Military orders were absolute. No matter how unwilling Claude was, he had to carry them out.
Moreover, General Michelic had summoned Claude to give him an order, not to discuss whether or not he could go.
Claude understood that since the ministry of war had agreed to expand Ranger into a corps after the war, there was nothing he could do to stop General Michelic from taking Ranger to Nubissia and fighting the invading Shiksan colonial army no matter how difficult it was.
Expanding Ranger into a corps was General Michelic's long-cherished wish. It seemed that war was inevitable.
As the sharpest blade of Ranger and the jarl of Tribe 131, Claude had to take on the role of the vanguard.
In General Michelic's plans, Tribe 131 was not only the first batch to head to Nubissia, but also the eyes to scout out the enemy's strength.
"Alright, General. I promise to carry out your orders," Claude said.
Due to the difficulty of transportation, Ranger would arrive at Tyrrsim in two batches. The first and second batches would arrive three months apart.
General Michelic ordered Tribe 131 and two of the mobility regiments to head to Tyrrsim as the first batch of reinforcements. The two regiments would then head to the frontlines to stabilize the defences and wait for the second batch to arrive before launching a counterattack.
At the same time, as the first batch of reinforcements, Tribe 131 was to take the initiative and launch an attack from behind the enemy lines.
They would be doing what they were used to, attacking the enemy's supply points and slowing down the enemy's advance.
That would force the enemy to split up to protect the supply lines and reduce the pressure on the two mobility regiments at the frontlines.
General Michelic had high hopes for Tribe 131. He hoped that Claude would lead Tribe 131 to attack the enemy's rear and buy more time for Ranger.
The first reason was to prevent the enemy from occupying too much of the kingdom's colonies before the rest of Ranger arrived. The second reason was to buy time for the two mobile regiments to stabilize their defences and reorganize the colonies' garrisons. That way, they could gather more forces for a counterattack.
Nubissia was too far away after all. It had been more than a month since he received news that the Shiksan colonial army had declared war on the seven colonies and invaded Cromwell. When the messenger returned, the latest news was that the Shiksan colonial army had taken over half of the colonies and were besieging the capital of Cromwell, Wickhamsburg.
It would take half a month to travel from Nubissia to Freia by sea, and that was if the journey was smooth. If anything unexpected happened, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for it to take 20 to 30 days.
General Michelic didn't know how far the war on Nubissia had progressed. He reckoned that the seven colonies' garrisons wouldn't be able to withstand the Shiksan colonial army's advance.
The only thing that gave the kingdom's upper echelons confidence was that the territories of the seven colonies were simply too vast. Even if they rode from one end to the other, it would take them at least a month's time.
On the other hand, the Shiksan colonial army still had to take over cities along the way. So, the kingdom would have enough time to transport Ranger to Nubissia within half a year.
If they didn't bring warhorses, Ranger could be transported there in one go. A single ocean-going ship could carry 200 soldiers and supplies, so it would only take 150 ocean-going ships to make the trip.
But with 20,000 warhorses, they would have to be transported in two batches.
If they didn't bring warhorses, they wouldn't be able to gather enough mounts from the colonies and they would lose mobility. Who knew how long it would take for them to reach the frontlines?
Moreover, the reason Michelic summoned Claude was to keep it a secret.
The higher-ups didn't want the war on Nubissia to disrupt the kingdom's stability and cause chaos among the people.
So, Claude could only announce the mission and destination after the soldiers boarded the ships.
On the way to Whitestag, they would use the excuse of training and sea transport as an excuse to not arouse the suspicion of the local officials along the way.
Claude nodded and repeated the mission's requirements and goal. Only then did Michelic dismiss him and tell him to make preparations for the departure.
He also told Claude that the first two mobile platoons to join Tribe 131 as reinforcements would be heading to Whitestag in a week's time and that they would set sail once Storm was ready.
Claude returned to camp with a cold expression. The only thing that made him happy was that the light cavalry jarl had been ordered to return to the folk command center. Berklin, whom Claude had nominated, had already taken over as the jarl.
Speaking of which, Berklin was able to take over the role thanks to the escape from the Great Plains of Canas. He had tied himself and his companions to the backs of their mounts. Apart from letting the horses rest and forage for food, they ran for two days and three nights without rest before escaping from the Canasian light cavalry's pursuit.
That was why he had a deep understanding of the famed scouts of the eastern plains. Claude believed that he would be able to imitate and surpass the light cavalry of Canas.
Three days later, Tribe 131 set out for Whitestag again. Apart from Claude, everyone else thought that they were going to Whitestag for another round of training.
However, the closer they got to the three southwestern prefectures, the more they felt that something wasn't right. When Siegfelde was handing over supplies to the local officials along the way, he often heard them ask if they were going to Nubissia.
Siegfelde even told Claude about it as a joke when he returned, but he didn't notice how pale Claude's face was.
When they reached Whitestag, Viscount Felidos went straight to camp and grabbed Claude's hand to encourage him to teach the Shiksan invaders a good lesson. By then, Claude knew that the news couldn't be kept a secret anymore. He asked Felidos how he found out that Ranger was going to Nubissia.
Felidos laughed heartily and said that there was no need to keep it a secret. While the war on Nubissia could be hidden from the royal capital, it couldn't be hidden from Whitestag. Don't forget that Storm escorted the merchant fleets between the two continents. The news of Shiks invading the colonies had long since spread.
However, the higher-ups had ordered that no newspapers were allowed to publish news of the war on Nubissia, so it could only be spread by word of mouth.
As the majordomo of Whitestag, Felidos was naturally aware of the actual situation on the other continent.
It was said that Cromwell had already been taken by the enemy and the Shiksan colonial army had sealed off two routes to invade Balingana and Robisto respectively.
The local garrison was routed at the first encounter and couldn't stop the enemy at all.
The other bad news was that Machek, who was sent to reinforce Cromwell, had died on the battlefield.
The highest official in the Aueran colonies was the viceroy and the highest military officer was the admiral.
The viceroy was in charge of the administration of the colonies, while the admiral was in charge of the local garrison.
Generally speaking, apart from the capital city, which had a garrison, the other towns in the colonies only had a garrison. In total, the military strength of an admiral was about two regiments, and they were basically small regiments rather than reinforced regiments.
The seven colonies had seven viceroys and seven admirals. Cromwell had already fallen to the enemy and the viceroy and admiral were responsible for defending it. Their current whereabouts were unknown.
According to Chief Steward Felidos, Inspector Machek was the military commander of Anfiston Colony. He had led the local garrison to reinforce Cromwell Colony and fight the enemy in the field.
In the end, his troops were routed and he was hit by a stray bullet and fell off his horse. He was rescued by his followers and died before he could reach safety.
Knowing that the kingdom was at war with Shiks on Nubissia, Felidos knew that the kingdom would definitely send reinforcements.
So, when Claude led Tribe 131 to Whitestag, he knew right away that the reinforcements were Ranger.
As a zealous believer in war, Felidos hated the fact that he was crippled and couldn't continue fighting for the kingdom. That was why he rushed to the camp to encourage Claude. The way he saw it, Claude had come at a good time to be able to fight another war right after the end of the war in the east.
Having managed to fool Felidos with much difficulty, Claude could only smile bitterly at his comrade. There was no longer any need to keep secrets.
He told them that Ranger was indeed heading to Nubissia to fend off the Shiksan colonial invasion.
The officers of Tribe 131 didn't think that they would be heading to Nubissia to fight against the Shiksan colony.
However, contrary to Claude's expectations, they weren't afraid at all. Instead, they were eager to try.
Ever since the royal guard lost to them in a one-on-one battle, the soldiers of Tribe 131 had grown their eyes to the top of their heads and believed that they were the cream of the crop.
Even if they were to fight against the Shiksan colony, the hegemon of Northland, they believed that they were nothing more than pushovers. They wanted to earn some merit from the enemy to advance their ranks.
While it was easy to placate the soldiers in the camp, Claude was faced with his mother and wife's teary eyes when he returned home.
His mother even hoped that he could retire and live a peaceful life at home instead of going to war in Nubissia.
Claude didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It wasn't a matter of whether he retired or not. The order had already been given. If he retired now, he would be treated as a deserter.
In the end, Claude comforted his mother and Kefnie and returned to camp two days later.
Everything was ready. All that was left was for Storm to assemble the ships to set sail.
The first two mobile regiments arrived in Whitestag as reinforcements. The two regimental commanders were Claude's seniors from Calleben's advanced military academy and were on rather good terms with him.
Their mission was to form a defensive line and stabilize the situation. At the same time, they would reorganize the remaining garrison forces in the colonies as reserve troops. They would launch a counterattack when the second wave of Ranger arrived.
Next, the two regimental commanders met up with their strategists and Claude to conduct a few simulations based on the map of Nubissia. To them, Nubissia was an extremely unfamiliar place and Shiks was an enemy they had never encountered before.
None of them were confident and could only try their best to make up for their shortcomings.
Another week passed and Storm finally assembled the ships that formed the transport fleet. It took two days for the troops to board the ships and settle down. Then, Claude was sent off by his mother's family, friends and fellow villagers at the docks. He embarked on his journey to Nubissia.
According to the captain of Storm's flagship, Tornado, it would only take around half a month to travel from Whitestag to Tyrrsim. If everything went well, it would take no more than seventeen days. If anything went wrong, it would only take twenty-four to twenty-five days.
He had been on this route for more than six years and made four round trips a year. He could find the right direction even with his eyes closed.
As one of the high-ranking officers in charge of the first wave of reinforcements, Claude and his two seniors were invited to the flagship, which was probably the safest place in Storm.
The flagship Tornado was one of the kingdom's seven first-rate battleships. It had a total of 78 cannons on each side, and its firepower was extremely powerful. At the same time, it had six masts that could hang 23 sails of different sizes. It was also outstanding in terms of speed and agility.
The only thing that displeased Claude and the two seniors was Count Saramento's attitude. He probably invited them to stay on the flagship out of the traditional military customs of the kingdom.
However, apart from the first time they met, he didn't meet them again and kept hiding in his cabin.
Clearly, he looked down on Claude and the other officers who came from peasant backgrounds because he was a noble.
Claude, on the other hand, got along quite well with Tornado's captain, Captain Lesting. When he had nothing to do, he would chat on the helm deck.
On the eleventh day, the fleet met an unexpected visitor on the Silent Ocean. A black ship with black sails appeared on the right side of the fleet and tailed them from a distance of five to six kilometers away.
"That's the ship of the Blacksail Pirates.
Captain Lesding glanced at the black ship and said, "This is a patrol and reconnaissance ship. Don't worry, they won't dare to rob the kingdom's fleet.
We have more than two hundred ships this time. They'll burst if they want to take a bite out of us. "
"There are pirates here?" Claude was surprised.
Captain Lesting looked around and whispered to Claude, "There aren't any other pirates on this route for a long time. The only exception is the Blacksail Pirates.
The pirate leader is a deserter from Storm and I heard that he's very young. His base should be on an island in the depths of the Silent Ocean.
We've tried to hunt him down many times but to no avail. Instead, we lost quite a few ships.
Now, the higher-ups have ordered that as long as the Blacksail Pirates don't provoke us, we'll let them go. "
Young and deserter … Could it be Eriksson? Claude thought.
On the afternoon of the eighteenth day, the fleet arrived at the port of Cobicus in the Tyrrsim colony of Nubissia.