Liam left the Fourth Order encampment with uncomfortable recognition that Kael'thra's approach to casualties was more efficient than his own guilt-laden processing. Zealots who could replace dead without mourning were tactically superior to commanders who questioned every death.
But efficiency and humanity weren't the same thing. And somewhere in the synthesis he'd become, he wasn't willing to abandon the latter entirely for sake of the former.
---
Evening of the first rest day brought senior command meeting where the accumulated complications became impossible to ignore.
"Supply situation is critical," Lord Arcturus reported with professional detachment that suggested he'd compartmentalized his compromised status. "We consumed supplies faster than projected due to aggressive march pace. Current reserves support maybe twelve more days at current consumption rate."
