It was raining outside the tent.
"How did you come up with the idea of taking over Wickhamsburg first, moving supplies and burning down the storehouses before setting up camp here?" Michelic asked Claude in a good mood.
The Shiksan corps of Wicklan, Cybok and Faybort put down their weapons in despair in front of the ruins of Wickhamsburg and surrendered to the pursuing Ranger in hopes of survival.
Micheki breathed a sigh of relief. Having dealt with the three corps without shedding a single drop of blood meant that the five Shiksan corps sent to Nubissia for the colonial war had been wiped out. Shiks had suffered yet another humiliating defeat.
Not only did they lose more than 300,000 of their so-called elites, they even lost the famous Seaking fleet in the northern seas of Freia. That was another slap in the face.
As for how Shiks would react to the news of their defeat, Michelc didn't care. He was a soldier of the kingdom and destroying the kingdom's enemies was his duty.
It was only now that he realized that he had overlooked something important. He had only thought of forcing the enemy to surrender the three standing corps, but he had forgotten that the enemy, who was tired, hungry, and cold, needed nourishment and rest the most, as well as the treatment of their wounded and sick.
Now that they had surrendered, the burden of feeding and resupplying the 180,000 captives fell on his shoulders.
It was now the rainy season in March, and the sky was drizzling. If they didn't have a place to shelter themselves from the rain and food to fill the stomachs of the 180,000 captives before treating the sick soldiers, it was certain that a large number of captives would collapse and never get up again. The consequences would be unimaginable.
If they were enemies, dying on the battlefield would be an honorable act of heroism. But now, they were captives who died after surrendering to Ranger. That would negatively affect the reputation of Aueras. If rumors of killing and mistreating captives were to spread, Ranger and Michaelc wouldn't be able to bear the consequences.
It was at that moment that he regretted ordering Claude to burn down Wickhamsburg so thoroughly that there wasn't even a place to start a fire.
He could only order the soldiers of Ranger to take out their rations and let the 180,000 captives eat a few mouthfuls of rainwater to fill their stomachs. The rest of them could only pray to the goddess of fortune to help them survive this ordeal.
Then, he saw Claude's aide, Captain Myjack.
Myjack reported that Claude had already set up camp on a hill five kilometers away from Wickhamsburg. It was big enough for Ranger and the 180,000 captives to take shelter from the rain until the third month.
Moreover, he had already boiled water and prepared oatmeal. All that was left was for the general to bring his men over.
Michelic was delighted and immediately ordered Ranger to escort the captives to Claude's camp.
After entering the camp and washing up, he summoned Claude and asked him how he knew to set up camp there.
Claude stood at attention and replied, "General, I was actually forced to …"
That was the truth. The main reason was the secret passage that led out of the moat.
Claude and his men had thought of many ways to get into the city. While it was easy to sneak into the city through the secret passage, it was much more dangerous to burn down the warehouses and come out through the passage.
Not to mention the possibility of encountering unexpected situations in the process of carrying out orders, even if they were to set fire to a few supply warehouses, they would quickly be discovered by the enemy.
There were close to a hundred supply warehouses in Wickhamsburg Castle, and it was impossible for a small group to burn them all down.
Not to mention, the enemy would definitely increase the security on the walls if they found out that someone was trying to set fire to the city. The moment they came out from the secret passage, they would be immediately discovered by the enemy guards and used as targets. After all, it was too close and the enemy wasn't blind.
So, Claude recalled what his men said about how it would be a waste to burn all the military supplies in Wickhamsburg.
"The enemy only has two lines stationed there. If we summon Line 131, we'll definitely be able to take them down. As long as we can hold Wickhamsburg, all the military supplies inside will belong to us."
Even though Claude rejected his men's suggestion and told them that there was no need to sacrifice the lives of their men to defend Wickhamsburg, he felt that it made no sense at all.
But when he thought about it, it didn't make sense. The enemy's defenses weren't strong. Why did they have to come out through the secret tunnel? Wouldn't it be easier to open the gate and let the whole regiment enter Wickham Castle?
Completing the mission would be much easier and they could burn as many warehouses as they wanted without having to worry about being discovered by the enemy.
Having made up his mind, he sent a messenger eagle to summon the four battalions stationed in Balingana to monitor the enemy's supply camps.
That was also the reason why he delayed the infiltration of Wickhamsburg until the 25th of the 2nd month.
Since they weren't running away after setting the fire, the Shiksan soldiers were able to easily set fire to a few supply warehouses in the castle. They then used the excuse of putting out the fire to create chaos in the castle. At the same time, they ordered the patrols near the castle gates to put out the fire and easily took control of the gates.
After that, Claude and his men went up the walls and quickly cleared out the enemy sentries.
After the signal was sent out, the soldiers of Tribe 131 who had been lying in ambush outside the castle gates charged into the castle. According to the plan, they charged into the barracks and the enemy headquarters, killing the enemy commander and forcing the remaining officers to surrender. Then, they ordered the panicking enemy to lay down their weapons and stop resisting.
By morning, the entirety of Wickhamsburg had fallen into the hands of Line 131, who had captured more than seven thousand enemy soldiers.
Now, the hundred or so supply warehouses were all open to Claude and Line 131. They could burn whichever one they wanted.
As the supply lines were cut off by Line 131, the enemy couldn't send supplies to the three corps at the frontlines.
In the end, in Wickhamsburg Castle, they discovered more than six hundred four-wheeled carriages that the enemy had accumulated in the square, as well as more than two thousand pack horses in the stables.
There was nothing left to say. They could only pick up the good stuff.
Thus, the soldiers of Line 131 watched over the seven thousand captives as they filled the six hundred four-wheeled carriages with supplies. They also freed up another two hundred four-wheeled carriages from their own platoon to load the supplies.
When they couldn't fit any more, they had the seven thousand or so captives each carry a pole or a sack filled with daily necessities. Only then did they burn down all the warehouses and evacuate Wickhamsburg.
As Claude and the others were transporting rations, clothing, medicine and other military supplies, they didn't take any of the firearms and firearms that were deemed too heavy to match the standard equipment of the kingdom.
So, after the warehouses were set on fire, the ammunition exploded and Wickhamsburg was reduced to rubble.
A few kilometers away from Wickhamsburg, the captives couldn't take it anymore and requested to rest.
The soldiers escorting them felt that the captives were purposely delaying their journey, so they wanted to teach them a lesson.
Claude saw them and stopped them, asking them why they wanted to teach them a lesson.
The soldiers replied that the captives were purposely complaining about being tired to delay their journey and buy time for their pursuers to catch up and save them.
Claude suddenly understood something and burst into laughter.
Why did he retreat with Line 131 so quickly? No wonder he felt that something was off after leaving Wickhamsburg.
Now that he heard the soldiers' reply, he realized that they were afraid of being pursued by the enemy.
Everyone felt a sense of guilt after bringing more than eight hundred carriages filled with supplies. They were afraid that their pursuers would catch up and take back the carriages.
The problem was, where would their pursuers come from?
Shiks had sent five standing corps for the colonial war. Tanya and Kujoa had already been wiped out. The remaining three corps, Wickren, Cybok and Faybort, were said to have rushed to Wickhamsburg the moment they received news of Seaking's defeat. They were already halfway there.
Ranger's scouts had already captured thousands of Shiksan soldiers who had fallen behind. According to the captives, the three corps' food supply was already running low. Apart from the officers, the rest of the soldiers only had a thin bowl of oatmeal a day. Even the pack horses were slaughtered and made into broth for the main force to ensure that they could still fight.
Why did he have to bring Line 131 to Ranger so nervously? Truth be told, there wouldn't be any more enemy forces within a thousand kilometer radius after wiping out the two enemy lines in Wickhamsburg.
Instead, the closer they got to Ranger, the closer they would be to the three enemy corps.
The reason was simple. The enemy's three standing corps were heading straight for Wickhamsburg while Ranger's main force was right behind them. Now that Tribe 131 was moving closer to Ranger's main force, it was the same as advancing towards the enemy's three standing corps. The closer they got to the enemy, the closer they got to the enemy.
Claude came to a realization at that moment. Bringing more than eight hundred four-wheeled carriages filled with supplies to the enemy wasn't the same as sending them to the enemy's doorstep. That was basically giving aid to the enemy.
Realizing his mistake, Claude immediately ordered the troops, carriages and captives to stop and rest. He then sent out light cavalry to scout the surrounding terrain.
After receiving the report, he turned around and avoided the direction he estimated the three enemy corps would be heading in. He turned towards a small hill behind Wickhamsburg and found a clean water source. He ordered the soldiers and captives to set up camp there and wait for the end of the war.
Just like that, Claude estimated the enemy's route and realized that they would run out of food by the time they reached Wickhamsburg.
It was obvious that the enemy would lose all hope when they found out that Wickhamsburg was in ruins. They would have no other way out other than to surrender.
It just so happened that it was the rainy season, which would only make things worse for the enemy.
There was no need to guess anymore. The outcome of the war was already decided. Ranger would soon capture close to two hundred thousand enemies.
The thought of the two hundred thousand captives made Claude realize that Ranger was lightly equipped to follow the three enemy corps and wait for them to surrender.
The problem was, what was Ranger supposed to feed the two hundred thousand captives?
Claude knew very well that the soldiers of Ranger couldn't carry more than seven days' worth of rations on them. Coupled with their own consumption, it was likely that each soldier would only be able to provide three to four days' worth of food for one person.
Ranger only had thirty thousand men at the moment. With close to two hundred thousand captives, the amount of food they could provide would only be enough to feed the captives for one meal or two days.
Even if the supply caravans arrived in time, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. The supply caravans were based on Ranger's consumption. They definitely didn't expect that there would be close to two hundred thousand surrendered enemies. There was no way they could prepare so many resources for the captives.
When his gaze landed on the eight-hundred-plus fully loaded four-wheeled carriages, he smiled and immediately ordered the soldiers to expand the camp with the seven thousand captives. Finally, before the rainy season arrived in March, they built a simple camp that could shelter two hundred thousand people from the rain and fire. At the same time, they also prepared enough firewood as fuel.
As the messenger eagle that reported to Ranger to destroy the supplies in Wickhamsburg didn't return, Claude wasn't able to inform General Michelic that Line 131's camp was set up there.
He had no choice but to send Myjack to lead a light cavalry squad to scout the area around Wickhamsburg. Finally, the main force of Ranger arrived. At the same time, Michelic solved the problem of feeding and healing the 180,000 captives.
After hearing Claude's story, Michelic laughed heartily. He walked to Claude and patted him on the shoulder. "Your growth has surprised me. Really, Claude, you're a natural soldier. The battlefield is the place for you to display your talents.
In the past, you were just an exceptional warrior. But now, you've finally taken a firm step on the path to becoming a general.
Being able to consider long-term changes in the plan and foresee the consequences of the evolution of the battle situation was the foundation of knowledge and skills that an outstanding commander needed to grasp.
You've done me a great favor this time. You've made up for my carelessness and contributed greatly to the kingdom and Ranger!
Thank you, Claude. I've been thinking about how to force three of the enemy's standing corps to surrender without a fight, but I forgot about the logistical pressure they'll have to bear after they surrender. It's truly my fault. "
Claude hurriedly said a few more polite words and took his leave when he saw the general's tired expression.
Balingana had achieved a great victory!
They had wiped out five of Shiks' standing corps and crippled Seaking's fleet!
When news of their victory reached the kingdom, the entirety of Aueras was in an uproar. It was an unexpected and complete victory.
General Michelic, who had planned the entire battle, was hailed as the kingdom's god of war. Even though he admitted in his report that he had made a mistake in the logistics and almost caused all the captives to starve to death, it didn't diminish the glory and glory of leading Ranger to defeat three hundred thousand enemies despite being the weakest of them all.