"The Shiksans' main supply base is still set up near Cape Loducus, on the site of the one you attacked and burnt down. There's only one line and two supply camps stationed there.
However, they've set up a defensive line here at Fonbix Hill to seal off all traffic to Cape Loducus and have a standing corps stationed there. "
Claude watched as Eiblont planted a small blue flag on the sand table and recalled that he had been to Fonbix Hill before. It was the place he ordered Moriad's Line 1302 and Dyavid's Line 1303 to ambush enemy reinforcements after commanding Thundercrash's 1st Folk to attack the main supply base near Cape Loducus.
Unfortunately, they waited for five days in vain and no reinforcements came.
Even though it was called Fonbix Hill, it wasn't a real hill. Instead, it was just five mounds that were no taller than thirty to forty metres.
These small mounds were the only highlands on the plains, and there were several sparse patches of trees growing on them.
However, the last time Claude set up camp there, most of the trees had been chopped down for firewood.
It was obvious that the Shiksans had set up a defensive line at Fonbix Hill to prevent the main supply base from being ambushed by the theatre's forces.
This was, in fact, a strategic point on the plain, the junction of the main roads leading to the border of the mountains in the north and that of the mountains in the east.
The Shiksans had good foresight. If they were to send another unit in, they would be discovered and the Shiksans would attack them from three sides, making it impossible for them to escape.
As the chief of staff of Thundercrash, Eiblont continued with the intelligence he received from the spies in Cape Loducus. "The standing corps stationed at Fonbix Hill is known as 3rd Expeditionary Corps. It's understood that the corps is made up of the private armies of the few nobles who rebelled against Majid III during the civil strife in Shiks, as well as a large number of young men conscripted from the nobles.
"Their internal evaluation is that they have slow reactions, lax discipline and low combat power.
In the first three days after arriving at the Cape Loducus Colony, the soldiers of this legion had countless disputes with the residents of the city. Robberies, fights, freeloaders, and even drunkenly injuring people were all trivial matters.
The worst incident was when a squad of patrolling soldiers came across a lady in the city bringing two nikancha maids to a farm outside the city. The squad of patrolling soldiers dragged the three women into the woods and forced them to take turns having sex with them.
After the incident, the Shiksan military was pressured by Fochs to execute the two leading soldiers. The remaining ten were escorted to Cape Loducus and given 80 lashes in public. Only then did the anger of the people in the city subside.
After that, this division received orders to set up a defensive line at Fenbix Hill, and dozens of military judges were sent to this division to reorganize military discipline in order to improve their combat strength and prepare for war. "
Claude made a note of the 3rd Expeditionary Division in his notebook. They were a pushover that he could squeeze a little if he had the chance.
From those incidents, it could be seen that the low combat power of this standing corps was rather apt. While some corps had lax discipline and many of their soldiers broke the rules, they were very strong.
However, 3rd Expeditionary Division was clearly not one of them. Robberies and freeloaders were considered shameless and had no sense of honour.
The incident with the patrol squad also showed that the soldiers of this corps had no sense of responsibility. Committing such a crime while on patrol was a clear sign that they didn't care about their duties at all.
Such a corps could only be considered trash in combat.
"3rd Expeditionary Division is one of the three standing corps that arrived in Cape Loducus. The other two are numbered 2nd and 4th Expeditionary Division.
One of the two Shiksan corps that arrived last time was 1st Expeditionary Division and the other was Royal Knight Reserve Corps.
The four corps named Expeditionary Division are made up of the private armies of the rebellious nobles and the young men who were forcibly conscripted. "
Eiblont continued, "Based on the observations of our spies in Cape Loducus, 3rd Expeditionary Division has the worst discipline and the weakest combat power. The other three corps are only slightly stronger than 3rd Expeditionary Division.
As for the Royal Knight Reserve Corps, that light-cavalry corps, they were part of the corps that Majid III used to quell the rebellion of the nobles.
It's said that if they make enough contributions in the war, they will be given an official name and become a proper corps. "
"Huh?
What do you mean? "
Claude didn't quite understand. "Are you saying that the Royal Knight Reserve Corps isn't considered a standing corps of Shiks?"
Eiblont knew very well that Claude wasn't interested in the etiquette of the royal family, so he explained, "It's like this. The Shiksan corps is basically a ceremonial corps. They're in charge of guarding the royal court and when the royal family travels.
Those who can enter the corps are all nobles of the kingdom. Their treatment and status are second to none in the kingdom.
However, many of them don't meet the requirements of a soldier and can't go on guard duty.
However, every noble has connections behind them and their relationships are extremely complicated.
"Over the past hundred years, the corps has become a place for the nobles to build connections and gain experience. Their fighting power has been crippled.
At most, they can only put on a show and can't even carry out the duties of guarding the royal family.
Left with no other choice, the Shiksan royal family formed the reserve corps and picked out valiant soldiers from the royal army and commoners to replace the nobles in the various security duties of the royal court. They were the kind of coolie substitutes who did all the work while the nobles took all the glory.
As time went on, they naturally became reluctant, so they used Majid III's contribution to quell the rebellion to request for an independent corps with a proper name. "
Claude understood, but he still found it a little strange. "This reserve corps isn't all that powerful. Didn't we meet them when we first arrived?
Dyavid's 3rd Line was ordered to ambush the patrol squads. Apart from the small loss they suffered the first time, they were beaten so badly that they didn't dare to stray too far from camp.
They don't seem much stronger than the Canasian light cavalry. How can that be considered a Shiksan light cavalry corps? "
Eiblont could only smile bitterly. How should he put it? If he had seen Thundercrash's cavalry training, he would indeed look down on other light cavalry corps.
Moreover, the ones who ambushed the patrol team of the Royal Knight Reserve Corps were the members of the Wolf Fang Squadron. They were the most elite combat unit among the more than 200,000 soldiers in the entire theater. They were the king of the army and the elite of the elite. How could they lose against these patrol teams …
Not to mention, Dyavid's Line 1303 was equipped with the new rifles. The Shiksans were basically armed with firewood. Wolf Fang was also in charge of teaching them how to set up ambushes and hide. How could normal Shiksan light cavalry units fare any better when they were out on patrol?
Even if they were members of the reserve corps, they would still die if they were ambushed.
Not wanting to argue about the strength of the Shiksan reserve corps, Eiblont skipped the topic and continued with his report. "The Shiksans have five veteran Corps of Retribution. Three and a half corps were wiped out by us in the previous battle. They've been reorganized into two full corps.
1st Corps of Retribution is stationed at the eastern border, while 2nd Corps of Retribution is stationed at the new camp at the northern border. "
After planting the two flags on the sand table, Eiblont continued, "Currently, the Shiksans have set up camp at the eastern border and deployed four standing corps, 1st Retribution, 1st Expedition, 2nd Expedition, and the royal knight reserve corps.
The two corps stationed at the northern border are 2nd Retribution and 4th Expedition. They've set up three defensive lines along the new camp.
"What's worth noting is that 2nd Retribution and 4th Expedition aren't camped together. Instead, they've built a smaller camp on a small hill five or six kilometres away from the new camp.
"The two camps and the three defensive lines have completely sealed off all paths to the rear. We won't be able to pass through the three defensive lines without being discovered by the enemy.
Judging from the enemy's deployment on the sand table, the two standing corps at the northern mountain border, the main camp at the eastern mountain border, and the defensive positions and checkpoints at Fombix Hill formed an inverted triangular defensive formation.
Coupled with the fact that the light cavalry corps can quickly outflank us, we won't be able to ambush the Shiksans' main supply base like we did last time. "
Eiblont put down the document in his hand regretfully. Claude didn't mind that. The Shiksans weren't fools. They'd already suffered a huge loss last time, so they naturally had to be more vigilant this time. Only an idiot would repeat the same mistake.
Eiblont picked up a messenger hawk and said with a bitter smile, "That's probably the only good news. In the past month, apart from setting up camp and defensive lines, the Shiksans didn't send any scouts to scout the eastern and northern mountains. Only the light cavalry corps' patrols are getting closer and closer to the border.
"At the northern border, they were ambushed by us again and retreated.
"At the eastern border, due to our negligence, they recently set up camp at the Horse Pass to observe the mountains.
You've seen Captain Bloweyk's report from half a month ago, right? More than 120 armed nikancha youths were probably sent to gather intelligence on the Shiksans. They're walking around in a group.
"In the end, they were discovered by a Shiksan patrol the moment they left the eastern border and a short battle ensued."
Claude nodded. He had naturally seen Bloweyk's report.
There wasn't a single soldier stationed in the entire eastern frontier to the central defense line and the nikancha's territory. The entire way was unimpeded. This was to pressure the nikancha and force them to agree to Claude's conditions.
If the Shiksans found out about that, they would definitely launch a full-fledged attack that would definitely reach the heart of the nikancha nation.
However, the Shiksans wouldn't be so rash. They would send a large number of scouts into the mountains before the attack.
Claude had long sent Wolfang to the border of the eastern mountains to hunt down Shiksan scouts.
Pressuring the nikancha was one thing, but they couldn't give up on the important positions in the eastern border so easily. That was why they couldn't let the Shiksans discover the truth about the emptiness of the eastern border.
Naturally, the Shiksans weren't willing to agree to Claude's conditions just like that. They felt that they could still be salvaged, so they sent tens of thousands of armed youths to take over the three defensive lines in the central part of the eastern border.
At the same time, they selected a hundred brave warriors to scout out the Shiksans' true strength. The extra twenty nikancha followed them willingly. They laughed and joked along the way as if they were taking a stroll in spring. When they exited the pass, they ran into a Shiksan patrol.
In the end, the nikancha were completely defeated. It couldn't even be considered a contest. It was more like a small massacre.
The Shiksans only had two patrol squads of 24 riders, while the nikancha had around 120 men. They could form ten full squads with five or six more.
At first, both sides noticed each other. Since the Shiksans were on horseback, the nikancha made the wise choice and occupied a small hill not far away.
However, when the nikancha saw that there were only 24 riders, they got excited.
They cursed and taunted the Shiksans and fired at them. Unfortunately, even though the two sides were more than 200 metres apart and the Shiksans were within the range of the nikancha's muskets, the nikancha didn't manage to damage the Shiksan cavalry at all.
So, they reloaded their muskets while cursing loudly. Some of the more hot-tempered ones even threw their muskets on the ground and took off their pants to pee on the Shiksans. That was probably the most humiliating thing the nikancha could do.
The Shiksans' twenty-four horsemen stopped and watched the nikanchas put on their farce.
After a while, they turned their horses around and retreated, disappearing into the hills and woods without a sound.
The nikancha believed that they had scared off the Shiksan cavalrymen. They danced and sang on the hill, waving their muskets and swords as they boasted about their bravery. Only after a while did they feel tired and lay down on the hill, tossing their muskets to the side. There wasn't even a single person to keep watch.
That was when disaster struck. The two squads of Shiksan cavalry that the nikancha thought had retreated suddenly appeared on both sides of the hill and charged up together.
What followed was a tragic scene. The nikancha were trampled by their horses and hacked to pieces. It was a tragic sight.
While a few nikancha mustered their courage and fought hand-to-hand with the Shiksan light cavalry, their panicked brethren were more focused on finding a way to escape than helping them.
When the few nikancha who resisted were cut down, the Shiksan cavalry welcomed the joy of a bountiful harvest.
All they had to do was to chase after the fleeing nikancha and sweep past them. Then, the sabers at their sides would cut off the nikancha's heads as easily as cutting off fruit.
Of the 125 nikancha warriors, only seven managed to make it back to the hills.
They only managed to kill two and injure five of the 24 Shiksan cavalrymen.
Bloweyk led a Wolffang squad to watch the entire massacre and took action when the two squads of Shiksan cavalry were about to return. They wiped out the 22 enemy riders without suffering any casualties and seized 24 horses.
Another three or four days passed, and Bloweyk felt that he had collected sixty to seventy warhorses. He decided to take the spoils back and rest for a while.
By the time they reached the central defensive line, it was already night time. As they were worried about the rugged terrain, they lit many torches on the horses' backs to illuminate the area. From afar, it looked like a large army was marching.
At that time, the seven nikancha warriors who managed to escape with great difficulty had already told their compatriots who were in charge of guarding the defensive line.
That was one of the characteristics of the nikancha. If they won, they could brag about it to their heart's content and nobody would care. But if they lost, they liked to say that their enemies were incomparably strong.
When the nikancha sentries saw the torches in the distance, they cried out in fear that the Shiksans were here!
When the nikancha, who were already feeling anxious, heard that the Shiksans had arrived, they erupted into a frenzy.
It was almost ten at night and most of the nikancha were already asleep.
Bloweyk's Wolffang squad had been lurking at the eastern border for nearly 20 days and didn't know that the nikancha had already occupied the defensive line.
When he set off, there was no one there. He had thought that he would be able to return to HQ at dawn, but he stopped when he noticed that something was amiss.
However, the nikancha on the defensive line knew that the Shiksans were here and that they were probably preparing to attack.
The courageous ones entered their positions and prepared to fight. The hysterical ones picked up their muskets and fired at the torches in the distance, ignoring the fact that they weren't in range.
What was worse were the ones who woke up to hear that the Shiksans were here and saw the torches in the distance. Then, they heard the gunshots and thought that the Shiksans were already attacking. They ran away in fear while calling out to their friends, "The Shiksans are here! Run!"
As long as one nikancha tried to escape, the rest would follow.
When more and more people ran, the last nikancha who were prepared to defend couldn't stay put any longer and ran as well.
Not long after, not a single one of the tens of thousands of nikancha was left. The defensive line was littered with abandoned muskets, cannons, ammunition and all sorts of other supplies.
When Bloweyk noticed that there was no movement in front of him, he sneaked over to scout. When he saw the spoils of war all over the ground, he was dumbfounded.