Field Marshal Wellesley's ambush was a major success. The Gu soldiers were being massacred. Their chain of command was in disarray. Prince Gu Yichen was confirmed to be dead. Prince Gu San-Tong was living his last seconds in agony as he bled out on the beach. Stetson and a few Veiled Soldiers were surrounded.
The battleships of the Gu Navy had lost their admiral, and they were unsure of what to do now. There were two options presented to them by Prince Gu San-Tong's first mate. They could either fire upon the beach and inflict as many casualties as possible, or they could flee. Bear in mind, they did not know what was happening on the beach, but all they could see was their soldiers under attack.
San-Tong's first mate peered through his bronze spyglass to see how bad the situation was. He was horrified to see his princes dead. Their soldiers were being slaughtered without a second thought. Even the soldiers who were trying to surrender could not escape death; a small few chose to kill themselves and go out on their own terms.
"They are devils," whispered the first mate. After seeing the devastation and cruelty inflicted on his countrymen, he did not feel anger or hatred; he felt fear. There was no telling what would happen to their ships if they lingered near the coast.
"We must return to Simbar. If we can return with our fleet intact, the king will be merciful," the first mate said, trying to justify his reason for fleeing. At the first mate's command, all the ships began to flee back to their home, abandoning what remained of their ground forces.
The ships sailed away, causing those scrambling to the rowboats on the beach to distress. Soldiers cried out for the ships to save them, but their pleas remained unheard. In the end, they were doomed to death or capture.
Out of the 250,000 infantrymen, 10,000 cavalrymen and 500 guns brought by the Kingdom of Gu, only 40,000 infantrymen, 2,000 cavalrymen were captured. All 500 of the artillery pieces had been captured, and only 200 of the cannon crews remained alive. Amongst the captured men were Stetson and 50 Veiled Soldiers.
"What a haul of prisoners," quipped Field Marshal Wellesley as he inspected them. All the prisoners were rounded up into smaller groups guarded by the Luxenberg soldiers. Some of the prisoners were already bound in irons, while others had been tied together with rope.
"Field Marshal, what should we do with such an abundance of prisoners? Our dungeons would not be able to hold such a bountiful haul," said General Kamensky. They could not accommodate such a large quantity of prisoners. If they were intent on keeping all of the prisoners, they would need the assistance of the nearest cities to help deal with them.
While Field Marshal Wellesley was assessing the prisoners, one man caught his attention. He did not look like the rest of the prisoners. His features were similar to people from the continent of Bulgar. His hair was curly and green, a colour that matched his emerald eyes.
"You must be Stetson Fontaine. I am Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Osterbon and a loyal commander in the Luxenberg Army. It is a pleasure to finally meet you," the Field Marshal said while maintaining a cheerful, almost snobbish smile.
Stetson glared at the Field Marshal with disdain before spitting on his boots. He did not utter a word or lash out in a crazed manner. This was disappointing for Arthur Wellesley; he was hoping for some amusement. Despite his disappointment, the Field Marshal ordered his soldiers to escort him back to the city immediately. His value as a prisoner was immense. King Victor would relish the opportunity to get his hands on him.
"What about the rest of the prisoners of the prisoners, Field Marshal?" Asked General Kamensky. For a moment, the Field Marshal was contemplating whether he should just execute them all or not; however, he did not want to risk angering his King. As a result, the Field Marshal ordered a more humane approach to their problem.
"Escort as many as you can to the dungeons, prioritise officers and their elites. We will build temporary cages for the rest. Any of the prisoners who are unharmed or have suffered minor injuries will be transported to Inglefeller as soon as the soldiers are rested."
General Kamensky and General Hill carried out the Field Marshal's orders immediately. They began to organise the prisoners into categories: Those who were too injured to be transported. Those who were able to walk and sustain a long journey. And those who were important enough to be locked away in the Osterbon dungeon.
The Luxenberg soldiers worked diligently in handling this matter. Cages were constructed by the day's end. Thousands of Gu soldiers were crammed into these cages with little room to sit down. It was a tad inhumane, but it was still better than massacring them.
After two days, General Kamensky and General Hill both led detachments of their corps to Amsardam and Inglefeller. Osterbon was filled with 10,000 prisoners, while two groups of 5,000 prisoners were escorted to neighbouring cities. The rest of the prisoners remained in the cages. Some of the heavily wounded prisoners had died while in captivity, so there was slightly more room to move around in the cages.
Five days later, Grand Admiral Horatio Nelson's fleet had arrived in Osterbon with reinforcements. To their surprise, they were welcomed by the sight of an enormous number of prisoners. There were no enemy ships nearby, and the corpses of both princes were resting in the city's palace.
"It seems our help was not required. Good work, Field Marshal Wellesley. You have done this kingdom a great service. I will assign Marshal Lefebvre and his corps to help deal with the prisoners. My corps and the Grand Admiral's fleet will return to Hannover in a few days with the two corpses of the princes and Stetson Fontaine." Said Field Marshal Schwarzenberg.
Arthur Wellesley nodded and thanked Karl-Philipp Schwarzenberg for the praise. He also assisted in resupplying Grand Admiral Nelson's fleet, for soon they would return to Hannover with good news.
However, Victor was already aware of the victory thanks to the system.