TFA2 8.2 - Return to Castle Lagra
Before Vex returned to earth, Lan Yan'er had a chance to learn how to make spicy wine from him. She had already made it a few times, so she rather adept in making it. And now, she had a good opportunity to share her skill.
Behind a row of Humvee that formed the security parameters, Lan Yan'er was busy preparing a kettle of spicy wine by using ingredient and equipment she found at the camp.
After pouring summer wine into a large kettle, she then added a little nutmeg, dried lemon, cinnamon, along with a lot of raisin, nuts, dried berries, and honey. Then, she hung the kettle above the fire.
Usually, she would take the kettle from the fire when the wine reached a temperature of 80° C. But for now, she let it to boil vigorously until the alcohol content completely evaporated.
Meanwhile, not far from her location, some paramedics bathed the surviving slave children using warm water. They had to clean the salt that coated the slave children's skin because letting it too long on their bodies were no different than marinating them and it could lead into a fatal dehydration
As for their changing clothes, fortunately a lot of TF Amethyst’s personnel brought spare t-shirt, boxer, balaclava, and jacket in their Humvee and they happily gave it to the slave children. Some of them even took initiative to collected gladiator sandals from the dead bodies of Makai Guard's personnel for the slave children.
Of course, the clothes and the gladiator sandals were too big for the slave children, but a few ropes fixed the issue and it was much better compared to the wet rags they wore before.
Coincidently, when Lan Yan'er finished preparing the spicy wine, the surviving slave children also already finished their bath and sat neatly around a camp fire.
At one glance, they looked cute and adorable. However, after a careful observation it was easy to tell that they were too quiet and too gloomy. Moreover, one of the youngest boys were still sobbing weakly.
Wasting no time, Lan Yan'er poured the spicy wine into 14 big wooden mugs and tore 14 big chunks of brown bread.
"Be careful, it's hot."
As she distributed the spicy wine and brown bread, Lan Yan'er gave the surviving slave children gentle reminder. And she immediately breathed a sigh of relief as they enjoy the snack heartily.
'At least, they didn't refuse to eat or drink,' Lan Yan'er muttered inwardly.
At the same time Major Shade approached Lan Yan'er and said, "We already gave the POW water and medical treatment, so we will retreat in a few minutes."
"Understood." Lan Yan'er then looked at the dark sea in the distance and asked, "Did command center had ensured there was no remaining survivor in the water?"
"Reaper already swept the area three times, and found no heat signature."
"I see."
In an instant, Major Shade's reply made Lan Yan'er deeply sighed. Aerial reconnaissance showed that after versus contact with incoming Landing Troop, at least there were 150 slave children and 200 slave women in the water. But only 14 slave children managed to reach the shore alive.
After the slave children finished their snack, the paramedic element then started their retreat. A moment later, Vanguard elements burned the dead bodies and the whole camp. After making sure there was no more resource and construction that could be used by the opposing side, they then retreated and took the role as rear guard.
At first light of dawn, all elements involved in the Oplan Black in The Night were safely passed the defensive point at Railev Pass.
Meanwhile, Battle Group B continued their retreat. Based on their course and direction, it was estimated that their destination was a group of empty island 150 km west of Sandhur Region, where they built their closest logistic and maintenance base.
---
Right after supervising Oplan Black in the Night, Viscount Issel immediately went to storage facility at Castle Lagra. There were a lot of loots that must be organized and he had an urge to check the process before going back to his resident.
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At the backyard of the storage facility, he found Lt. Colonel Slane casually watched the unloading. A smile bloomed in Viscount Issel's lips as he approached Lt. Colonel Slane.
"Sir Slane, I never thought you will supervise the unloading personally."
Lt. Colonel Slane smiled before replied, "Actually, it was an accidental stop. I was on my way to my office when I saw the massive loots and decided to take a closer look."
"I see." As he looked at the huge amount of staple food and construction materials that were being recorded, Viscount Issel continued, "Maybe we can send some of these loots to Kingdom of Buriek?"
"We can, but it’s not wise course of action," Lt. Colonel Slane calmly replied. "Right now, Kingdom of Buriek doesn't lack of food or construction material, so the loot will not mean much while we have to bear expensive shipping cost."
Viscount Issel nodded and then he took a deep breath. "Ser Slane, I'm sorry that for the past few weeks I can't spare my attention to Amethyst Merchant's projects in Sandhur Region."
"Ser Viscount, you had to lead a war so don't worry about anything else." Lt. Colonel Slane confidently smiled before continuing, "Believe me, under my watch Amethyst Merchant will deliver the highest possible prosperity to Sandhur Region."
"Ser Slane, I believe in you," Viscount Issel answered firmly without the slightest of doubt.
Wasting no time, Lt. Colonel Slane then explained the latest progress of Amethyst Projects in Sandhur Region, "Next week, the processing facilities for seafood and other marine products will be ready to operate. As per your request, it will not use workers from Kingdom of Buriek but workers from Tuscan Region and Northern Coalition."
"Glad to hear that."
In an instant a smile full of satisfaction bloomed in Viscount Issel Lips. Even though inwardly, he had difficulty when trying to imagine how dozens of high capacity processing facilities could be built in such a short time.
"As for the other details I will send them to your office in a few days, before I go to Kingdom of Buriek."
"You already planned to go over there?" A big question mark and reluctant were clearly visible Viscount Issel's eyes.
"Amethyst Merchant's projects in Sandhur Region were already on track, so it doesn't need my direct supervision anymore."
Viscount Issel nodded, and then he said with a tone of deep gratitude, "Ser Slane, I will never forget the kindness and hard work you show to Sandhur Region."
Lt. Colonel Slane happily replied, "Ser Viscount, it's a fair business deal so don't be too courteous about it."
"Even so, it's still the greatest kindness that Sandhur Region has ever been received."
Currently, Sandhur Region was suffering from severe population deficiencies, and the majority of its remaining residents were children under ten years old.
However, Viscount Issel could breathe a sigh of relief because the children and the next generations of Sandhur Region would be able to live in prosperity, and one of the biggest contributors for that result was Lt. Colonel Slane.
Lt. Colonel Slane didn't take away the massive gold reserve in Castle Lagra. He said that Amethyst Merchant already satisfied with the winner right from Kingdom of Buriek. The only thing he asked was so that Viscount Issel sold Nouel and rent the Nouel Farmland to Amethyst Merchant.
And surprisingly, he offered a good price if Viscount Issel willing to invest the payment into Amethyst Merchant's project in Sandhur Region. Therefore, it was natural that Viscount Issel had an immeasurable gratitude to him.
---
After the debriefing of Oplan Black in The Night, Lan Yan'er immediately returned to her temporary resident in Castle Lagra. She also brought along the fourteen former slave children and asked Butler Barrie to take care of their accommodation.
After taking a shower she immediately climbed into her bed. In an instant, she felt the wonderful bliss as soon as her body lay on the nice and comfortable bed.
Last night, she arrived at Castle Lagra by bus. She came with one mission, to make sure so that children who would return from Magwurt City in a few days, would smoothly reconnected with their newly built home.
However, she just got off the bus when Major Shade approached her. In a straight forward manner, he explained that a senior assistant surgeon under his command had just resigned from a role to lead a paramedic squad.
The problem was, command center planned to launch the mission in three hours, while decent replacement was only available in Magwurt City or Harley Quinn. It was critical circumstance as losing one paramedics squad could lead into a failure in saving a large number of people.
Without hesitation, Lan Yan'er agreed to become the replacement even though Nate tried to stop her. After making sure Butler Barrie received Erlin, Seira, Keira, and Big Brown, she then attended the final briefing of Oplan Black in The Night. And so, it was easy to imagine how big and heavy the fatigue that accumulated in her body and mind.
Lan Yan'er easily fell asleep and she slept like a log. Until finally, she vaguely heard cheerful laugh of children in the distance. She immediately opened her eyes and checked her watch.
'10:30 am, three hours since I went up to the bed.'
Lan Yan'er then slowly got up and approached the window. Her room was on the second floor of the wing building, so she could easily observe the wide yard in front of maidservant lodging houses.
Dozens of boys were running around, play chase and tag while laughing breathlessly. Meanwhile, dozens of women and girls sat on the terrace and watched the boys with a cheerful smile.
Judging from their clothes and merry expressions, it was easily to conclude that the psychologist team in charge of accompanying the former slave children and slave women did a good job.
"Castle Lagra and Amethyst Merchant Branch Office will take care of them properly," Lan Yan'er muttered as she tried to hold the urge to check the slave women and slave children.
She had her own mission, so she had to maintain her priority. After finishing her daily yoga, Lan Yan'er then went to take a bath. A moment later, she already wore her office outfit and on the way to the living room in the first floor.
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