Erfworld 135 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 122

[Aquillion]

Also, the way he responds to non-lethal force with attempted murder is particularly vile.

That's not entirely fair. First of all, he calls Wanda a 'demoness'. Given her getup and the high probability that he's never seen her before, it's entirely possible that he actually thinks she is one (and while we don't know to what extent 'to what measure is a non-human' applies, it probably applies at least a little bit.)

Second, it's perfectly reasonable for him to assume that she helped kill his men (and, in fact, Parson ordered her down there to assist near the end.) He could even, quite reasonably, assume that she is the one that killed Webinar personally.

Third, only reason she was using non-lethal force was because he happened to be worth more alive than dead at the moment. It would be perfectly reasonable (and in line, in fact, with both Gobwin Knob's reputation and much of its reality) for him to assume that they only wanted to capture him so they could interrogate him, torture him to death, and uncroak him to serve on their side in a more relaxed setting.

Fourth, there's no way to tell for sure if he heard the orders he gave her units. He could quite reasonably assume, given the situation, that she was attempting to kill him.

Fifth, she gives a massive bonus to all the undead on the walls while she's operational. His own team thinks his life is in some danger, even with the carpet; Charlie might protect him, but there's still a risk he could die before next turn. If he croaks Wanda now, it would be a massive advantage for his side, and could save the lives of many of his men; if he attempted to capture her and failed, all of those deaths would be the result of his sentimentality.

I wouldn't say that Ansom is really the shining beacon of honor and morality he thinks he is. But calling what he's doing here, on the battlefield, "responding to non-lethal force with attempted murder" just because Wanda's tactical considerations led her to try and capture instead of croak is grossly unfair. Wanda's own statements make it fairly clear that if the situation were different, she would have gladly attempted to croak him.

The whole stealing her girlfriend thing, remember Jillian? Although when she learns of this, well who knows how she'll react?

I am not entirely sure about that. We don't know very much about Wanda's motivations; they could, in fact, be an elaborate effort to get back at Ansom for something in the past.

But if it's just about Jillian, that would at least answer the people who don't think Wanda really loves her.