A plume of black smoke rose into the clouds in the distance. Myjack rushed into Claude's study excitedly and yelled, "Sir, the enemy is here! I saw smoke signals rising!"
Claude put down his book and asked, "The enemy will come sooner or later. But why are you so excited?
If I didn't know better, I'd think it's your family. "
"Ugh …" Myjack mumbled, embarrassed, "Sir, I'm just happy.
We've been waiting for so long for the enemy to come and we're getting a little impatient.
Everyone's been waiting for them to come so we don't have to worry all day. Now that they're here, there's finally an outcome. "
He had to admit that the nobles were really good at delaying things. Claude had already made all the necessary preparations, but the enemy's attack still hadn't arrived.
Having given up on the idea of retreating, Mazik once again dared to sneak into Count Leucard's territory. He pretended to be a mercenary and stayed there for two days. When he came back, his report left everyone speechless.
The real reason the Canasian nobles delayed their attack was because they weren't satisfied with the agreement between Count Leucaid and the Askilinian nobles.
They believed that they had the numbers on their side and requested for a new agreement, such as expanding the territory they could plunder after entering the three southern prefectures. They also expressed their dissatisfaction at being under a unified command and military supervision. They also requested to be allowed to act on their own.
Even though the Askilinian nobles hoped that the Canasian nobles would send troops to help, the three southern prefectures were still part of Askilinian's territory. Even if they wanted to reap some benefits, they wouldn't go overboard.
So, they knew that if they agreed to the Canasian nobles' request, it would be like letting a pack of wolves into a pen of sheep.
He couldn't let the Canas nobles loot and pillage the three southern prefectures, or they would be blamed for inviting the wolf into their own territory.
They had already offended Duke Askilin and the duchy's military by refusing to hand over their private soldiers. If the three southern prefectures were plundered by the Canasian nobles, Duke Askilin would surely use this as an excuse to retaliate against the nobles. It might even lead to the downfall of their families and titles.
That was why the Askilin nobles who went to Count Leucaid's territory to negotiate with him showed a rare display of righteousness. They insisted that the Canasian nobles would not rob the three southern prefectures.
In other words, they were allowed to rob the public treasury, but they were not allowed to kill people without reason, burn houses, or enter private residences. Furthermore, they were required to send a military law enforcement team to supervise their actions.
As for the Aueran army guarding the mountain path, none of the nobles cared about them.
They had long since learned from the refugees that the Aueran army only had three companies guarding the mountain path and they were split into three sections. That added up to less than two hundred men.
Even though most of the spies sent there hadn't returned, the soldiers on guard had already caught wind of what was going on.
But so what? Before the combined might of the two nobles, there was no way they could resist. It would be no different from smashing an egg against a rock.
Mazik already felt that his suggestion to retreat was ridiculous. Now, even he was getting impatient. It didn't matter how many enemies there were, it wouldn't be an honorable victory.
Mazik couldn't wait for the enemy to launch an attack right after Claude completed the fortifications. He wanted to see them break their defenses and bleed profusely.
Claude got up and opened the window of his study. He saw smoke rising from a hill in the distance.
Soon, three soldiers on horseback galloped across the mountain path.
After they passed by, a few soldiers on the side of the road tied a wooden raft that was originally laid on the road to the backs of two draft horses and drove the draft horses back.
The path beneath the raft looked no different from any other path, but all the soldiers knew that it was a huge trap and anyone who fell in would either die or be severely injured.
Claude went downstairs and saw Mazik rushing over. "Sir, the enemy is here."
Claude nodded. "I saw the smoke."
Mazik said, "The three soldiers in charge of surveillance saw the enemy's vanguard and ran back with the smoke.
They estimated that it would take another four to five hours for the enemy to reach us given their speed. "
"Only the Canasian nobles sent their troops. Why didn't the Askilinians do anything?" Claude looked at the eastern sky and saw no smoke.
"Perhaps they haven't finished coordinating," Mazik guessed.
"How about this. Send someone to inform the scouts ahead to retreat.
Since the Canasian nobles have already sent their troops, there's no need for us to wait for the Askilinian enemy to arrive.
Pull back all the rafts on the road and set up the traps.
Otherwise, if the nobles of the Askilin Duchy send out their troops two days later, we might be shot at by the enemy when we send people to pull the wooden rafts on the road, causing unnecessary damage … "
"Yes, Sir. I'll send someone to inform them right away." Mazik turned and left.
Soon, the three scouts stationed on the Askilin Dukedom's mountain path retreated. The large wooden rafts that were laid on the road were also dragged back by the soldiers using pack horses. They erected the wooden rafts on the mountain path that led to Squirrel Village. Every twenty to thirty meters, they sealed a row of wooden rafts that were five to six meters tall. There were a total of five rows of wooden rafts.
All the soldiers had already retreated up the mountain.
"Myjack, when the enemy appears at the turn on the other side, light a smoke signal to inform Moriad in Blackrock Village. Tell him to act according to plan," Claude instructed.
The mountain path towards the Great Plains of Canas was built halfway up the mountain, right opposite the camp. The straight line distance was about 150 meters.
However, this mountain path had to make a big turn to connect to the three-way junction in front of Squirrel Village. The distance from the junction to the mountain path in front of the camp was estimated to be two to three hundred meters. There was a very steep depression in the middle, and the drop was more than sixty to seventy meters.
In other words, even if one didn't die from a fall, they would be heavily injured and wouldn't be able to climb back up.
Apart from that, Claude used canisters of gunpowder to blast open five sections of the road between the bend and the fork. He then had the soldiers dig five large traps and lay them on wooden planks for walking.
Now that the enemy had arrived, the wooden rafts were removed.
The traps were camouflaged and if the enemy wasn't paying attention, they would suffer a terrible fall.
Trapping a few enemies with the traps was only a small matter. What was more important was that the enemy had to fill in the traps before they could attack.
However, Claude had ordered the soldiers to chop down all the trees near the mountain path in the next few days. The rocks and rocks that could be used by the enemy were all rolled into the hollow.
If the enemy wanted to fill in the holes on the mountain path, they would have to move trees and stones from afar. Most importantly, this part of the mountain path was within the firing range of the defensive position. When the time came, the soldiers would be able to shoot down the enemies who were preparing to fill in the holes one by one like they were shooting targets.
"Sergeant Makki, you'll be in command from now on.
If the enemy appears at the turn, you can order the cannons to open fire.
My request is to trap the enemy at the bend today and not allow them to appear on this part of the mountain path.
I'll go check out Dyad's camp. The enemy from Askilin hasn't appeared yet and I'm a little worried. "
"Alright, Sir. I promise I won't let a single enemy enter the mountain path today. Don't worry," Makki replied.
Claude brought Gemi and Myjack to Dyavid's camp.
Their camp was on the slope behind Squirrel Village. There was a gentle slope there that connected to the mountain path.
There was a high chance that the nobles of Askilin would lead their private forces up the slope to take over Squirrel Village before launching an attack on the camp.
However, Dyavid's camp was fine. There wasn't a single person to be seen on the mountain path.
Dyavid was chewing on some grass in his trench. He stood up in surprise when he saw Claude. "Sir, why are you here?"
"The enemies from Canas have arrived. There's no movement on your side, so I called back the scouts and cleared all the wooden rafts on the road. I'm here to see if there's any problem on your side," said Claude.
"What's wrong? I'll be able to see them if they come," Dyavid said as he pointed at the winding path in the distance.
It was as he said. If the enemy came from the mountain path, he would be able to notice them quickly.
Claude shook his head. "It's fine during the day. I'm worried about the night.
If you stay here and the enemy sneaks in, you'll be in a tough spot.
What I want you to do is move forward, just like how we used to ambush the enemy scouts.
If the enemy comes, open fire immediately and slowly retreat back to where you are.
At night, set up bonfires along the mountain path. That way, the enemy won't be able to sneak up on us. "
"Alright. I'm bored here anyway, so I'll take the soldiers to watch from afar. We'll do as you say."
Dyavid smiled. "Don't worry. It's just the private forces of the nobles. They're not as strong as you think.
Didn't Mazik say it himself? They're just a bunch of weaklings. "
It couldn't be helped. The battle was imminent and Claude was in charge of commanding the entire battle.
It was his first time experiencing such a thing, be it in his previous life or this one. He felt a little uneasy, afraid that he would make a mistake and cause unforeseen losses.
It was also the first time he was facing an enemy with superior numbers. Even if the enemy was just a flock of sheep, the sheer number of them left Claude feeling rather nervous. This was a real war, not a game. People would die.
After returning from Dyavid's camp, Claude passed by Squirrel Village and checked on the layout of the village once more.
Now that all the villagers had moved to Blackrock Village, there wasn't a single person left in Squirrel Village. Claude had set up a trap in the village and was just waiting for the enemy to take the bait.
When he returned to camp, he noticed that the Canasian enemies hadn't reached the bend yet. Instead, there was a long line of marching soldiers further away.
He picked up his binoculars and couldn't help but chuckle.
Mazik's report wasn't wrong. The enemies didn't seem to have much of a fighting capacity. They had all sorts of weapons: bows, spears, axes, shields, machetes, and even dung forks.
Their clothes were tattered and there were only a few flintlocks. Rather than an army, they looked more like a group of refugees.
What made him even more speechless was the fact that they weren't in proper formation. Every now and then, people would come out of the formation to rest by the side of the road. Their friends would gather together and laugh loudly.
Only when the leader in charge of supervising them whipped them did they get up and continue marching.
The entire army was like a flock of ducks and didn't seem to be nervous at all.
No wonder they haven't arrived yet … Claude suddenly relaxed.
If he couldn't defend against such an enemy even after so many preparations, he would be so ashamed that he would jump down from his camp.
The enemies were there for the market, not for the battlefield.
After waiting for another half an hour or so, a noisy singing voice came from afar. Listening carefully, it seemed to be a somewhat vulgar folk song, and there was also a burst of loud laughter mixed in.
At the bend in the mountain road, a group of well-dressed soldiers with flintlocks on their backs appeared. They were probably the private forces of a certain noble and not the farmers and herdsmen they had recruited.
They were like the owners of fruit stalls who were used to placing large, good-looking fruits in front of them to attract customers.
The Canasian nobles were probably thinking the same thing. They knew what kind of people they recruited, so they placed the well-dressed soldiers at the front of the group to show off their might.
Unfortunately, they had forgotten that the Aueran garrison troops were still on the mountain road. They weren't marching safely in their own territory.
"Open fire!" Makach roared. He was getting impatient from waiting.
A light infantry cannon that had already been aimed let out a deafening roar, and a fist-sized iron ball was spat out from the cannon's muzzle. In the blink of an eye, it crossed the distance of over 150 meters and crashed into the group of soldiers that were walking, causing a few broken limbs and a mist of blood to form … …
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The smoke from the flintlocks filled the air. After the gunshots, the enemy soldiers who were still standing at the bend were wiped out. Apart from a few cries of pain, all the enemies who had made it past the bend had already fallen to the ground.
The sudden attack stunned the enemies. After a while, a wave of terrified screams, fighting and cursing could be heard from the other side of the bend.
After a few gunshots and cries of pain, the commotion finally died down.
After a while, someone finally popped his head out and peeped at them from the corner.
"Sir, the enemies are on the ground collecting their corpses," Makach reported.
"Collect the corpses, but don't let them get up," said Claude.
"Yes, sir!"