After the three siege towers were destroyed, the Askilinian infantry no longer had the courage to launch another ferocious attack.
By the end of the month, perhaps under the urging of the Canasian nobles, they barely managed to launch two attacks. They didn't even manage to touch the walls before they were beaten black and blue by the defenders on the walls. They lost around 400 men and retreated back to camp.
From then on, the enemy could only watch the castle from across the village until the first snowflakes of winter fell.
Much to Claude's surprise, the enemy didn't retreat when winter came. Instead, they fortified their camp and cut firewood. They also sent large amounts of supplies over. It seemed that they were prepared to spend the winter there.
When Claude entered Skri's office, he saw Lieutenant Myst, who was in charge of logistics, about to leave with a stack of documents in his hands.
After he left, Skri sighed and told Claude that the supplies in the castle could only last for two and a half months.
There was still enough ammunition, but the crucial thing was the rations. Two and a half months was already an optimistic estimate.
It was the start of December and it would be the middle of February in two and a half months. The rainy season would come soon after that. In other words, 1st Ranger Tribe had to get their supplies before then or they would have to starve in the castle.
They thought that the enemy would retreat when winter came, but they didn't expect that they would choose to surround them instead of attacking. That was most likely due to the fact that the letter carried by the harrier had fallen into the enemy's hands and they knew that the supplies in the castle could only last for three months.
Major Skri should have known that the loophole was in his secret letter, but he had no other way to deal with it.
From the top of the walls, he could see through his binoculars that the enemy had set up perfect defenses for their camp. Trenches had been dug in front of the wooden fences and there were many watchtowers.
At the same time, sentries had been set up in the village to monitor the movements in the castle to prevent 1st Ranger Tribe from launching a sneak attack.
"Our enemy has a cunning commander," Skri said with a troubled look.
Major Skri said in a distressed tone, "He's a very difficult guy to deal with. Perhaps the only bright spot of the enemy in terms of offense is the three siege towers, but in terms of defense, I can't find any flaws ….."
Claude nodded in agreement with Skri's point of view. He had carefully inspected the enemy's defences on the walls and found that they were indeed perfect. It made him feel like he didn't know where to start.
Take the sentries in the village as an example. They were all in sync with each other. Coupled with the wooden carts that were dragged back from the open space, the ruined village had turned into a huge maze.
If 1st Ranger Tribe wanted to launch a sneak attack, they'd be playing into the enemy's hands. Once they entered the village, they'd be surrounded and annihilated.
"You're right, sir.
Claude agreed with Skri's opinion. "But if you think about their origins, it'll be clear. After all, they defended Rimodra for a year and a half, so defensive battles are their specialty.
It's just that I think they're making a mountain out of a molehill by fighting a defensive battle with us as if they're facing a formidable enemy.
With our current forces, we won't be able to attack them even if we want to. "
There were only two and a half companies left in the castle. The second company had been crippled and the back of the castle was filled with wounded.
It could be said that 1st Ranger Tribe's current situation was that they had more than enough to defend the castle, so they weren't in the mood to launch a sneak attack.
Not to mention, winter had arrived. If they were to launch a sneak attack in the middle of a snowy night, they wouldn't be able to return and would easily lose their way.
"But our biggest problem right now is that we don't have enough rations and we can't contact the rear.
A few days ago, we heard gunshots from the entrance of the mountain path. I'm worried that the enemy will try to take over the mountain path and trap us here.
I sent a few veterans out to scout, but they still haven't returned. "Skri was under a lot of pressure. As the commander of a tribe, he had to maintain a confident demeanor in front of his soldiers so that their morale wouldn't drop.
However, he could only discuss these real difficulties with Claude.
Claude didn't have any good ideas either. His suggestion of raising lambs and ducks on the rooftop to attract the enemy golden eagles didn't work.
Perhaps the two eagles would fall for it, but when the enemy attacked the castle, they were alarmed by the cannons. They circled far away from the castle and refused to approach it.
As a result, they couldn't send out carrier pigeons and couldn't contact the rear.
"Let's kill the horses and save some fodder to feed the sheep. That might be able to hold on for a while longer." Claude could only come up with a solution that wasn't really a solution.
There were still nearly a hundred horses in the castle that 1st Ranger Tribe bought to transport their own rations.
Skri nodded before shaking his head. "I did some calculations with Lieutenant Myst. Even if we kill the horses, we'll only be able to hold on for half a month.
If we can't get supplies from the rear before the rainy season, 1st Ranger Tribe will have to abandon the castle and retreat to Squirrel Village. "
Someone knocked on the door and Skri's aide came in to report that the veterans had returned from scouting.
They brought back two pieces of news, one good and one bad.
The good news was that the entrance to the mountain path was still in the hands of Lieutenant Moriad's band. The enemy had launched several attacks in the past two days and were repelled every time. They suffered around 200 casualties.
Due to the narrow entrance, the attackers couldn't spread their forces and gave up after their attacks were ineffective.
The bad news was that the enemy had set up a defensive position around the entrance of the mountain path. It was estimated that there were two battalions of the enemy in this defensive position.
The veterans said that they saw 1st Ranger Tribe's flag flying above the perimeter, but they couldn't get in contact with Lieutenant Moriad. They searched for a long time but couldn't find any other way. In the end, they could only return to report what they found.
This news made Major Skri even more worried. It was good news that the enemy had not taken the entrance to the mountain path, but the enemy had set up a defensive line around the mountain path, which also made the mountain path useless.
Even if 1st Ranger Tribe were to abandon the castle and retreat, they would have to break through the defensive perimeter first before they could return to the rear. If they were pursued by the enemy while they were attacking, they would be completely wiped out. At most, only a few would be able to escape.
Claude wasn't too surprised. If he were the enemy commander, he would've made the same arrangement.
However, if Skri decided to retreat, he wouldn't have to worry about not having a way out. The Green Mountains were huge and they could easily find another path to the mountain path. That wouldn't be too difficult for 1st Ranger Tribe, who had experience in scouting the three southern prefectures.
Skri came later and didn't have the experience of finding his way in the mountains, so it was understandable that he was worried.
Soon, it was snowing for a few days and nights. They didn't have to worry about enemy ambushes in such weather.
The snow had piled up to a foot deep and was soft enough to sink up to one's knees when one stepped on it.
The sky was rather bright during the day and they could see up to thirty meters in front of them. But at night, they couldn't even see their fingers in front of them. Even if they lit a campfire, it wouldn't illuminate more than three to four meters around them.
If the enemy were to attack at that time, they wouldn't be able to make it to the bottom of the castle. Even if they just left the camp, they might get lost.
After trudging through the snow for half a day, they would only be able to cover an area less than ten meters in radius. In the end, they would lose all their stamina and freeze to death.
So, be it the enemy or the defenders, all of them stayed within the camp and the castle and waited patiently for the winter.
Claude suddenly realized that he had been in the army for more than four years and this was the fourth welcoming night he had spent in the army.
But this was still alright. At the very least, it was better than last year's welcoming night in the Piklets.
Although they were trapped in the castle by the enemy and were short of supplies, Major Skri still instructed the logistics department to provide a sumptuous dinner for the soldiers to celebrate the night of welcoming the new year.
Because of that, all the sheep, chickens, and ducks were slaughtered and officers like Claude were given a bottle of fruit wine from the last of their reserves.
The weather started to clear up after the arrival of the first month. Even when it snowed, it wasn't as dark and gloomy as last December.
While it was still difficult to walk on the snow-covered ground, the snow had been compressed to the point that it was more solid. It wasn't as deep as half a person's body when they stepped on it.
The enemy's scouts also began to move out of the camp. Their main area of activity was around the castle. This was also to monitor the castle's defenders to see if there were any abnormalities.
Claude had Dyavid lead his men out to ambush the enemy scouts around the castle.
Gunshots rang out from time to time on the snow-covered plains. Since their muskets weren't as good as 1st Ranger Tribe's, the scouts suffered heavy casualties without their mounts. They had no choice but to expand their surveillance of the castle, which gave Claude an opportunity to take advantage of.
On a snowy night, Claude led a small group of elite veterans out of the side gate of the castle and disappeared into the snow.
The falling snow at night would perfectly cover the tracks they left behind, and the enemy's scouts would not be able to detect them.
The cold wind cut his face like an ice knife. Soon, a thin layer of frost condensed on the scarf covering his face. Then, it was melted by the hot breath exhaled from his mouth and nose. It turned into cold water droplets falling on the animal skin cloak, and then condensed into small ice particles again.
Claude didn't feel the cold at all. He had already experienced it during the winter in Pikleit Mountains and was used to it.
He tugged on the hemp rope in his left hand and let out a long sigh of relief. Not a single one of them was left behind. That was good.
This time, the path was personally planned by Claude. They had to go in the opposite direction and enter Mount Daqing from another part of the mountain range. That way, they would have a safe path back to the rear once 1st Ranger Tribe ran out of food.
After entering the mountains, they first found a place to shelter from the wind and set up camp. These veterans were very experienced, so they quickly piled up snow and built a few igloos. Then, they set up tents inside the igloos. This way, they could keep warm and safe. They did not have to worry about the tents being crushed by the snow or freezing to death. The only thing they had to pay attention to was good ventilation.
After working for more than an hour, the sky was starting to brighten, but the snow was still falling.
Claude had every soldier drink a bowl of hot soup before arranging for sentries to get a good night's sleep. In the afternoon, they would start searching for the path to the mountain entrance.
After lunch, they packed up and started moving out. The snow had stopped falling and the sky was clear. The sunlight was good, so they had a wide field of vision. That was good for Claude and the rest as they searched for a path to the mountain.
The 15 of them split into groups of five and followed the path to the entrance. They would only turn back if they couldn't go any further.
Claude brought Myjack, Gum, and two other veterans to provide support as they drew up a map and marked the path they took.
Although the Great Green Mountain Range was not as steep and steep as the Piklett Mountain Range, it was not much less dangerous than the Piklett Mountain Range.
Many of the seemingly flat snowy ground was actually a huge trap. Once one stepped on it, they would fall into a deep snow pit with a "kacha" sound. If one were to move alone, they would not be able to climb up at all. Apart from waiting for death, there was no other way.
Claude and the rest decided to use the old method of cutting down huge logs to build bridges in places where they couldn't be sure of their safety.
Not to mention, they weren't really going to build a path in the mountains. It was just a temporary passage, so they saved a lot of time and effort. It took them five days to reach the entrance.
Moriad was pleasantly surprised by Claude and the rest's arrival. He didn't have to worry about the transportation of supplies since he was stationed there to guard the entrance.
As he ordered his men to entertain Claude and the rest, he told them a huge piece of news.
"What did you say?
The war is coming to an end? "Claude thought he heard wrong.
"It's true. Captain Durioro from Squirrel Village told me. Doesn't his family have connections in the ministry of the army?
This was revealed to him by his relatives.
He'll be able to return to the royal capital after a few more months.
He said that the kingdom has already started peace talks with Nasri and Canas. Even Prince Hansbach has returned to the royal capital. "
Claude knew of Captain Durioro. He was appointed as the garrison garrison commander because his relative had worked hard for the army. The reason he was stationed at Squirrel Village was so that he could have a track record of serving on the frontlines. That way, he could have a better future in the army.
If Durioro was the one who said it, Claude would have believed it.
"I have to return to Squirrel Village as soon as possible and get to the bottom of this. This concerns the survival of 1st Ranger Tribe.
Prepare my horse. I'll set off right away, "Claude said without hesitation.
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m.