"The most pressing task right now is to find a way to fill the gap in medical resources caused by the Blood Oath Society's isolation. Due to the Blood Oath Society's presence, the medical branch of the Ecclesiarchy in the Mariupol Sector isn't very strong. Even though the Ecclesiarchy is urgently dispatching personnel, the huge shortage of medical resources remains a problem."
During the Expeditionary Force's military meeting, the high-ranking officials were all frowning with worry.
Although there were many parasites in the Imperial Army, those who climbed to high positions through family connections or bribery, and those bizarre officers who couldn't even remember basic tactical commands, were indeed numerous in the Imperial Defense Force.
But thankfully, in the decaying colossal machine that is the Imperium of Man, some cogs were still diligently performing their duties.
At least within the Expeditionary Force, with the deterrence of two Lord Inquisitors, those bureaucratic parasites accustomed to shirking responsibility would never dare appear in the Expeditionary Force's command center.
Alex's main energy was focused on commanding the overall operations of the Expeditionary Force, while the other Lord Inquisitor, Inquisitor Wien, had primarily been assisting Alex in purging the unqualified "stagnant blood" from the Expeditionary Force's command chain during this period.
It was also thanks to Inquisitor Wien's efficient and decisive work style that the Expeditionary Force's operational efficiency could be maintained at a satisfactory level.
After the corruption network on the logistics supply line was uprooted, materials that were always delayed now always arrived at the front lines on time.
When a regimental commander was found to be falsely reporting casualty numbers to embezzle death benefits, Inquisitor Wien only took three hours to completely overhaul the officer roster of the entire regiment.
For such an Inquisitor's inherent duty, Alex was naturally happy to hand the matter over to this experienced "colleague"; after all, he was not a true Inquisitor, and many times he couldn't be as ruthless, nor was his work experience as extensive as Inquisitor Wien's.
But now, even Inquisitor Wien, known for his iron fist, was equally troubled by the Blood Oath Society's situation.
Handling the heresy charges against the Blood Oath Society itself was not difficult; it was merely another routine purge.
Inquisitors had dealt with countless similar cases, from the infiltration of Genestealer cults to the corruption by Chaos cultists, and each time they could end it with thunderous means.
But what was truly thorny was never the killing itself, but the vacuum left behind after the killing.
Especially now, the Expeditionary Force was preparing to counter the Necron Dynasty's attack. They needed sufficient medical resources, skilled medical personnel, and a stable battlefield emergency medical system. Otherwise, the combat effectiveness of the entire army would be like a giant bleeding from small wounds, eventually weakening and dying.
Although the Imperium would continue this war even without sufficient medical resources, merely enduring greater casualties, if unnecessary, who would be willing to squander the God-Emperor's currency like this?
Every soldier was an asset to the Imperium, and every drop of blood should flow for the Emperor's great cause, not for them to die waiting because of insufficient medical resources.
"We cannot just send the God-Emperor's warriors to the battlefield like this," the Ecclesiarchy's Cardinal Bishop's deep voice echoed in the conference room. His aged fingers clutched tightly at the miniature reliquary symbolizing faith, his knuckles white from the effort. "Lacking sufficient medical resources is tantamount to sending the Expeditionary Force to their deaths."
Despite the Blood Oath Society scandal causing the Ecclesiarchy to lose face, and despite the fact that he himself might be recalled to the Star Sector Capital for questioning, he still maintained his stance: the lives of Imperial soldiers should not be so lightly regarded.
"But right now, we truly cannot find enough medical personnel to fill the vast logistics of the Expeditionary Force. This is battlefield emergency medical care for nearly ten million people. Without the Blood Oath Society's medical personnel, the wounded simply cannot receive effective treatment!" an Astra Militarum staff officer shouted loudly, clearly wanting to secure better treatment for his brothers in arms.
No one wanted to return to the rear with shattered bodies after fighting under physically life-threatening terrifying firepower, only to find that even the most basic painkillers had run out.
No one wanted to watch their brothers in arms rot away from infected wounds, listening to them wail in pain, yet only being able to watch the blood drain from their wounds and wait for death to slowly arrive.
But reality was reality—without sufficient medical resources, the Expeditionary Force's casualty figures would skyrocket. Unless… unless Alex was willing to lift the isolation of the Blood Oath Society, temporarily set aside the heresy charges, and let them return to medical work.
But this was absolutely impossible. Faced with heresy charges, the Inquisition never compromised. Alex could not risk exposing the entire Expeditionary Force to the risk of Chaos contamination, even if it meant more soldiers would die due to lack of medical care.
And so, the meeting fell into a stalemate.
At this moment, Alex suddenly had an idea. He reached out and tapped the table, attracting everyone's attention, then looked at the Space Marine Chapter Masters beside him and asked them, "Can the Astartes Chapters lend out Apothecaries?"
"Yes, but it's a drop in the bucket; doing so is not very meaningful," Marshal Mordred nodded and then shook his head, explaining, "Although one Chapter Apothecary is worth dozens of mortal doctors, a Chapter only has a dozen or so Apothecaries at most. Considering the Chapter's own needs, a Chapter can at most deploy a few Apothecaries, and this small number of personnel is simply not enough to support a vast battlefield medical system."
Aside from certain Chapters, most Space Marines possess sufficient administrative ability to serve as Planetary Governors, they just don't usually do so.
For Marshal Mordred, it only took him less than a nanosecond to think of the answer.
However, Alex did not mind this, merely asking Marshal Mordred, "Then how many Apothecaries can you roughly lend out? Apprentices are also acceptable."
Hearing Alex say this, Mordred and several Chapter Masters discussed for a moment before giving a not-so-large answer: "Roughly twenty to thirty Apothecaries. If you truly need them, Lord Alex, I can request aid from the Imperial Fists, and we should be able to gather a batch of medical resources."
"Not for now. If there's truly no other way, I will request aid," Alex declined Mordred's kind offer, then announced his decision: "I would trouble each Chapter to deploy a portion of your Apothecaries, and please ask them to compile a simple battlefield medical manual based on the situations likely to be encountered on the current battlefield.
The content doesn't need to be overly professional, but it must at least ensure that those who receive the manual can perform first aid on injuries that may occur on the battlefield, with the standard being 'no death and no worsening'."
After speaking, Alex then looked at the Astra Militarum Lord General and the Ecclesiarchy Cardinal Bishop, and said to them, "The Astra Militarum should select a batch of soldiers for me, according to the standard of one squad per regiment, who have a certain educational foundation and are intelligent. The Ecclesiarchy should also select a batch of young priests who are willing to practice medicine. Hand them all over to the Apothecaries for battlefield medical training, so they can learn to treat light to moderate injuries on the battlefield.
They don't need to understand the principles; they just need to be able to follow the operational procedures for injury management. This should be able to solve some of the problems.
The xenos have not yet attacked; we must seize this time to first establish a functional medical system! Don't let a living person be stifled by a minor inconvenience!"
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