"In the wilderness, you have to differentiate between food and water that can sustain your life.
Grass roots and tree barks could help you fill your stomach. Even those disgusting bugs could give you the strength to persevere.
"As for how to get clean water, you have to remember that if there's no running water or if there are fishes in the water, don't drink water that looks clean no matter how you look at it. That will be fatal to your body.
What we are going to learn next is how to get food that can fill our stomachs and clean drinking water when we are deprived of food. You have to learn to distinguish which grass roots and tree bark are edible, and which insects can help us recover our vitality.
"You have to learn how to observe and see what kind of water is drinkable. You have to learn how to find drinkable water when you can't start a fire.
"If things get really tough, I suggest you drink your own urine to quench your thirst. Don't touch unknown liquids."
Claude suddenly realized that if he had a squad of magic-wielding soldiers to form an elite special force, he wouldn't have to work so hard to teach them how to survive in the wilderness.
At the very least, magic-wielding soldiers wouldn't have to worry about drinking water in the wilderness. All they had to do was cast spells to get clean water and they would be even more threatening during reconnaissance and sabotage missions.
Aueras gathered the talented magic-wielding children and had them join the special forces to deal with foreign magi and rogue magi within the kingdom. That was actually a form of control.
Claude thought that perhaps he could learn that method as well, but he didn't have the time or resources to do so.
At the end of November, Tribe 131 ended their three-month long training. Claude bid farewell to his family and brought his troops back to the camp near Chateau Christophe.
Three days later, Claude was summoned by Michelc again.
"I've seen your training and field drill records. You've done well.
We'll be having a three-month field drill with the royal guard in April to test the combat prowess of Ranger.
I've decided to have Tribe 131 participate in the drill with the royal guard. Do you have the confidence to lead Tribe 131 to victory? "
Claude almost sprained his back when he saw Michelic throw such a huge question at him. "No way, General. Our folk has only been established for less than half a year. Why would the royal guard want us for a field drill? Aren't they bullying us?"
It was indeed bullying. The royal guard had returned to the royal capital after the war ended and was the fastest to replenish their numbers.
It had been almost three years since the war ended and they had long regained their ability to fight.
Ranger, on the other hand, took more than two years to form. Even though they were veterans who had gone through war, the sloppy military life over the past two years had made them lose their sharpness. It had only been three months since they started training again.
Now that the royal guard was looking for Ranger for a field exercise, it was obvious that they were here to bully Ranger and show off the might of the kingdom's number one military force.
Claude didn't understand why Michelic would agree to the royal guard's request. That would only add to Ranger's troubles.
Even if they really wanted to have a field drill, it would have to wait for another year and a half. They would have to wait for the rest of Ranger's units to regain their ability to fight.
Michelic shook his head with a bitter smile, telling Claude that the arrow was nocked and had to be fired.
The royal guard wasn't just the kingdom's number one wild corps, they were also known as the royal guards of the Stellin royal family.
But now, Ranger had become the royal guards of the Stellin royal family. It could be said that they had surpassed the royal guard and became the most trusted military force of Stellin X, which made the royal guard very dissatisfied.
Not only that, the royal guard had supported the formation of Ranger and the camp at Christophe Castle was also something the royal guard forced to give up.
That was why three years ago, when they gave up Castle Christophe to set up camp, the royal guard requested to have a field battle with Ranger, hoping to emerge victorious in the battle and show the royal family who was the most reliable of the royal guards.
Prince Hansbach agreed, and the time was almost up.
"Claude, let Tribe 131 represent Ranger and the royal guard in actual combat drills. The scale of the drill won't be larger than one line.
Prince Hansbach will be there to observe and act as the chief referee. "
Michelic looked at Claude and said, "Even though I don't care about the outcome of the drill, I hope that you can lead Tribe 131 to win at least a few battles so that we don't lose too badly.
We haven't had much time since the formation of Ranger and we haven't fully recovered. So, you don't have to worry too much. You just have to show half of your ability to command at the military academy. "
Claude could only salute and accept the order.
After the rainy season, April came quickly.
After confirming that Tribe 131 would be participating in the field drill, the royal guard expressed that they didn't want to bully Ranger with numbers. Due to the fact that Tribe 131 was oversized, the royal guard stated that they would only send out two battalions at most for one field drill. That way, they would appear to be about the same as Tribe 131.
Claude wanted to curse. You call that 'about the same'?
The two battalions added together already had two and a half companies more than 500 men than Tribe 131.
The outline for the drill between Ranger and the Praetorian guard was also released. Tribe 131 and the two battalions of the Praetorian guard would go through seven rounds of combat drills.
The first drill would be capture the flag.
A blue flag would be planted at point A. Tribe 131 would be stationed at point B. The two battalions of the royal guard would be stationed at point C. Point B and point C would be the same distance away from point A.
Both sides would set off for point A at the same time to capture the blue flag and defend point A for three days and three nights, or until one side was defeated.
It was a standard drill. Both sides had roughly the same number of troops, with a light cavalry brigade and a cannon brigade on each side.
The commander had to consider how to get to point A as quickly as possible to seize the initiative.
But for the two sides who were conducting field exercises, the difficulty lay in the coordination of the troops' march.
If the light cavalry brigade reached point A first, they might not be able to hold their ground due to the lack of support from the cannons. Dismounted cavalry wouldn't be able to stop the enemy infantry.
Once the enemy wiped out the light cavalry brigade, the reinforcements wouldn't be able to stop the enemy's assault on the cannons, and the destruction of the cannon brigade would mean that the drill would end in failure.
Everyone knew that defense was always more advantageous than offense. If they reached Location A first, they could set up a defensive position first. When the enemy arrived, they could wait for them to exhaust themselves. Even if they were to fight a defensive battle, the defensive side would still have an advantage in terms of casualties.
So, the crux of the drill was the speed of the cannon brigade's advance. They had to protect the cannon brigade well and reach point A before the enemy arrived. Victory was in their grasp.
However, the royal guard didn't expect that. Claude wasn't planning on fighting a defensive battle with them. After three days of marching, Tribe 131 took a turn and marched through the night to set up an ambush ahead of the two battalions of the royal guard.
The two battalions, on the other hand, marched at a normal pace and swaggered into the ambush. But that was it.
The referees of Tribe 131 all agreed that the two battalions of the royal guard were ambushed and completely routed.
After the battle ended, the commanding officers of the two battalions of the royal guard cried out for their innocence and accused Claude of not following the rules. It was clearly a case of capturing the flag and attacking the formation.
How could it turn into an ambush instead?
Claude said, "Wouldn't it be more convenient to defeat them first before taking the flag? We wouldn't have to defend the formation for three days and three nights.
Moreover, the drill had already begun the moment they set off. It wasn't like they were going to start after taking the flag. "
Hansbach declared Tribe 131 the winner and the royal guard had no choice but to swallow their anger.
The second field battle drill was an encounter. As the name suggested, two troops would suddenly meet on the battlefield and engage in battle, ending with the defeat of one of the troops.
This time, the two battalions of the royal guard had learned their lesson and were extremely cautious. They also sent out a large group of light cavalry to act as scouts to cover their path and quickly discovered Tribe 131's scouts.
Half a day later, the scouts reported that Tribe 131 had occupied a small mound and were setting up a defensive position.
It seemed that Tribe 131 was prepared to have a frontal battle with the two battalions of the royal guard. The royal guard commanders were confident that they would be able to teach Tribe 131 a good lesson.
So, they set up camp for a good night's rest before taking over the enemy's formation the next day. They also arranged for light cavalry to monitor the enemy camp's movements to prevent them from sneaking out during the night.
Claude was indeed preparing for a night raid, but he didn't send out a large force. He only sent out three of his best squads along with the referees who were holding them back.
The light cavalry and sentries sent out by the royal guard only knew to guard against a sneak attack from the main force of Tribe 131. They only focused on the front and ignored the movements of the smaller squads.
Claude led the three squads in a big circle and arrived at the back of the two royal guard battalions. They easily infiltrated the camp.
What happened next was only natural. The commanding officers of the two battalions were tied up like dumplings and had towels stuffed into their mouths.
They had no choice but to be tied up, as the referees had already announced that they were killed in a sneak attack.
Dead men couldn't cause a commotion, so they obediently allowed themselves to be tied up. That way, they would have more dignity as officers.
Early the next morning, two field battalion soldiers rubbed their fists and got ready to go to the battlefield. However, they found several referees standing in the barracks. They announced that half of them had been killed in action last night. The officers were all dead. The warehouse had been burned down. Even the canteen had not been able to cook because everything had been burned to the ground in name ….
How is that possible? We've already lost so early in the morning! Your referees are cheating! But no matter how indignant the soldiers were, they couldn't change the decision of the referees.
The Praetorian Guard Army was judged to have lost this battle.
While the soldiers were indignant, the referees were wise men. Tribe 131 only sent out three elite squads to infiltrate the royal guard's camp.
If it had been a real battle, the two battalions would have suffered a crushing defeat.
The third and fourth battle was a battle of offense and defense. Both battalions moved to a small castle.
Claude's luck was good and he got the defensive side first. That way, Tribe 131 would have three days to set up a defensive formation.
On the other hand, the two battalions of the royal guard would attack three days later.
The defensive battle took five days and five nights. In the end, Tribe 131 won by a small margin.
One of the more controversial points was that Claude ordered his soldiers to use wheat straws to create scarecrows to confuse the enemy and bait them into opening fire. Then, they would use their firepower to suppress and eliminate the archers who posed a threat to the defenders in the castle.
The referees ruled that the soldiers who infiltrated the fort were eliminated. While the royal guard protested, it didn't change the fact that they had lost the battle for the third time.
In the fourth battle, the two battalions of the royal guard would defend while Tribe 131 would attack.
That was the crucial point that the royal guard believed they could turn the tables.
With Tribe 131's demonstration, the commanders of the two battalions swore that they would definitely win. After all, they had more than 500 more soldiers than Tribe 131 and they had the small castle and defensive formation to rely on.
However, they failed even faster this time and only lasted for half a day.
Claude ordered the soldiers to burn wheat stalks upwind and add water, leaves, horse dung, and dog dung to it. Smoke billowed everywhere.
Not a single royal guard soldier could stay in the castle and the defensive formation for long. They coughed and choked on the smoke as they fled. Most of them even threw their guns away.
The royal guard officers were speechless.
Even though some of them complained that Tribe 131 was being too reckless, they didn't expect to conduct a battle drill like that.
But any officer with battlefield experience knew very well that if they were to encounter an enemy like Tribe 131 on the battlefield, they would be lucky to escape with their lives.
There were a total of seven actual combat drills in this drill, but Tribe 131 had already won four of them. The royal guard officers had also lost their will to fight.
They didn't think they would meet a commander like Claude who didn't play his cards according to common sense. They lost so badly that they didn't have the face to continue.
So, Hansbach went along with the crowd and announced the end of the drill. Alright, Claude only took a month to complete the drill with the royal guard and brought Tribe 131 back to camp.