I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 189 The Captain's Fantastic Journey (Part )
Captured?

Bock never thought that such a day would come, and he never imagined that he would have the luxury of freedom during his first prisoner of war.

He followed his good friend Captain Carl out of the military tent and went outside.

"Fresh air."

Bock breathed greedily and looked around.

It was daytime now, the sun was hanging high in the sky, casting dappled light and shadows through the cracks in the camp. Judging from the intensity of the sunlight, it should be close to noon. He recalled the time when he encountered the battle, which was also close to noon.

So, I was unconscious for a day?
Bock's eyes swept over the surrounding environment. This was a temporary camp surrounded by wooden fences. There were about twenty people moving around freely in the camp, and there was no one guarding outside the wooden fence, so there was no strict atmosphere of a prisoner-of-war camp here.

There are some simple tents and wooden houses in the camp, and a small stream flows by. Under the awning beside the cold stream with a little snow floating on it, there are three large pots, cooking something with a gurgling sound. The aroma is very fragrant in the rolling steam.

Carl took Bock into the cauldron. The man in white clothes and a strange cylindrical hat who was stirring the iron pot with a big spoon looked up at the two of them. He didn't say anything, but his eyes and expression were very obvious.

What to do?

"Give me a bowl... My brother just woke up and hasn't eaten yet."

The man in charge of the meal didn't say anything. He just took the bowl and spoon from Carl's hand and threw it into the stream beside him, letting the prisoners squatting on the ground wash it.

Then he turned around and grabbed a handful of ingredients that looked like a mixture of grains and dehydrated vegetables from the basket beside him, and threw them into the boiling pot. The pot was steaming, and the ingredients were rolling in the pot, emitting an enticing aroma.

After grumbling for a few minutes, the bowl thrown to the prisoners was washed. The man took the bowl, stirred it a few times with a spoon, then scooped out a bowl of steaming thick soup from the pot and handed it to Carl.

During this process, Bock couldn't help but glance at the man squatting by the stream. He remembered the latter's face. This should be a sergeant in Carl's hunting company. He had a somewhat fierce personality and was a good soldier. How could he become like this?
He squatted obediently by the stream and washed dishes with ice water, like a guard dog.

"Drink."

Carl touched Bock's hand with the bowl, waking him from his daze. He took the steaming bowl and looked down. The bowl was filled with brown sticky liquid with some vegetable fragments floating on the surface. When he stirred it with a spoon, he could also scoop out visible minced meat, as well as grains such as corn and oats.

He wanted to observe more, but the experience of being hungry for three days and his stomach's current protest made Bock unable to resist food. He picked up the spoon and put it into his mouth carefully.

The soup tasted unexpectedly good. The mixture of grains and vegetables was cooked soft and sticky in the hot soup. Although there was not much minced meat, it added a bit of freshness. This simple bowl of thick soup blossomed on Bock's taste buds, making him feel a long-lost warmth.

Soon, the bowl of thick soup was gone. Just as Bock licked his lips and tried to scrape up the last bit of soup at the bottom of the bowl with a spoon to eat it, his friend next to him snatched the bowl away, turned around with a flattering smile, and said to the man in charge of the bowl.

"Another bowl, please?"

The man remained silent, but took the large bowl and filled it with soup. Carl took the bowl with both hands and handed it to Bock.

Standing by the awning, Bock drank three bowls of thick soup in succession before he finally felt full. Carl then took him back. On the way back to the tent, Bock saw the gate of the camp. There was nothing outside the gate and no one was standing guard.

There were two prisoners lying on the grass by the door, basking in the sun lazily, but with no intention of getting up and leaving.

This scene made Bock have many questions, but he held back. He knew that in this unfamiliar environment, any unnecessary action might cause unnecessary trouble. He followed Carl back to the tent silently, but his mind was thinking rapidly.

After entering the tent and lowering the door curtain to block the view from the outside, Bock whispered to his friend.

"What happened?" "We were captured."

"Are we really captured?"

Bock's eyes widened. He turned his head and looked around. Although the layout of the tent was simple, it was not dirty. The simplicity revealed a sense of haste as if it were built temporarily, but at least it was tidy.

Some simple luggage and personal belongings were piled in the corner of the tent. Bock even saw two captain's sabers among the pile of things. One of the sabers had two familiar scars on its scabbard, which was obviously his own.

After discovering this fact, Captain Bock didn't know what to say.

"Karl, tell me, what happened to us and where are we?"

Carl scratched his head. He didn't know how to explain it. Things were very complicated.

"We were indeed captured. This place is about ten kilometers away from King's Plains... As for this camp, it is indeed a prisoner-of-war camp, but there are no guards, and food and accommodation are provided. If anyone wants to leave, just tell the camp cook, and he will provide travel expenses."

"what?"

Bock opened his eyes wide with an expression of disbelief. He could hardly believe his ears. It sounded like a dream.

"what's going on?"

Bock asked again incredulously.

Carl scratched his head hard, turned around twice, sighed deeply, and scratched his hair hard.

"I told you all the information about Watradnoy."

"Ah, you're a traitor!?"

Bock jumped up suddenly and looked at his friend in disbelief, but he didn't expect the latter to stare at him as well.

"Do you think I'm the one who betrayed the country, or did the Republic betray us? I was given a bunch of hungry soldiers, some scrap metal, and then they ran to the mountains to practice sniping without enough food or clothes..."

Having said that, Bock let go of Carl's hand and was speechless.

“Besides, the person who came here wasn’t an enemy, but Prince Chris… I have done my duty, and it’s not my fault that I couldn’t complete the mission.

On the night you were unconscious, other captains came over without firing a shot. Some of them even surrendered and have already taken Prince Chris's troops to Waterradnoy."

Carl said as he stepped forward and patted Bock on the shoulder.

"The Republic...is finished."

"Then why didn't you tell me this when we were in Waterradnoy?"

"Then I don't know how you, the military academy's top swordsman, could be defeated by an enemy scout captain? You've already lost, and if I don't find a reason to convince myself to surrender, then aren't we all doomed?"

(End of this chapter)