on the other side, and his head buzzed.
This must have come too quickly.
But in fact, this speed is what the small town of Otaka should look like.
It takes less than 5 minutes to run a 10-minute journey in front of the hooves of military horses. A division-level force with a large number of cavalry can surround Otaka in the blink of an eye.
"Prussian soldiers spotted ahead!!!"
With a few words and a few gunshots, the soldier guarding the east side was easily dispatched.
Mendelstein realized that he would definitely not be able to run away, so he removed his bayonet, held Kavra in front of him, and walked slowly towards the opponent's cavalry team: "Whether I survive or not depends on you. If you dare to move, , I will slit your throat!"
Twenty minutes later, the commander of the force that surrounded the town received a battle report.
"Forty Prussian soldiers were found in the town, of which 5 surrendered, 8 were injured, and the rest died. 13 of our soldiers were all killed. In addition, Dr. Kavi's medical team was also found, of which 8 were injured and 2 die."
"Are they really here?" the commander was very excited. "Where is Kawei? Where is Kawei?"
"He" the cavalry captain sighed, "he is still alive, but he was taken hostage by a Prussian officer."
"Where are the people?"
The captain waved behind him, and Mendelstein and Kavi in front of him came to him surrounded by everyone: "Can't you step back a little? The pipe is almost on my head!"
As he spoke, he exerted slight force on his hand, and the bayonet blade slowly embedded itself into the skin on Kavi's neck.
"Everyone stand back."
The commander glanced at Kawei, and then asked him: "What's your name?"
"Mendenstein, commander of the cavalry reconnaissance company of the First Prussian Army, rank of captain."
"First Army. Prince Karl's team?"
".right."
"Do you know where your first army is?" The commander pointed to the woods to the west. "It retreated to Gablenz the day before yesterday."
"What?"
Mendelstein could not accept this fact and felt that the other party was deceiving him: "How could we withdraw our troops? This is impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"If they don't withdraw their troops, why am I here?" The commander smiled and asked, "Stop beating around the bush and state your request. I will meet your request and then release him immediately. !”
Mendelstein took two deep breaths, calmed down, and said, "I'm going to take him away from here, and I'll let him come back when I'm at a certain distance from you."
"This is impossible." The commander shook his head. "He must stay here, alive."
"Then it's non-negotiable."
Mendelstein was already prepared, but the other party didn't follow the routine: "I didn't say I wouldn't let you go."
".What did you say?"
"I will let you leave, including the few surrendered and injured Prussian soldiers." The commander said, "Of course the weapons must be left behind, and I cannot give you horses. At most, I will send you some dry food and water for your use on the road."
This is indeed the best solution at the moment, but unfortunately Mendelstein does not believe it: "I can't believe you."
The commander smiled, took out his pistol from his pocket, and put it on his forehead: "I'm not negotiating terms with you. You have no choice at all. I pity you now and want to let you and your family go." The dog has a way out. Of course you have the right to give up, and I will smash your head in the first place."
Mendelstein also wanted to use Kawei to fight for the right to speak, but the other party did not give him a chance to speak: "As for him, your knife will not kill him. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because the best surgeon in Austria is in the medical team, he can sew this wound immediately." The commander said with a smile, "Of course, in the end, it depends on whether your knife is faster or my bullet. quick."
It seems that his guess is correct. The reason why Kawei is so important is entirely because of his second identity. Perhaps because of personal interest or for experience, he and his teacher came to the Pu-Austrian battlefield.
As for whether the wound could be treated, he actually didn't need to think too much. The tracheotomy performed by Kawei on Opal and the surgery on Craig's thigh had already proved this.
"Are you really willing to let us go?"
"My patience is very limited, I can only count to 3." The commander stared at his right hand holding the bayonet, "12"
"Okay, I accept your conditions!" Mendelstein slowly removed the bayonet in his hand and took two steps back. "Please make sure to abide by your promise and let me and my soldiers leave here. "
The commander stepped aside from Kavi, took away his bayonet, and put down his gun: "Prepare dry food and water for them."
Surrounding the town of Otaka was the reinforcements returning from Italy, commanded by Count Morasso who followed Maximilian. After hearing the news that Kawei was missing, he sent a large number of scouts to look for him around.
Fortunately, the town is not too remote and not far from the Sixth Army's station, but its location is very ambiguous.
In order to achieve his goal, Morazo sent half a cavalry regiment, two infantry regiments, and dozens of artillery.
"What a big deal, Mr. Earl." Kawei also rode on a horse, looked at the mighty troops around him, and said with emotion, "They made such a big move just for me."
"It's just a small town that only needs one cavalry company. The rest are to prepare for sneak attacks on the other side. You don't understand this." The count looked at him, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. , "Haven't you been staying in the north? Why are you here?"
Kawei recounted Archduke Brecht's letter, but Morasso couldn't help it: "Oh, it's really troublesome!"
"When I get back to the station, I have to leave for Olmitz as soon as possible. It's too chaotic here." Kawei is still frightened by what happened before, and he doesn't know what to say to the guards who have all died. " If they hadn't protected me, I might have been a prisoner."
"If you think too much, there will be no peace on the northern front." Morasso said, "If the attack on the western front is blocked, they will definitely change the direction of their main attack. Olmitz is much closer to Vienna than the western front. .”
(End of chapter)
