Starting from the first month of the new year, Claude led 1st Ranger Tribe to Robisto.
The reason for that was simple and helpless. Krado, who attacked the Shiksan garrison in Balingana, was like a turtle hiding in its shell.
Ever since the fleet of ships delivered the winter clothes and supplies they needed, they had been cooped up in Town Jinke for the winter. They refused to come out and move around.
Under those circumstances, Claude couldn't lead Tribe 131 to attack the heavily fortified camp. All he could do was leave a company to monitor the enemy's movements while he led three companies to Robisto in search of an opportunity.
Robisto fared much better than Balingana due to the fact that the defenses of the capital, Port Patres, were among the best among the seven Aueran colonies.
Before the new sea route from Whitestag to Tyrrsim was opened, Port Patres was the destination of Dreadnaught's eastern sea route. All the specialties sent to the kingdom from the colonies were gathered there.
So, in order to guard against pirate attacks and plunder, the kingdom spent a great deal of resources to build the most powerful defenses and firepower.
Not a single pirate group dared to target Port Patres. That was until Shiks declared war on Aueras. When Nubissia launched an attack on the colonies, Pancry rammed into the defences of Port Patres. Not only were they badly battered, they were also badly wounded and suffered heavy casualties.
Although they were currently in a stalemate, the truth was that the Pancry Army had only occupied the river crossing point and set up camp and defensive positions, waiting for reinforcements and reinforcements to arrive.
In terms of military strength, Pancry and the local garrison of Port Patres weren't too far apart.
But in terms of combat prowess, the local garrison could only defend the city walls and fortifications. They weren't a match for Pancry at all.
So, even though Pancry lost a third of his forces during the attack on Port Patres, they still held the initiative on the battlefield.
Their scouts were spread all over Robisto and would occasionally enter the neighboring Anfiston to plunder the wealth of the kingdom's citizens.
Ever since Claude led Tribe 131 to Anfiston, Pancry's scouts were no longer able to enter Anfiston.
In any case, there was no return. The Pancry Army also knew that the enemy's reinforcements had arrived. The few scouts that managed to escape made it clear to them that their scouts were no match for the enemy.
But after that, Claude led Tribe 131 to Balingana. Colonel Sevict, who took over Anfiston's garrison duties, was a more level-headed person. He wasn't as crazy as Claude and Tribe 131, who were able to chase the fleeing enemy scouts all the way to the enemy's camp.
Sevict only ordered Line 034 to guard the border between the two colonies and not allow Pancry's scouts to enter Anfiston.
Now that Claude had returned with Tribe 131, the scouts of Pancry who ran amok in Robisto were truly unlucky. They had to write their wills before they went on a mission and none of them knew if they would be able to return.
After losing nearly a company, they finally found Tribe 131's base, the town of Modo River.
The Modo River was a small tributary of the Dorinibla River. Its source was in the Mosiraga Mountains at the border of Balingana and Anfiston Colonies. Streams from the mountains converged to form a small river that flowed into the Dorinibla River.
Modo River was located beside the Mosiraga Mountain Range and Modo River. The residents of the town mainly worked in wood processing and farming. There were around ten thousand citizens of the kingdom and around one thousand three hundred households.
There were more than seventy thousand employed mixed-blood natives, or nikancha. It was about a hundred kilometers away from the capital, Port Patres.
There was a local garrison in Modo River Town. When the Pancry Army invaded, they were supposed to gather at the capital, Port Patres, but they did not expect the enemy to move so quickly. They landed not far from Port Patres and surrounded the entire city.
So, the garrison camp had no choice but to turn back. Pancry's main target was Port Patres and they couldn't split their forces to attack the other two towns. So, Modo River was still under the kingdom's control.
After learning that the Aueran reinforcements were only a light cavalry tribe, Pancry mistook Tribe 131 for a light cavalry tribe. After all, they were all equipped with warhorses.
Moreover, Modo River only had enough manpower to defend it, so Pancry decided to get rid of the tumor first. They couldn't attack Port Patres for now anyway, so they might as well get rid of Tribe 131, the flea that was causing trouble for their scouts.
From this point alone, it could be seen that Pancry was much more courageous than the Krado army that attacked Balingana. At the very least, they were willing to take the initiative to attack, unlike the Krado army that cowered in Jinke Town like a turtle, refusing to come out no matter what.
Pancry had dispatched a light cavalry division and an infantry division to Modo River Town. Perhaps in their eyes, this was already four times the number of the enemy, enough to wipe out Tribe 131 and the local garrison in Modo River Town.
After spending five days braving the snow to get to Modo River, the two Pancry lines found out that they were too late. Apart from the nikancha who were busy looting and smashing, they didn't find a single Aueran soldier or citizen.
After capturing a few nikancha and interrogating them, they found out that the enemy had received news that the Pancry army had sent two regiments over. In the past few days, they, along with the residents of the town, had been evacuated to Stone Bear Town, which was more than a hundred and sixty kilometers away.
Stonebear was another town that didn't fall into Pancry's hands. It was located at the border between Robisto and Anfiston, at the foot of the Mosraga Mountains.
The town was famous for a huge boulder that resembled a giant bear, so much so that the town was named after it.
Stonebear produced several valuable stones that were used for decorations and sculptures.
Knowing that the enemy had retreated from Modo River, the two regimental commanders who were ordered to attack had no choice but to set up camp and wait for orders from command to see if they should continue attacking Stonebear.
Due to the evacuation of the townspeople, the empty houses and the mill became a carnival ground for the nikancha who moved in uninvited.
So much so that the two regiments of Pencry's Regiment had to drive the nikancha back to their former slums in the west of the town before they could settle down in the residences.
The houses were piled high with dry firewood, probably collected by the previous residents for winter fuel. Even the streets were filled with broken furniture and wood shavings.
The Pancry soldiers thought that it was the nikancha's doing. That was just their way of life.
However, due to the tiredness of the journey, the soldiers were too lazy to tidy up the empty and abandoned residences. They all went into the residences and decided to take a good rest.
The officers of the light cavalry line and infantry line that were ordered to attack Modo River were exhausted as well. They hurriedly set up sentries and patrols before going to rest.
The enemy's quick escape disappointed them greatly. Stonebear was more than 60 kilometres away. If they were to continue the pursuit, they would have to travel for another three days on the snow-covered roads.
So, they had to rest and recharge for the rest of the journey. They weren't on guard at all. Faced with superior numbers, they didn't think that the enemy would dare to attack them.
Then, around ten at night, the sentries and patrols were attacked.
The broken furniture and discarded wood on the streets were all set ablaze, followed by the houses and mill on the outskirts of the town. Soon, the whole area was engulfed in flames.
The fire spread towards the center of the town. By the time the soldiers in the houses woke up and rushed out, they realized that the fire had already surrounded them. There was nowhere to run.
The sound of gunfire was the most frequent at the stables in the south of the town. The mounts of Pancry's light cavalry line and the pack horses used to transport the cannons and supplies were all gathered there.
That was also where 131's main target was. Claude was determined to take the warhorses and pack horses as spoils of war.
Pancry's light cavalry line soon discovered Claude's intentions and gathered a large number of soldiers to engage in a fierce battle with 131 at the stables.
However, they were in a hurry and didn't make proper preparations. They could only try to force as many soldiers as they could into the stables to chase the enemy out of the town and reclaim their own mounts.
But all their efforts and sacrifices were for naught when Tribe 131 deployed four light infantry field cannons. The soldiers couldn't charge in at all. The cannons' cannons bombarded the two entrances of the stables, killing as many soldiers as they tried to charge in. All they could do was watch as Tribe 131 broke through the walls, took away the surviving warhorses and pack horses, and set the stables ablaze.
The fire on the outskirts of the town grew fiercer and fiercer. The houses in the town began to burn as well. It was only then that Pancry's soldiers and officers noticed that the roofs of the houses had been splashed with kerosene. Even the abandoned furniture and wood on the streets were no exception. A single spark could ignite a huge pile of wood. They were trapped in the empty space in the middle of the town with nowhere to run. Cries and cries for help filled the air.
Fortunately, it started snowing again and suppressed the fire. Some of the clear-headed officers and soldiers hurriedly tried to save themselves. They used all sorts of tools to tear down the burning houses and used snow and water from wells to extinguish the fires on the streets. After half a night of hard work, they finally managed to open up a path to the outskirts of town.
By the time they rushed out of the burning town cheering, they were faced with 131's cavalry, muskets, and a dozen light infantry field cannons.
The soldiers and officers of the Pancry Legion, who were mostly unarmed, could only helplessly raise their arms and surrender. Even the most impulsive officers could only calm down and surrender.
The reason was simple. Most of their military supplies and cannons were still in the town as offerings to the Fire God. Less than a third of the soldiers were still armed. Moreover, many of the soldiers did not even wear thick military uniforms. They just ran out of the fire in their shirts …
The fire in Modo River burned through the night and day. It was only in the afternoon that the flames were extinguished by a heavy snowfall.
The entire town was practically in ruins.
The Nikancha slum in the western part of the town was still in good condition. This was because the slum and the town were originally kept a distance of almost a hundred meters from each other, outside the town's walls.
This was originally a measure taken by the residents of Modo River to prevent the nikancha from rioting, but it became a safety measure for the slums to survive the fire.
The number of Pancry's soldiers who died in the fire was less than the number who died in the battle at the stables in the south of the town. However, the fire had destroyed most of the supplies and cannons the two regiments carried. Even the warhorses and pack horses were seized by 131.
The soldiers and officers who escaped the fire had no other choice but to surrender to 131. They couldn't return to the corps camp on an empty stomach for five days and five nights.
In the battle of Modo River, Tribe 131 had annihilated the two regiments sent by Pancry and captured more than eight thousand people.
For Pancry, it was no different from being dealt a heavy blow. It was an outcome they didn't expect even in their wildest dreams.
The two regiments never returned and there was no news of them. It wasn't until a few lucky scouts managed to avoid 131's perimeter and reached the outskirts of Modo River that they found out the two regiments had been completely wiped out.
Thus, the Pancry Army became well-behaved and learned from the Krado Army of the Balingana Colony. They hid in their camp and waited for winter to pass before they received reinforcements and resources.
Claude had no choice but to lead 131 back to Anfiston to rest and reorganize during the winter.
From October of the previous year to January of the new year, 131 had been fighting in two colonies. While they won every battle, they suffered quite a number of casualties.
Currently, there were only about 1,100 people in the entire battalion who could still fight. Their original strength was the strengthened version of the battalion, which was about 1,800 people …
In February, Robisto and Balingana were rather peaceful. The enemy didn't come out, so Claude only sent Berklin's light cavalry to keep an eye on Pancry and Krado.
In the end, the reward was that the enemy's two legions were very obedient, staying in their camps and not moving about.
After the rainy season in March, Shiks sent another large transport fleet to replenish Pancry's folk and Krado's two infantry lines.
At the same time, the escorting warships started bombarding Robisto's capital, Port Patres.
However, they were unlucky this time and had one warship each sunk. In the end, they had no choice but to flee with their fleets.
The newly replenished Pancry and Krado launched another attack on Port Patres and Brikaman. Robisto and Balingana were once again engulfed in the flames of war.
Claude led 131 to fight in both colonies, but this time, the enemy was prepared and placed great importance on the convoy's safety. Each time, they would send a line to escort the convoy. Apart from taking out a few enemy scouts, 131 wasn't able to achieve much.
At the start of the fourth month, Claude finally received some good news. The reinforcements of Ranger had arrived at Anfiston and Michelc told Claude to report to folk command.