The newly formed corps of Sidins couldn't hold their own against the royal guard at all. Their defensive line crumbled at the first contact.
On the other hand, the six corps sent by Askilin, Rimodra and Canas couldn't withstand the Aueran army's ferocious assault. They were pushed back and lost their defensive positions one after another.
It was obvious that the Aueran army under Hansbach's command wanted to repeat Bluefeather's strategy. They wanted to take Sidins' capital, Efenasburg, in one fell swoop and destroy the duchy. That way, they would be able to win the war.
At the very least, that was what the high-ranking officers of the alliance thought.
According to the reports obtained from the frontlines, Aueras was mainly using the royal guard and four second-line corps to take turns to attack Efenasburg.
That meant that the Aueran army only had seven corps and a few miscellaneous battalions. It seemed that they had left two second-line corps to guard against the three Nasri corps on the flanks.
So, as long as the battle line was extended, the three corps of Nasri would be able to break through the defences of the other two corps. The Aueran army would suffer the same fate as Bluefeather and the other two corps. They would be trapped in Amelia Plains by the five anti-Aueran nations.
So, Sidins once again started building and perfecting the defenses of Efenasburg. They called on the entire nation to work together to defend against the invaders.
The other three duchies' corps also retreated after putting up some resistance. They gave up their defensive positions to lengthen the supply line of the Aueran army. At the same time, they had the main force of the Aueran army move forward to give Nasri an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.
However, no one expected that Aueras's target this time wasn't Sidins' capital, Efenasburg. Instead, it was the three corps of Nasri's reinforcements.
When the royal guard's vanguard reached the crude defensive line that Bluefeather had set up 40 kilometers away from Efenasburg, the Nasri army's commanders believed that the time was right and launched an attack on one of Aueran's second-line corps.
Everything was within the Nasri commander's expectations. The Aueran second-line corps couldn't withstand the assault of two standing corps and one second-line corps. The defensive line was quickly breached.
The three Nasri corps then circled around the Aueran army's rear, ready to surround and trap the five Aueran corps at the frontlines.
But when the three corps of Nasri passed through the defensive line defended by the second line corps of Aueras, the second line corps they thought had recovered their strength. With the cooperation of another second line corps, they took back the line and built a more complete defensive formation. The strange thing about this defensive line was that it only defended the inside and not the outside.
At the same time, the two second-line legions that were following behind the royal guards immediately changed their usual procrastination and swiftly moved to the right. They occupied the important communication routes and strategic locations between the two port cities of the Sidins Principality and the Amelia Plains, setting up a defensive line.
As for the three corps that had been advancing forward, they left one second-line corps behind to defend while the royal guard and the other second-line corps turned around to face the three Nasrian corps that were trying to flank them from behind.
When the three Nasri corps noticed that Aueran scouts had appeared in front of them and to their left and right, they realized that the situation wasn't looking good.
They hurriedly sent out some troops to test the waters and found that the enemy had set up defensive lines in all directions. They had originally planned to flank the enemy, but they had already fallen into the enemy's encirclement.
Putting aside how the three Nasri corps managed to save themselves, there was no hope of their allies coming to their rescue. While the four duchies might be able to hold out for a few rounds, it was impossible for them to take the initiative to attack the Aueran army. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been locked in a stalemate outside Emis for half a year.
Claude's Ranger Battalion didn't have to carry out ambushes after the battle started. Additionally, they weren't scouts and didn't need to go to the frontlines. The orders they received were to follow Hansbach's main tent.
Prince Hansbach, on the other hand, was in charge of Emis, which gave Claude some time to train his newly replenished band of men.
However, when the three Nasri corps started falling into Hansbach's trap, the prince insisted on moving his main tent to the front and commanded 50 battalions to block the Nasri army's retreat.
The officers tried to persuade the prince to give the command to someone else, but the prince could only smile bitterly. With him at the frontlines, the battalions would listen to him. If he gave the command to someone else, it would be hard to say what would happen.
While the 50 battalions under the prince's command were close to the strength of a full corps, apart from the two battalions from the frontlines and the battalions the prince formed himself, the other 30 or so battalions were garrisons sent to the frontlines from other parts of the kingdom.
These local troops were considered qualified to be responsible for guarding and escorting supplies. However, if they were to really go to the frontlines to fight against the enemy, they would need strict supervision. Unless the First Prince personally took action, they would not be able to keep them under control.
While there was a high chance that the three Nasri corps wouldn't try to break out of the encirclement, that would only lead to their deaths. Behind them was Emis, which was heavily guarded. If Nasri tried to break out of the encirclement, they would have nowhere to run.
But Prince Hansbach still had to consider trapping the enemy in the Amelia Plain instead of letting them break through to Amis. That would only delay the war, and the kingdom would have to pay a greater price.
Aueras' goal in this campaign was to wipe out the three corps of Nasri. As long as they did so, the remaining three duchies' reinforcements and Sidins' forces would no longer pose a threat.
Of the five anti-Aueras nations, only Nasri's army had the most fighting power. The other four duchies weren't strong enough to contend against Aueras.
The Ranger Battalion followed Hansbach to the frontlines. The edge of Emilia Plains was a hilly area with many small hills.
The prince commanded the 50 battalions under his command to set up a tight defensive line around the hilly terrain, blocking the retreat of the three Nasrian corps.
Claude also received a mission to lead his platoon to clear out all hidden enemies and threats within a 15-kilometer radius to the northwest.
They had almost searched the entire hilly area in the northwest. This was because the hilly area was only so big, with less than ten small hills.
The hidden enemies and threats referred to whether there were deserters or Sidins' citizens hiding in the hilly area. They had to prevent them from getting close to the prince's camp.
Claude split his platoon into four squads and had them spread out in a fan formation with himself in the middle. Their main objective was to search the caves, forests and valleys around the water source.
Because people were hiding in the mountains, they could eat whatever they wanted. Moss and vegetables could fill their stomachs, but a clean water source was a must. Without it, people wouldn't be able to survive in the mountains.
On the first day, Claude's platoon caught more than ten deserters from Sidins. It seemed that the order to clear out the hilly area made sense. The 50 battalions under the prince's command were positioned at the front and the prince's camp was at the very back. There was only a guard battalion there, so it would be easy for people to approach from the back.
In the evening, they found a half-abandoned village halfway up a small rocky mountain. There were only six elderly people and three young children in the village. There was no one else there.
Claude sent some men over to ask around. The answer he got was that the village was called Finis Village. The villagers used to grow herbs for a living. When war broke out last year, most of the men in the village were forcibly conscripted into the army. After the war, many deserters came to the village and took their food and women with them. Now, there were only six elderly people and three children left in the village.
There wasn't anything valuable in the village, so the elderly and children relied on wild vegetables and cassava left in the fields to survive. However, one of the elderly said that there was a small pond in a valley not far from the village. It was a big pond formed by two streams in the mountains.
A few days ago, he wanted to go fishing for some fish for the children, but he found a group of deserters with a few women, so he didn't dare to go.
Claude gave them some salt and some cheese, dried meat, and rye bread to carry. The old men then told Claude about the places where people could hide in the hilly area. They even drew a simple map to explain them in detail.
When he was sleeping, Berklin brought Aboyev and Dyavid to find Claude. They suspected that the elderly were lying.
This was because many veterans had told them not to trust any resident of an enemy country. If they were friendly, it was very likely that they wanted to send you to your death. As an invader, you had to know that you were their enemy, and they would never treat you as a friend.
Claude shook his head with a smile. What the veterans said made sense. The problem was that it depended on the situation. If they occupied another country's city and entered the homes of the locals to rob them, no one would treat them as a friend. Instead, they would see them as bandits and invaders.
Now, the only hope for the survivors in the half-abandoned village was to live on. Claude didn't rob them when they arrived at the village. Instead, he gave them rations and salt.
Even though they didn't see Claude as a friend, they didn't see him as an enemy either. Compared to Claude's group, the deserters in the hilly area were more of a threat.
They told Claude about the situation in hopes that he could help them get rid of the danger.
Claude's judgment was proven to be correct. After a week of searching, Claude's squadron managed to capture more than a hundred Sidins deserters and rescued more than two dozen women. Most of them were captured in places the elders told them were suitable for hiding.
Had it not been for the fact that the hilly area wasn't too dangerous, Claude suspected that the deserters would've taken over the place and declared themselves kings.
More than ten battles broke out in those seven days, but the deserters weren't too bad. They only managed to injure three of Claude's men and killed more than 30 of them.
Deserters were extremely dangerous to any country. The villagers he met were considered lucky. The other two villages in the hilly region had already been turned into ghost villages by deserters. There weren't a single survivor left.
When Claude returned with the captives and the rescued women, he heard some bad news. The three corps of Nasri had been forced to break out of the encirclement by the Aueran army.
Even though they knew it was a dead end, it was worth it to live for a little longer.
However, the ten or so local guard battalions at the very front of the first line of defense weren't that strong. Under the enemy's relentless assault, they quickly lost their position and gave the Nasri army a chance to catch a breather.
Hansbach was furious and rushed to the second line of defense to oversee the battle. He gave the order to kill. Any soldier who didn't follow the order would be arrested and executed on the spot.
That order managed to stabilize the crumbling second line of defense. Claude also received the order to report to the ranger battalion at the second line of defense.