Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 266 Battlefield Medicine
"The most urgent task at hand is to find a way to fill the gap in medical resources caused by the isolation of the Blood Oath Order. The presence of the Blood Oath Order in the Mariupol sector has resulted in a limited number of medical orders. Even though the State Church has been urgently dispatching personnel, the huge shortage of medical resources remains a problem." At the expeditionary force's military conference, a group of high-ranking officers were meeting with furrowed brows.

Although there are many corrupt elements in the Imperial Army, those who climbed to high positions through family connections or bribery and those odd officers who can't even remember basic tactical instructions are indeed numerous in the Imperial Defense Force.

Fortunately, within the decaying and enormous machine of the human empire, some gears still diligently continue to operate.

At least within the expeditionary force, the presence of two lordly judges ensured that bureaucratic parasites accustomed to shirking responsibility dared not appear in the expeditionary force's command center.

Chen Xi focused his main energy on commanding the overall operations of the expeditionary force, while another lord, Inquisitor Alfred Wayne, was mainly responsible for assisting Chen Xi in eliminating the "stagnant blood" in the expeditionary force's command chain.

Thanks to Inquisitor Wayne's efficient and decisive work style, the expeditionary force's combat efficiency was able to be maintained at a satisfactory level.

After the corruption network in the logistics supply line was eradicated, supplies that were always delayed are now always delivered to the front line on time.

When a regimental commander was found to have falsified casualty figures to embezzle death benefits, Judge Wayne replaced the entire regiment's officer corps in just three hours.

Chen Xi was naturally happy to entrust this kind of judge's job to this experienced "colleague," since he wasn't a real judge and often couldn't bring himself to be so ruthless. Moreover, he wasn't as experienced as Judge Wayne.

But right now, even the notoriously ruthless Inquisitor Wayne is having a headache over the Blood Oath Order.

Dealing with the Blood Oath Order's accusations of heresy was not difficult in itself; it was just another routine purge.

The judges have handled countless similar cases, from the infiltration of the Genestealer cult to the corruption of the Chaos cult, and each time they have brought them to a swift and decisive end.

But what's truly troublesome is never the killing itself, but the vacuum left behind after the killing.

Especially now, as the expeditionary force prepares to deal with the Necromancer Dynasty's attack, they need sufficient medical resources, skilled medical personnel, and a stable battlefield first aid system. Otherwise, the entire army's combat effectiveness will be like that of a giant bleeding from small wounds, and it will eventually weaken and die.

Although the empire would continue the war without sufficient medical resources, only suffering greater casualties, who would be willing to squander the Emperor's currency if it were not necessary?

Every soldier is an asset of the empire, and every drop of blood should be shed for the emperor's great cause, not left to die because of a lack of medical resources.

“We cannot simply send the Emperor’s warriors to the battlefield.” The deep voice of the Cardinal of the State Church echoed in the meeting room. His aged fingers gripped the miniature shrine symbolizing faith tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. “The lack of sufficient medical resources is tantamount to sending the expeditionary force to their deaths.”

Despite the scandal involving the Blood Oath Order that tarnished the reputation of the State Church, and despite the possibility that he himself might be summoned back to the Sector Capital for questioning, he remained steadfast in his position that the lives of Imperial soldiers should not be treated so lightly.

"But right now we simply can't find enough medical personnel to fill the massive logistical needs of the expeditionary force. This is battlefield medical emergency care for nearly ten million people. Without Blood Oath medical personnel, the wounded simply cannot receive effective treatment!" an Astral Army staff officer shouted, clearly trying to fight for better treatment for his comrades. No one wanted to return to the rear with a battered body after fighting under physically deadly firepower, only to find that even the most basic painkillers had been exhausted.

No one wants to watch their brothers and comrades suffer from infected and festering wounds, hear them wail in pain, and watch the blood drain away while waiting for death to slowly descend.

But reality is reality—without sufficient medical resources, the casualties of the expeditionary force will multiply. Unless… unless Chen Xi is willing to lift the quarantine on the Blood Oath Order, temporarily set aside the accusations of heresy, and allow them to resume their medical work.

But that was absolutely impossible. The Inquisition would never compromise in the face of accusations of heresy. Chen Xi could not risk exposing the entire expeditionary force to the dangers of Chaos Contamination, even if it meant more soldiers would die from lack of medical care.

The meeting thus reached a stalemate.

At this moment, Chen Xi suddenly had an idea. He tapped the table to attract everyone's attention before looking at the Space Marine chapter commanders and asking them, "Can the Astartes Chapter lend us an apothecary?"

“Yes, but it’s a drop in the ocean and not very meaningful.” Marshal Mordreck nodded and then shook his head, then explained: “Although one warband pharmacist is equivalent to dozens of ordinary doctors, a warband only has a dozen or so pharmacists at most. Considering the warband’s own needs, a warband can only spare a few pharmacists at most. This number is simply not enough to support a large field medical system.”

Aside from certain chapters, most Space Marines have the administrative capacity to serve as governors of a planet, but they don't usually do so.

For Marshal Modrek, it took him less than a nanosecond to come up with the answer.

However, Chen Xi didn't take this seriously, and simply asked Marshal Mordreck, "So how many apothecaries can you lend out? Apprentices are also acceptable."

Upon hearing Chen Xi's words, Mordrek and several chapter leaders discussed the matter briefly before giving a rather limited answer: "About twenty to thirty apothecaries. If you, Lord Chen Xi, truly require assistance, I can request aid from the Imperial Fist, which should be able to assemble a batch of medical resources."

“Not for now. I will ask for help if there is really no other way.” Chen Xi declined Mordreck’s offer and then announced his decision: “I would like to ask each battle group to select some pharmacists and have them compile a simple battlefield medical manual based on the situations that may be encountered on the current battlefield.”

The content doesn't need to be highly technical, but at the very least, it must ensure that those who receive the manual can provide first aid for potential battlefield injuries, with the standard being to prevent death and deterioration.

After speaking, Chen Xi looked at the Astral Army's Lord General and the State Church's Cardinal Bishop and said to them, "The Astral Army should select a group of soldiers with a certain level of education and intelligence from each regiment, and the State Church should also select a group of young priests who are willing to practice medicine. Together, they should be given to the pharmacists for battlefield medical training, and they should learn how to treat mild to moderate injuries in the field."

You don't need to understand the principles; just being able to follow the operating procedures to treat injuries should solve some of the problems.

The aliens haven't attacked yet, so we must hurry and set up a working medical system! We can't let people die from holding their pee!

(End of this chapter)