Duriolo didn't lie to Claude. Three days after Claude handed the letter to Myjack and had him bring Gum to the royal capital to deliver it to Maria, an investigation team from frontline command arrived at Squirrel Village. Nominally, they were there to investigate 1st Ranger Tribe's battle at Count Krylaus' castle and verify the merits reported. But in reality, they were there to cause trouble.
"Greetings, Captain Claude. I'm Lieutenant-Colonel Waori from frontline command's military law department," a chubby middle-aged officer greeted Claude in a friendly manner.
"Salute!" Claude stood at attention and saluted the chubby lieutenant-colonel.
"No need for formalities."
Waori raised his hand casually in return. "Let me introduce Captain Darrick, First Lieutenant Sydes and First Lieutenant Haritchik. They are officers from the staff department of frontline command and are here to verify the merits of 1st Ranger Tribe defending Count Krylaus' castle."
Claude glanced at the three lieutenants and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
"Claude, as a soldier, why didn't you salute us!" The lanky Captain Darrick was obviously angry and scolded Claude.
That man must be sick in the head … Claude ignored him. He'd never heard of a superior officer saluting a subordinate first.
Claude stared at the captain's epaulette before looking at his own. His meaning was clear: We're of the same rank, so don't act like a superior in front of me. There's no need for me to salute you first.
It was a pity that Darrick didn't know what was good for him. "Captain Claude, even though we're of the same rank, I'm from frontline command and your tribe's superior. According to military law, you have to salute me first as a subordinate!"
Darrick took a step forward to exert pressure on Claude. The two lieutenants beside him followed suit and stared at Claude, waiting for him to salute them.
Claude ignored them and pointed at his chest expressionlessly. It was only then that the three lieutenants noticed that he was wearing the accessory of the Knight's Medal he had received.
"Ugh …" Darrick and the other two had no choice but to salute Claude.
It couldn't be helped. Even though Claude was of the same rank as them, he had a knighthood badge that gave him the upper hand.
Back when Skri was still a captain, he had to salute Claude every time he saw him, even though he was the battalion commander of 1st Ranger Tribe.
Claude casually raised his hand and returned the salute. Darrick and the other two could only suppress their anger. Next to them, Lieutenant-Colonel Waoli stepped forward to smooth things over. "Gentlemen, we have to get down to business first.
Captain Durioro has given us his office. Let's go there. "
It looked like an interrogation. Lieutenant-Colonel Waoli sat on the left with a table to himself.
On the other hand, Captain Darrick and the other two were sitting on the right side of the table. Their faces were solemn, gloomy, and their eyes were lowered, creating a scene of interrogating criminals.
Claude sat on the chair in the middle. There was no table in front of him. Behind him were two scribes.
Captain Duriolo was also present. As a witness, he also needed to sign his name on the interrogation record to show that there were no violations of the rules in this investigation.
"Let's begin."
Lieutenant-Colonel Waoli rapped on the table with his finger to get everyone's attention. "Captain Claude, please recount what happened during the time 1st Ranger Tribe defended Count Krilos' castle. Tell us everything you know and experienced.
Please note that we will be cross-checking your story with the accounts of the others in 1st Ranger Tribe.
Therefore, we hope that you can objectively and accurately describe the entire process of the battle and restore the truth. "
There was no need to lie. Claude spent an hour and a half reviewing the battle at Count Krilos' castle. He even reported the exact number of dead and wounded soldiers of each tribe.
Apart from his voice, the only sound in the office was the scratching of the two scribes' pens across the paper.
After Claude finished, the two note-takers stopped writing and checked if there were any omissions. After making sure there were no mistakes, they brought the record to Claude and had him sign it. Next, Captain Duriolo signed it, followed by Captain Darrick and the other two. Finally, it was Lieutenant Vari's turn.
Next was the interrogation.
Waoli held Claude's report in his left hand and rapped on the table with his right. "Captain Claude, I admire your bravery. The kingdom will never forget the sacrifices 1st Ranger Tribe made.
But are you sure you didn't leave anything out?
I'd like to personally express my regret. If your Battalion Commander, Major Skri, hadn't given the order to retreat, I believe you would've been able to defend Count Krilos' castle. "
That was the first trap. Claude was certain.
He shook his head calmly. "It's impossible to defend. If we don't have ammunition, we might be able to defend the castle with bayonets and melee, no matter how many sacrifices we have to make.
But without rations, we won't be able to defend. Our soldiers can't fight the enemy on empty stomachs. "
"Won't be able to defend?
Starve?
Hehe … "The short lieutenant sitting on the left of Captain Darrick sneered.
What's his name again? Is it Xides or Ha-something?
"Do you have a problem with that?" Claude gave the fellow a look of disdain.
He didn't look too old, probably around Claude's age. Being able to become a first lieutenant at that age usually meant he had some sort of background. He was definitely one of the nobles.
"I have no problem with that," the fellow said.
The guy with the high nose said, "Your personal file says that you graduated with the top score in the physical education course in junior high. Even if your liberal arts results are bad, you should still remember the article about the Seventeen Warriors of Demon Tiger Ridge in history class, right? Do you need me to review it for you?
"The seventeen warriors were trapped on the peak of Tiger Ridge. They didn't have any food either, only one pack horse.
Yet, they used that pack horse to defend the fort for more than 20 days, swearing not to surrender until the kingdom's army counterattacked and defeated the enemy.
"You're also starving, but why can you hold on while 1st Ranger Tribe can't? You left the castle on your own accord and gave up a huge piece of land that belongs to the kingdom to the enemy.
Are you still soldiers of the kingdom?
A bunch of cowards who are afraid of death.
They only had one pack horse, while you brought back more than 30 warhorses before you left the castle.
This proves that the lack of food you said was just an excuse. You didn't have the resolve to defend the castle at all! "
Claude gaped at the confident man who thought he had a handle on 1st Ranger Tribe. How did such a moron become a soldier and even become a first lieutenant? Did he even have any common sense?
In the history books, the Seventeen Brave Warriors of the Demon Tiger Ridge had been greatly glossed over and beautified. In reality, it was a platoon that was led by a short-circuited noble officer and lost their direction of attack. They wandered into the enemy's territory and ended up being surrounded by the enemy on a lone peak of the Demon Tiger Ridge.
Fortunately, there was a spring on the peak, or they wouldn't have been able to survive.
Also, the terrain was dangerous and the enemy didn't have to spend much effort to deal with them. All they did was surround them.
The 17 of them killed the only pack horse they had and survived on horse meat and hide for more than 20 days before the main army counterattacked. Only then did they go down the mountain to meet up with the rest.
For the sake of publicity, their deeds were used to boost morale and become a legend of the kingdom in the history books.
How many people were there in the seventeen warriors? 1st Ranger Tribe, including the injured, had around eight hundred men. How much meat would they get for each of the 30 warhorses they killed?
To survive in the castle for more than a month on horse meat, wasn't that guy a moron?
His head must've been caught in a door. No one with proper military education would say something like that. Was that smug fellow really from a young noble military academy?
Could it be that everyone from that academy was such a moron?
Claude could only look at the arrogant fellow as if he was a moron. Perhaps the pity in his eyes was too obvious, the moron slammed the table and yelled at Claude, "What's with that look? Did I say something wrong?
You don't have the resolve to die for the kingdom, so you find an excuse to run away at the slightest bit of trouble.
You even boasted about destroying three siege towers and how many enemies you killed.
I suspect that this is all a lie you made up to cover up your crime of abandoning the castle and losing the kingdom! "
"If that's what you think, what's the point of investigating? Why don't you just report what you think? That way, it'll save us a lot of trouble," Claude replied coldly.
"Ugh …" The moron didn't know what else to say. He didn't dare to report what he thought. That would only lead to one outcome: he would either be kicked out of the army or receive the harshest punishment. He might even get shot in the worst case.
The verification of merit was the strictest in the kingdom's army. Nobody dared to take someone else's merit, especially when it came to an independent unit.
Back when the ranger camp was first built, even Rosler, who didn't like Claude, didn't dare to take away his contributions. He could only distribute them to the other soldiers in the same squad as him to suppress Claude's progress.
"Let's go back to the original topic," the bespectacled horse-faced first lieutenant said to the moron's side, "1st Ranger Tribe keeps saying that you were forced to leave Count Krylaus' castle due to a lack of rations. But I've calculated that you don't lack rations. If you use them sparingly, you can even last until May."
"Hmm?"
Claude gestured for the lieutenant to give a speech. He was ready to listen attentively to the first lieutenant's opinion.
"You had enough rations to last three months at the end of October, didn't you?" the horse-faced man asked.
"Yes," Claude replied. There was no way to deny it. The accounts of the camp's logistics department clearly recorded the exact amount.
"Then, the enemy came and surrounded the castle. You held on until February and ran out of ammunition. You had no choice but to evacuate the castle, am I right?"
"Yes," Claude confirmed.
"That's where the problem lies!"
The horse-faced man slammed the table and roared, "Since you found out that the enemy had surrounded the castle, why didn't you conserve your rations and prepare to defend the castle for a long time?
Why did you have to provide three meals for the soldiers?
If we calculate it at two bowls of porridge and two slices of rye bread per person per day, the three months of rations you had should have been enough for you to last until May!
You're clearly afraid, which is why you're wasting your rations. Not only are you providing three meals, you're even providing supper.
When the rations run out, you'll have an excuse to evacuate, isn't that right? "
Clatter. Claude first fixed his jaw so that it didn't fall off.
He thought he was already stupid enough to use a history book as an example, but he didn't expect there to be someone even more shameless.
Claude thought his ears were playing tricks on him. He turned to look at Captain Duriolo, only to see him covering his face and lowering his head. Even the two scribes were shivering with their shoulders hunched. Claude couldn't tell if they were snickering or not. It was obvious that the two of them were shocked by the bespectacled horse-faced first lieutenant's words.
Claude looked at the bespectacled, horse-faced first lieutenant with a look of reverence. "May I know your name?"
The bespectacled horse-faced lieutenant replied proudly, "I'm Lieutenant Halitchik Ro Wodeoni.
Claude, since I've seen through your scheme, please tell me everything you know. "
"Are you sure you're not here to joke around?
A soldier gets two bowls of porridge and two slices of black bread a day. Are you sure that's enough for a soldier to fight?
How did you come to such a conclusion? "
Claude was really starting to get annoyed. What did they take the soldiers for?
"Why can't they?
As long as the soldiers of 1st Ranger Tribe are loyal to the kingdom, this amount of rations is more than enough for one person for a day.
The refugees of Rimodra only get that much food a day, yet they're still fighting to work for us. "
"Screw you! Do you think our soldiers are refugees?!" Claude couldn't help but curse. Outrageous! Aren't these bastards afraid of being shot in the back at the frontlines?!
Oh, right. They're staying in HQ and don't have to go to the frontlines, so they don't have to worry about that.
"Lieutenant Claude, please show some respect.
Lieutenant Halichik has been in charge of the refugee relief in Rimodra and has done his best. I believe there's nothing wrong with his numbers.
Even though the soldiers of 1st Ranger Tribe aren't refugees, it's true that you're wasting our rations! "Darrick stood up to argue with Claude.
I was supposed to publish two chapters on Friday, but I delayed them due to some matters at home. Thankfully, I managed to make up for it.
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m.