The month of June was a peaceful one for Claude. 1st Ranger Tribe was stationed in the forgotten region and didn't find any traces of the enemy. Even after three days and three nights of scouting, they didn't find any signs of enemy troop movements.
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Battalions that had entered the Great Plains of Canas from the northeastern border of Askilin didn't find anything either. The three battalions had already penetrated a third of the plains. Apart from sweeping through a few scattered herders' tents, they didn't even encounter any larger tribes.
When the news was relayed, everyone at frontline command breathed a sigh of relief.
Given the situation, it was highly likely that Canas had gathered all its forces at Northbay in an attempt to defend the most economically developed and lucrative region of the duchy.
Northbay was the largest natural bay in Canas and the eastern part of the continent. It was an excellent naval port and rich in fish.
Canas had four major cities along the coast of Northbay. The duchy's capital, Canpaster, was located there as well. It could be said to be the heart of Canas.
There was a high chance that Canas would gather their forces at Northbay for a defensive battle.
Ever since the last time Skri got drunk and held Claude's hand to confide in him, Claude had always felt a little awkward whenever he saw him.
On the other hand, Major Skri was at ease, as if he had forgotten what he had done that night.
However, Skri came to Landes Castle with some good news. The grand duke of Askilin had surrendered. Askilin was the second nation to fall in the war.
Speaking of which, Duke Askilin had become the most important captive Aueras had captured since the start of the war. He was also the unluckiest of all the nations in the anti-Aueras alliance.
Duke Askilin sensed that the situation was far from good when the temporary corps they formed to launch a counterattack on the three southern prefectures were unable to break through the second line of Aueran corps. However, he still had a sliver of hope and decided to personally go to the frontlines to boost the morale of the soldiers and rouse their patriotism.
Only when he arrived did he realize that the temporary corps didn't have any fighting spirit at all. Even the nobles weren't used to battle formations. Even though they managed to take down two or three enemy lines with their superior numbers, they suffered heavy casualties and were no longer able to break through the enemy's last line of defense.
After that, the temporary passage to Piklete Mountain was completed and more and more enemy reinforcements arrived in the three southern prefectures.
Seeing that, Duke Askilin had no choice but to give the order to switch from offense to defense. He had the temporary corps set up a defensive line in preparation for a protracted battle against the enemy while he returned to the duchy's capital, Braveso, to take charge.
What he didn't expect was that two days after he left the frontlines, the Aueras' army would launch a counterattack. The temporary corps at the frontlines quickly crumbled.
The enemy marched straight in. On the second day after Duke Askilin returned to the capital, the Aueran scouts appeared at the base of Braveso's castle.
Just like that, Duke Askilin was trapped in the city. He didn't even have time to pack his belongings and escape.
With the arrival of two second-line corps from Aueras, Castle Braveso was completely surrounded and Duke Askilin had no choice but to give up on the idea of breaking out.
It wasn't that he didn't have the chance to escape, but he still had his family and his belongings in the warehouses.
It would be easy for him to escape alone, but the problem was that he would have to abandon his family and belongings. He would have to beg under someone else's roof for the rest of his life.
So, Duke Askilin gave up and prepared to use Braveso's sturdy walls and defences to put up a stubborn resistance.
But what surprised him was that the two second line corps of Aueras didn't launch an attack right away. Instead, they set up camp and surrounded Braveso.
Duke Askilin thought that the enemy would only surrender after they ran out of food. He didn't panic at all because the city had enough food to last everyone for two years. He wasn't afraid of being surrounded.
It wasn't until the end of the sixth month that Duke Askilin finally understood what the enemy was planning. The two heavy siege cannons were dragged by countless peasants and oxen to Braveso's walls.
What pained Duke Askilin the most was that the two siege cannons were the masterpiece of his duchy.
After the war broke out, the three southern prefectures, famous for their armaments, gathered a large number of craftsmen to craft the two siege cannons to show off the duchy's might and the invincibility of the anti-Aueras alliance.
Afterwards, these two siege cannons were left in the three southern counties as decorations. Because they were too big and heavy, they were very difficult to move. Therefore, everyone treated these two siege cannons as sculptures, allowing them to be beaten by the wind and rain.
When Bluefeather raided the three southern prefectures, the two siege cannons became spoils of war for the Aueran army.
When Prince Hansbach arrived in the three southern prefectures, he quickly became interested in the two siege cannons. He once again gathered craftsmen to repair the cannons. The report he received was that the two siege cannons could still be used and could unleash unparalleled power.
Just like that, the capital of Askilin, Braveso, became the first prince's target for the two siege cannons.
Moving the two cannons there was a huge manpower and material cost involved, but the Aueran army didn't care.
However, the Aueran army didn't care about such things. They were in an enemy kingdom, so they had plenty of free laborers and livestock. Even if the first prince were to order compensation, it wouldn't cost too much.
At the same time, while moving the two cannons, they could also strengthen the road leading to Braveso. It was killing two birds with one stone.
As a matter of fact, Duke Askilin had almost collapsed at the sight of the two huge siege cannons. He knew the power of the two huge cannons. For example, the basin-sized solid iron cannonballs weighed more than 50 kilograms. No matter how strong the castle wall was, it couldn't withstand the bombardment of the two huge cannons. In a few days, the Grand Duke Castle of Braveso would be in ruins.
Therefore, after sending people to contact the Grand Duke of Askilin and his family, the Grand Duke of Askilin surrendered without any hesitation after receiving a letter written by Prince Hansbach personally. The Grand Duke of Askilin surrendered, and the Duchy of Askilin perished just like that.
The destruction of Askilin greatly eased the tension in Aueran's military. Currently, the balance of war in the eastern part of the continent was tilted in Aueran's favor.
Two duchies were destroyed, and the destruction of Rimodra Duchy, which was caught in a pincer attack, was imminent.
In particular, Rimodra's biggest reinforcements were the four armed corps from Askilin. Now that Askilin had fallen, these four corps had become the biggest unstable factor in Rimodra's allied forces.
The higher-ups of the anti-Aueran alliance naturally wanted to keep the four corps of Askilin in the alliance. They gave them money and women and talked about defeating Aueras and rebuilding Askilin. Honestly speaking, there were no lack of hot-blooded nobles in the corps and they were in favor of rebuilding Askilin.
The problem was that the surrendered Duke Askilin was very cooperative with Prince Hansbach's orders. He immediately ordered his trusted aides to head to the camps of the four armed corps and spread the word that the duke had surrendered and the war was over. They could go home and fight no more. He ordered the soldiers to lay down their weapons and surrender to the Aueran army.
While the noble officers were still unsure of what to do, more than half of the soldiers of the four corps fled. In the end, less than a full corps was gathered.
It was one thing for the soldiers to flee, but at the same time, the positions they were defending were left to the Aueran army. Two large holes appeared in the rather sturdy defensive line and the enemy arrived at the city gates.
The higher-ups of the Duchy of Rimodra and the high-ranking officers of the Alliance understood that the situation was hopeless. They urgently ordered the Alliance's fleet to come forward and protect the three port cities of the Duchy of Rimodra. These were the three sea routes that the Alliance's Alliance could use to escape this desperate situation.
The frontlines progressed smoothly and reports of victory came one after another. However, 1st Ranger Tribe was met with an awkward reality.
The mountain path in the south hindered the transport of supplies. The mountain path from the three prefectures to Squirrel Village had been repaired by the captives Claude sent. It was barely wide enough for a four-wheeled carriage to pass through and supply could still be supplied.
However, the path from Squirrel Village to the Great Plains of Canas could only be transported by horse.
After careful calculations, the strategists of frontline command came to a conclusion. They couldn't send any more troops into the area abandoned by the Canas nobles. They couldn't use resources or manpower on the spot. If they sent an extra battalion to this area, they wouldn't be able to keep up with the supply. So, they could only rely on 1st Ranger Tribe to defend this area.
However, the strategists of frontline command weren't worried about that. As long as 2nd Ranger Tribe ventured a third of the way into the plains, they would be able to make contact with 1st Ranger Tribe.
As for the remaining forces of Canas, they didn't have to worry about them. The enemy had probably concentrated all of their forces to defend Northbay, which was why they couldn't find any traces of them in the plains.
At the moment, 1st Ranger Tribe's supplies were completely reliant on supplies from the rear. The local garrison that took over 1st Ranger Tribe's defense was also responsible for providing them with supplies. But soon, the garrison began to complain incessantly. Within a month, they lost seven soldiers and 11 pack horses on the mountain path from Squirrel Village to the Great Plains of Canas, as well as a large amount of rations. The pack horses fell into the valley and dragged the soldiers who were leading them down with them.
There were many reasons for that, but 1st Ranger Tribe's urging for supplies to be sent there as soon as possible was also a big part of it.
Fortunately, the supply shipments three times a month were enough to satisfy 1st Ranger Tribe's needs. They could reduce it to twice a month and once a month in the future.
What they lacked the most was rations. The region had been abandoned by the nobles for more than a year and the fields were overgrown with weeds.
1st Ranger Tribe had a total of 1,356 men. Coupled with the 1,000 or so elderly, women, and children, as well as the 400 or so young captives they brought with them, they numbered around 3,000.
Since they couldn't collect rations on the spot, they could only rely on supplies from the rear to fill their stomachs.
A pack horse could only transport about four hundred catties of rations on the mountain roads, and three thousand people would need at least five thousand catties of rations a day. They couldn't let the soldiers not fill their stomachs … Although the one hundred pack horses responsible for transportation could transport fifty thousand catties of rations at a time, no matter how frugal they were, it would only last them for half a month at most.
Major Skri ordered the captives and the young men he had gathered to cultivate potatoes and vegetables, hoping that these crops, which had a short growth period, would be of great help.
Claude, on the other hand, organized the soldiers to fish in the rivers and ponds in the area and brought some men to hunt in the mountains. Coupled with the sheep they collected from the herdsmen, they managed to accumulate enough rations to last them for half a month.
They didn't lack ammunition. The ones 1st Ranger Tribe brought with them could last them for more than a month, but Claude wasn't satisfied. He discussed it with Skri and decided to stock up on ammunition, rations, and other military supplies for at least three months.
If the local garrison couldn't maintain the supply line for long, Claude planned to have the tribe organize their own people to transport the supplies.
Skri was also troubled by the lack of supplies. The elderly, women, and children he gathered numbered around a thousand. They couldn't eat or work and that placed a heavy burden on 1st Ranger Tribe.
However, they couldn't chase away the elderly, women, and children. After all, they were citizens of the kingdom and they couldn't just watch them die.
"You think the enemy will come?"
Skri looked at Claude with surprise. "Didn't the strategists at frontline say that the enemy is probably holed up in Northbay and preparing for a defensive battle?"
"I don't know."
Claude shook his head. "I also hope that the strategists at frontline are telling the truth, but I have a feeling that the enemy will definitely come.
I felt that the current situation was very strange. I didn't know why the enemy was holed up in the North Bay region. It must be known that defensive operations also required the dispatch of scouts to investigate the enemy's situation. However, almost all of the scouts that had penetrated deep into the prairie hadn't found any traces of the enemy. This situation was very suspicious.
I have a feeling that the enemy is preparing for some big move. Otherwise, they wouldn't have allowed us to enter the plains so easily. This is their territory, after all.
Sending out light cavalry to eliminate our scouts and cover our eyes and ears, whether it's for attack or defense, this is common military knowledge, but they didn't do this … So I suggest that we take advantage of this quiet period to stock up on some rations, ammunition, and other resources, so that we can be prepared. "
"You're right. We have to prepare well lest we regret it when something happens," Skri said with a nod.