General Fansnik was thrown into the Thundercrash Division's solitary confinement room, with no response to his cries for help.
He wouldn't be able to get out for the next five or six days before Misierci returned.
Even when he cursed loudly in the cell, claiming that Claude was a traitor and slandering a general of the kingdom, nobody paid him any attention.
Claude only told him to starve him for a day and a night since he was so energetic. He didn't want to give him a single piece of bread or a single drop of water.
When Colonel Saljorak arrived at HQ, Claude didn't waste any time and handed him the merchant and his entourage. He told him that he needed a statement from the merchant that he was a Shiksan spy.
That was the only way he could solve the problem of imprisoning a general with a fake military order.
Even though Claude believed that Misierci would admit to the non-existent order, it wouldn't be a bad thing to make sure the evidence was tight.
Saljorak, who caught Misierci's eye, only listened calmly to Claude's recount of the incident and nodded to show that he understood before taking the merchant and his entourage away.
Claude breathed a sigh of relief and sent an eagle message to Ranger HQ. As the highest commanding officer of the war theatre, he had Ranger's military law department release Skri immediately. Otherwise, he would charge the officer in charge of the military law department with hindering the military law department.
In Aueras, be it the army or the navy, if a soldier violated military discipline, it wouldn't affect their future promotions.
However, the only thing they couldn't be accused of was hindering the military.
Having anything to do with it would mean that their future in the army was over.
Sure enough, just over an hour after sending out this Harrier message, they received a Harrier message from Colonel Skri. He had been released and was now in charge of the logistics department.
Claude then wrote a notice and ordered it to be sent to Colonel Bolonik of 1st Monolith in Brikaman. He had him report the incident to Misierci, who was on an inspection trip. His decision to imprison General Fansnik was also included in the notice.
While Claude might have handled the matter crudely, time was of the essence. Everyone was busy and they didn't have time to waste on it.
He believed that Misierc would understand Claude's way of handling things. After all, he had already wiped his ass clean.
The next day, the first batch of immigrant families arrived at Lanu Town. There were more than 17,000 families in this batch. Including the family members, there were more than 80,000 people. Along with this batch of immigrants, there were also more than 4,000 people from the four local guard camps.
Claude spent a day in the camp.
Every immigrant family registered and moved into their new tents. Next, all they had to do was wait for their assigned property.
If they were engaged in farming and animal husbandry, each household would be allocated ten mu of uncultivated land, which they would have to cultivate themselves.
Of course, if they were willing to settle down in Mountain City and find a job at the Mining and Commerce Association, the Association would provide these immigrant families with a house and a month's salary in advance …
By the time Claude returned to HQ, it was already evening.
Anders, the adjutant of HQ, reported that the new head of the workshop, a count, had brought his daughter, a baroness, and a young noble to visit Claude. But since Claude wasn't around, they left for Grinosburg.
Claude nodded to show that he understood.
He didn't mind whether he would meet the new head of the workshop or not. After all, the only person who would have dealings with the workshop in the future would be the head of logistics, Screed. It didn't matter if he met the count or not. He believed that the count was only paying him a visit out of courtesy.
"Sir, the four local guard camp commanders have been waiting here all afternoon. Do you want to meet them?" Anders asked.
It was obvious that these four local guard battalions were sent here to join the five reinforced divisions. That was why these four battalion commanders had been waiting in the war zone command center. This matter concerned their futures.
"Alright. Have them come to my office one by one," Claude said.
"Sir, Zeroman local guard camp of Ambrize prefecture reporting for duty. I am the battalion commander, Major Aliga Rosland," said the man in his thirties as he saluted Claude.
Claude stood up to return the salute and invited him to take a seat.
Ambrize prefecture was one of the three prefectures to the southwest. It was the first prefecture Claude passed by when he left Whitestag to join Bluefeather.
Even though he knew that Zeroman wasn't a prefectural city, Claude's conversation with Aliga about the Black Forest at the border between Ambrize and Whitestag did help him relax quite a bit.
The meeting lasted for around ten minutes. Claude mainly got to know what kind of battles Zeroman's garrison had experienced in the five years of war, such as suppressing local riots or participating in defensive battles. He also explained the formation of the five reinforced folk to the man and comforted him, telling him that as long as he was capable, the theatre would provide him with opportunities to perform.
That was how Claude dismissed the first three garrison commanders. When the fourth one came in, Claude was still wondering if he could skip a few steps to save time so that he could go home and rest earlier.
But when he saw who it was, he jumped up in shock. "Why are you here?
Why are you here? "
Not even in his wildest dreams did Claude expect to see his good friend, Borkal, there.
It had been years since they last met and Borkal's body had grown rounder. Rather than saying that the garrison uniform was on him, it was more appropriate to say that it was on him.
Perhaps it was because Borkal knew his own figure and knew that it didn't make him look like a soldier, so he purposely made himself the last one.
Borkal's expression was one of disbelief and shock. He pointed at Claude with his mouth agape, unable to say a word.
Claude laughed heartily as he strode over and hugged his childhood friend tightly, even though he was now a big fatty.
What Claude didn't expect was for Borkal to grab him by the neck. His face flushed red as he cursed, "I-I see, you're the one who set me up! I knew it! There are nine local guard camps in the three southwestern prefectures. How could it be such a coincidence that our local guard camp was chosen to come to this godforsaken place and join the second line corps?"
Claude easily shrugged off Borkal's hands and pushed him onto the sofa. "Fatty, what are you talking about?
What do you mean I set you up? I didn't even expect you to appear in front of me.
Tell me, what's the meaning of this? "
Looking at his own figure, Borkal realized that he wasn't Claude's match at all. He looked at Claude suspiciously and asked, "Is it really not your doing?
Did you purposely transfer our Bangilia City Garrison Camp to your war zone? "
Claude also noticed that something was amiss and asked, "What's going on?
It should be a good thing that your local Garrison Battalion can be transferred to the war zone.
Being transferred from the garrison to the second line is considered a promotion. Otherwise, a major like you would only be equivalent to a captain and you'd still have to salute first.
Besides, I don't have the ability to decide which garrison to send here. The ministry of the army said that they're sending us 20 garrison garrisons with combat experience to strengthen our forces, so I don't even know which one they're sending. "
Borkal said bitterly, "Alright, it's none of your business. This is their revenge.
They purposely transferred an eyesore like me, the Battalion Commander of the local Garrison Camp, to make things easier for them … "
He nudged Borkal and said, "Fatty, what are you talking about? I don't understand what you're saying.
Did you offend someone and they want to deal with you?
Don't worry, this is my territory. No one can do anything to you. "
Borkal snapped, "Pfft, pfft. I already said it's none of your business. You wouldn't understand anyway.
It's just that my family's business is going to plummet again now that I've been sent to this godforsaken place of yours. "
Some people just couldn't be given face, and the fatty in front of him was one of them.
He seemed to have forgotten his current situation. Claude was now his superior and no longer the playboy he used to joke around with.
Claude smiled and returned to his desk. He sat down and tapped the surface with his index finger. "Major Borkal, please stand at attention and answer my question."
Borkal waved his hand nonchalantly. "Stop messing around, Claude. I'm feeling annoyed right now."
Claude tugged on the bell rope behind him and the door to the office was pushed open. Sergeant Gum came in with two guards with a dark expression on his face.
Claude pointed at Borkal who was sitting on the sofa in shock and said, "Have you ever seen such a fat soldier? He's a disgrace to the kingdom's army!
Take him to be weighed and see how heavy he is. Then, throw him to the Thundercrash division's recruit training department. Tell the person in charge there, Lieutenant Colonel Moriad, to bring him back to see me after he's lost a hundred jin. "
"Yes, Sir."
The big Gemi raised his head and the two guards behind him charged at Borkal menacingly.
Borkal finally understood what kind of situation he was in. His fat body leapt up from the sofa with surprising agility and pounced at Claude.
Just as Claude was about to kick him away, Borkal grabbed his calf and grabbed it.
"No, Boss, let me go.
I was wrong. I shouldn't have refused to answer your question. I'll answer whatever you want to ask me now without any hesitation. "Borkal's wailing voice echoed in the office.
Claude struggled a little, but he couldn't pull his leg back. Borkal was hugging him too tightly.
He could only wave his hand to signal for Gum to lead his men out and wait outside.
"Tell me, what's going on? Who did you offend to make you think that your garrison was purposely sent to our war zone?" Claude tugged at Borkal to get him up from the ground.
However, Borkal still hugged Claude's calf tightly and refused to get up. His face was covered in tears and snot.
Claude was so angry that he laughed. "Did you hear me? How did a coward like you become the battalion commander of the garrison and even get promoted to major?
Let me think. A few years ago, I went home to visit my family for the first time and met your father. He even told me proudly that you were promoted to second lieutenant because of your contributions.
I thought you'd retire and go back home to take care of business. I didn't think you'd stay in the garrison all this time and even become a battalion commander. That's quite a fast promotion, isn't it? "
Borkal finally let go of Claude's calf and crawled up from the floor. He muttered, "If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have made that contribution. Who would've thought that the contribution I made so long ago would cause a garrison to be sent to a place like this?
As for getting promoted, it's quite simple in the garrison system. When the superior is about to retire, all you have to do is send him money and the position he vacates will naturally be yours. "
Oh, Claude understood now. So the fatty bought his position as battalion commander with money. It seemed that being promoted to major in the garrison system was the same.
However, Claude was still curious. "Fatty, what made you decide to stay in the garrison instead of retiring early to take care of your family's business?"
Borkal rolled his eyes. "Are you dumb? My father is still in his prime. Why would I go home so early to take care of business?
Also, I'm in charge of the garrison in Bangilia.
Most of the specialty products in the southwestern prefecture of Simirok are monopolized by my family's business. Even the Fennix Merchant Group in Whitestag can't do much in the prefecture capital. Every now and then, I'd bring the garrison to cause trouble for them.
It wasn't until they couldn't do anything about it and returned 30% of the shares that I allowed them to set up a branch in the prefecture capital. "
Claude didn't need to say anything else. He already knew who the mastermind behind the move of Borkal's garrison was.
The poor fatty definitely didn't know that the Fennix Merchant Group was backed by an alliance of merchant nobles. He was just a local tyrant who wanted to suppress a powerful dragon, but ended up getting himself sent to Nubissia.
It seemed that his friend was still the same as he was in his youth. He was smart about small matters and had a keen eye for business, but he was still lacking when it came to the bigger picture.
Perhaps he knew very well that the Fennix Merchant Group wasn't something his family could afford to offend.
But in Simirok, Claude heard from Borkal that his family's relatives had quite a bit of influence there. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to become the garrison's battalion commander and major so easily.
Because Fennix Merchant Group had forcefully invested 30% of the shares in his family's business, the furious Borkal decided to give them a taste of their own medicine in Simirok.
With the right timing, location, and manpower, he easily got what he wanted. Fennix Merchant Group admitted defeat and returned his family's shares.
It seemed like Borkal had won a resounding victory. In the end, the local garrison he controlled was uprooted and sent to a new war zone on Nubissia to fight against the Shiksan invasion of the colonies.
The fatty probably didn't even know how he lost.
However, he wouldn't be able to return for the time being. Otherwise, he'd be charged with desertion.
Fortunately, he had Claude, a good friend from his youth. This was Claude's territory and he wouldn't be at a disadvantage here.
However, Claude really didn't like his fat figure, so he decided to help him lose some weight.
"Claude, you're going back on your word! For my father's sake, let me go!" Borkal yelled as he was dragged out by two guards.
"Tell Moriad to give him a good beating. If he doesn't submit, beat him until he does.
Also, don't injure him or endanger his life, understand? "Claude said.
"Yes, Sir.
I understand, I will let Lieutenant Colonel Moriad know … "The big Gum stood at attention and replied.