"Sir, I've asked them. They're all citizens of Anfiston.
They said that for the past month, Shiksan cavalrymen have been infiltrating the colony from time to time, burning, killing, and looting.
Most of the local garrisons followed Machek to reinforce Cromwell but were routed in battle. Less than a quarter of them made it back.
Viceroy Franz summoned the remaining local garrisons and decided to defend Grinosburg to the death, abandoning the rest of the towns.
That's why the Shiksan cavalrymen are able to come and go as they please. The security in the towns has deteriorated and the nikancha are showing signs of rioting. The citizens of the kingdom are packing their belongings and running for their lives, "Myjack reported.
Claude rested his horse on a small hill by the side of the road and smiled bitterly as he looked at the long line of carriages blocking the road.
Tribe 131 had been on the road for 13 days, but they didn't expect to be blocked by a convoy of fleeing citizens the moment they entered Anfiston.
Judging from the scale of the convoy, who knew how long it would take for it to pass?
He originally thought that Shiksan's colonial forces had conquered Balingana and Robisto and were advancing on Anfiston. That was why there were so many refugees.
But when he sent Myjack to ask around, he found out that Shiks only sent a few cavalrymen to cause chaos in the colony.
"Have everyone dismount and rest by the side of the road. We'll continue after the convoy has passed," Claude ordered.
What he didn't expect, however, was that the convoy stopped after a short while. After a while, Gum came to report that a few representatives from the convoy wanted to meet Claude.
Claude gestured for them to be brought over to see what they wanted to do.
A few well-dressed middle-aged and elderly people appeared before Claude. They introduced themselves as the people in charge of Anfiston's mining and trade association.
Originally, he had planned to take his family and property and abandon the colony's industries, retreating to Tyrrsim to take a ship back home.
But when they saw the elite troops resting by the side of the road, they felt that things could still be salvaged. So, they wanted to ask Claude if they were reinforcements from the kingdom.
If that was the case, then they could go back without having to give up their businesses.
There was no need to hide it. He told them directly that he was indeed the vanguard of the kingdom's reinforcements.
The kingdom would set up the first line of defence in Anfiston and wait for reinforcements to arrive before launching a counterattack against the enemy until all the lost colonies were recovered.
The representatives were overjoyed. Since the kingdom was going to set up a defensive line in Anfiston, it meant that the kingdom would not give up on the colony. It also meant that they would not have to give up on their properties. The joy of regaining something they had lost made them lose their composure.
Claude, on the other hand, found it rather odd. Since they were so reluctant to part with their property, why didn't they organize a resistance? Shiks only sent a few squads of scouts to earn some extra income. Was there really a need to abandon their property and flee with their families?
However, he soon found out about the whole story and couldn't help but marvel at how weird the viceroys of the colonies were.
For example, Baron Strathern of the Tyrrsim Colony sold the firearms and armaments of the local garrison forces on a large scale to fill his own pockets.
On the other hand, the viceroy of Anfiston, Viscount Franz, and Maciek, who died on the battlefield, were gun prohibitionists who forbade civilians from owning firearms.
Anfiston was the largest mining colony out of the seven colonies in the kingdom. It produced more than 30 types of mineral resources, including five gold and silver mines.
In Aueras, gold and silver mines were considered war resources and private individuals weren't allowed to own them.
Anfiston's mining association, on the other hand, was mostly made up of developers and owners of other minerals. The miners for them were mostly mixed-blood natives.
Since Anfiston forbade civilians from owning guns, the mine owners usually had cold weapons and crossbows. The local garrison forces in Anfiston were mostly at full strength, and the mine owners treated the mixed-blood miners fairly well. They didn't have to worry about the mixed-blood natives rebelling, so their lives were still alright.
But after the Shiksan colony invaded Cromwell, everything changed.
Maciek volunteered to lead most of the local garrison forces as reinforcements. In the end, not only did he lose his life, he also lost more than half of the local garrison forces.
The lucky ones managed to make it back and the rest fled to Port Patres, the capital of Robisto, where they were forced to stay behind to help defend the city.
When the news of the defeat came, the governor, Viscount Franz, who knew nothing about military affairs, panicked. He gathered all the remaining local garrisons and prepared to defend the capital, Grinosburg, giving up the rest of the towns in the colony.
When Inspector Maciek had rushed to the Cromwell Colony as reinforcements, he had at least left about a company of local garrisons in those towns, which was barely enough to maintain law and order in each town.
Now that the viceroy had summoned them to Grinosburg, the security in those towns immediately deteriorated.
The reason why the mixed-blooded natives of Nubissia were called 'nikancha' by the colonists was because of their vile habits.
They were used to lying and stealing. They did not feel that they were doing anything wrong. Instead, they would be annoyed that their lies were seen through or that they were caught stealing. Even if they sincerely apologized and repented, as long as you let them go, they would turn around and think that they were smart enough to deceive you and become complacent …
That was the common opinion of those who had interacted with the mixed-blood natives. Only a whip could make the nikancha obediently follow orders and rules.
All you had to do was tell them what they could and couldn't do. There was no need to listen to them beg for mercy, as it was impossible to tell if they were telling the truth or lying.
If you were moved by their begging for mercy and decided to let them go, they might be cursing you in their hearts for being so easily deceived by them and feeling superior in terms of intelligence and looking down on you, a kind-hearted person …
The nikancha were well-behaved and honest in their work, as the towns and cities still had their own armed forces.
But after the local garrisons were gathered at the capital, Grinosburg, the nikancha people in each town began to celebrate.
Robberies and theft in broad daylight started to increase. The citizens of the Kingdom had no choice but to band together to protect their families and homes. However, the cold weapons and crossbows in their hands were not much of a threat to the nikancha. Some of the nikancha who knew how to hunt were even more threatening than the weapons in the hands of the citizens of the Kingdom.
Under those circumstances, the people in charge of Anfiston's mining and trade association went to see the viceroy, Viscount Franz, in hopes of lifting the ban on firearms and distributing them to the citizens in the towns.
The first reason was to reorganize the garrison and the second was to suppress the nikancha who were ready to make trouble and get through the difficult times together.
Unfortunately, the stubborn viceroy, Viscount Franz, refused the reasonable request. His reason was that the Shiksan invaders would be attacking Anfiston soon.
He was determined to fight to the last drop of his blood for the kingdom and defend Grinosburg to his death.
The firearms in the armory were meant to be used against the Shiksan invaders and definitely wouldn't be distributed to the citizens.
In the eyes of the viceroy, Viscount Francis, giving guns to the citizens of the towns was tantamount to supporting the enemy. They had not been trained and could easily abandon the guns to the nikancha people. In that case, it would be easier for them to pose a greater threat to the local garrison.
In fact, the invasion of Anfiston by the Shiksan scouts wasn't the main reason for the citizens' exodus.
The enemy's scouting teams had only looted a few farms and farms outside the town, burned a few houses, killed a few nikancha, and injured a few of the kingdom's citizens.
They didn't dare to enter the towns recklessly.
The real reason the citizens fled was due to internal reasons. The security in the towns had deteriorated and the citizens didn't have the firearms and cannons to suppress the nikancha.
This forced the citizens of the kingdom to consider the safety of their families, and they decided to abandon their homes to the colonies in the rear.
Now that they ran into Tribe 131, the citizens saw a glimmer of hope in returning to their homes.
After all, it was something their ancestors or their own family had worked hard for. None of them were willing to give it up just like that.
Most of the carriages on the road turned around and the cows and horses pulling them neighed.
Those who didn't want to return to their families and friends in other colonies were separated and continued on the road.
However, there weren't many of them and they wouldn't affect Tribe 131's progress.
Claude gathered all the brigade jarls and spread out the map on the spot to assign them their missions.
Apart from Grinosburg, Anfiston also had four cities, one town and a fishing port.
The four cities were all mountainous cities the size of a town and their main industry was mining.
First Town was the only flat town in Anfiston. It was surrounded by farms, farms, and gardens. It was where Anfiston's crops and livestock were grown.
There was also a fishing port town that wasn't too far from Grinosburg.
"Captain Berklin, send your light cavalry brigade to Lanu Town. Maintain order and send a small team of scouts to Robisto's territory.
Remember, don't let any Shiksan scouts enter Anfiston again. "
"Yes, Sir," Berklin saluted.
"Captain Moriad, send your field battalion to Rosas Mountain City. It's the nearest mountain city in Balingana. While you're suppressing the riot and maintaining order, you'll also need to send a reconnaissance team into Balingana to get a clear picture of the current situation. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir," Moriad replied.
"Lieutenant Dyavid, I'm sure you know what you're supposed to do when you're going to Funkirk," Claude said, looking at Dyavid.
"Don't worry, Sir. I know what to do," Dyavid said with a smile.
"Captain Keshmiller, send your brigade to Avikla."
"Yes, Sir," Captain Kishmiller saluted.
"Captain Androok, I'll leave Bodeman to you."
Androok was a staff officer that Claude had just promoted. He took over Berklin's position as the field jarl of Berklin's brigade.
He had always been quiet and worked hard at battalion headquarters, which earned him a lot of praise from Claude.
After Berklin became a light cavalry brigade jarl, the vacancy he left behind was filled by Androok.
Claude looked at the brigade jarl of the cannons, Abervik, and told him to split five cannon squads to follow the five brigades. That way, each brigade would be given two light infantry field cannons to increase their firepower when defending the towns.
"Sirs, your primary mission in the five towns is to suppress the nikancha riots and maintain order in the towns. Help the fleeing natives return to their homes.
"The second mission is to patrol and scout the borders to prevent Shiksan scouts from entering Anfiston. Also, send some elite squads into Balingana and Robisto to scout the current situation.
The third task is to establish a local garrison in each town. This is the most important task. After I enter the capital, Grinosburg, I will transport the firearms and ordnance I have in reserve to your towns to equip the local garrison.
"Sirs, please take note. Only by setting up the local garrison force will our rear be safe and our frontlines will be able to move forward into Balingana and Robisto to complete our mission.
Alright, the guides are ready. Let's go, "Claude said as he clapped his hands to encourage his subordinates.
"Sir, what should we do with the rioting mixed-blood natives?" Keshmiller of the third brigade asked.
Claude shook his head with a smile and a cold gaze. "Shoot those who resist. Hang the leaders. As for the subordinates, capture them first. We'll have plenty of work to do in the future.
We'll deal with them harshly during wartime. "
After Moriad and the others left, Schnake looked at the map and reminded Claude, "Sir, did you forget that there's a fishing town in Anfiston?"
"I know," Claude said, "It's only 15 kilometres away from Grinosburg, about half a day's journey. Also, it's relatively safe for the time being.
I asked the gentlemen of the Mining and Commercial Association just now, and they said that there were no refugees from that fishing town in this caravan.
Once we enter Grinosburg, we'll send someone with a brigade to take a look. "
On the 11th of the 9th month, Year 584 of the Sacred Light Calendar, Claude led Tribe 131 into the capital of Anfiston, Grinosburg.