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- Halt. - On the next tile, Eugene commanded. - It's unwise to go further; we've strayed too far from camp, and along this entire path we've encountered nothing worthy of attention. There's no reason to believe the road ahead will be any different.
- My lord! - Rgoktes was angered by what he heard. - If we turn back now, it will mean we wasted all those supplies on the way here! And that we wasted... Committed such an inhumane deed for nothing.
- Will I get to hear reasonable arguments, or is that all you have?
- Besides... Besides, perhaps just a few steps ahead, food and a place to rest await us! That would solve nearly all of our squad's problems.
- Your fantasies won't quell hunger. Anything else?
Rgoktes looks at Stefania with a pleading gaze.
— There is a grain of truth in each of your words, — Stefania, who had been indifferent until now, intervened. — On one hand, our supplies are dwindling rather quickly, there are no new ones along the way, and ahead lies uncertainty that could end in a dead end and an expansion of the ogre diet. On the other — behind us is literally a man-devouring void, where someone will have to die again. Two chairs, and both are extremely unpleasant.
Stefania paused briefly. In truth, she had already been thinking about the way back herself, given that her supplies had thinned the most, and a few more such routes would essentially lead to her demise. So she was mulling over scenarios for retreat. And it seemed her thoughts had now ripened into something worthwhile:
— If we do turn back, we have two scenarios. In the first, we kill the redfaces, process them into provisions, and continue on. In the second — we kill them again, then resurrect them, or immediately wound them non-lethally to take them prisoner and use them to get through that zone where half the squad must be killed. The conditions didn't say we can't sacrifice slaves, so there shouldn't be any problems.
Stefania's voice did not tremble, but she didn't look emotionless either. She simply no longer wanted to suffer losses among her own people. Despite really wanting to see her colleagues and Lord Adalard, overall she would have preferred the first scenario, for leading Eugene back to camp right now seemed very dangerous to her. The second problem — in light of recent events, she wasn't even sure the camp was still intact and its inhabitants alive. In this damned Ikazkan, anything could happen. And even now, a sword could fall from above at any second and crush her or Eugene, which would mean inevitable defeat for the rest.
— Naturally, along the way these redfaces will have to be not exploded but specifically struck, because without their bodies they're useless. Unless, of course, Lord Eugene can selectively blow up the excess ones, but those are subtleties I don't understand so well. Also, if the meat is edible after all, the idea with the captive freaks can be used for the scenario of further exploration of the area as well. Nothing stops us from killing them along the way, cooking them, and consuming them. That's probably even better than returning to camp empty-handed, where the only valuable information to report is the zone our army must not cross, and the demise of Dalias Galiot's squad along with its commander.
