"I don't agree with you taking that risk, Claude.
We have the upper hand right now. We've already wiped out three Shiksan standing corps, including 1st Retribution and the royal family's reserve corps.
Of the remaining four corps stationed at Cape Loducus, only 2nd Retribution is stronger. The other three corps can't even withstand a single blow. We can definitely defeat them in a defensive battle. "
Bolonik tried his best to persuade Claude, while Skri looked at them worriedly. Eiblont, on the other hand, requested that he take Claude's place to carry out the surprise attack.
In the latter half of the 1st month of Year 594 of the Sacred Light Calendar, Claude came up with a plan to launch a surprise attack on Cape Loducus based on the information he received from Birkin and his spies in Cape Loducus. He wanted to lead Thundercrash's 1st Folk to Cape Loducus and catch the Shiksans off guard.
However, Bolonik vehemently objected to the plan because it was too risky, especially since Claude had decided to personally lead the troops.
If they were detected by Shiksan's patrolling warships, not a single one of 1st Folk's 30,000 elites would be able to escape.
Even the coastal transport ships were only a few hundred metres away from the coast. Falling into the sea in such weather would only result in death. Even if one could swim, the cold water would suck away all the heat in one's body.
Bolonik and Claude were both lieutenant-generals of the five kingdoms in Aueras, the highest-ranked lieutenant-generals in the war theatre.
Bolonik was the acting commander-in-chief of the theatre. His duties were more inclined towards administrative matters, while Claude was in charge of military matters.
Of the remaining three lieutenant-generals, Skri was the chief logistics officer of the theatre, while Eiblont and Birkin were Claude's assistants.
That was why Bolonik strongly objected to Claude taking the risk himself. He didn't want anything to happen to him.
It was just like how he led two lines to defend against three Shiksan corps at Lanu. More than nine thousand of his 13,000 men were killed and wounded, yet they still couldn't stop the enemy's advance.
However, when Thundercrash arrived, the hundred thousand Shiksans were wiped out in the blink of an eye.
Bolonik didn't think there was a need for Claude to take the risk.
Next, they could lure Thundercrash to the northern mountainous region. Even if they suffered heavy casualties, they would still be able to take over the Shiksan camp guarded by only one standing corps. Then, they would have to deal with the two standing folk at the eastern border. Even if the battle dragged on, they would be able to slowly wipe out the Shiksan forces stationed at Cape Loducus and obtain victory in the end.
Claude shook his head with a bitter smile. "No, the sooner this war ends, the better it'll be for us.
I launched this ambush to buy time so that Shiks won't be able to continue this colonial war. "
"We only need to defeat the four Shiksan corps in Cape Loducus to end the colonial war. Will Shiks still be able to continue the war after we wipe out their ten corps?" Eiblont asked in surprise.
"That's hard to say." Claude walked to the wall and pointed at the four Shiksan corps stationed at Cape Loducus. "Look, all four corps are on the defensive. That means the Shiksans understand the difference in power between us. While they have the advantage in numbers, they aren't a match for us, so they won't dare to continue attacking.
I suspect they're on the defensive because they're waiting for reinforcements. Just because Shiks said they would continue the war doesn't mean that's all they have.
Now that 6 of their 10 standing corps have been annihilated by our theater of operations, the remaining 4 standing corps are no longer a match for our theater of operations.
It's very likely that Shiks will send more reinforcements to make up for their disadvantage in this war.
Even after the three Shiksan corps that landed at the fishing town were wiped out, Seaking and the Alliance's fleet roamed the seas for more than a month before returning to Freia at the end of last year.
However, according to the reports from the spies in Cape Loducus, the Alliance's fleet stopped at Cape Loducus and all the sailors and crew went ashore to spend the night at the main supply base.
"As for why the Alliance didn't return to Shiks, it's because the war's development has exceeded the Shiksans' expectations. They're stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Six of the ten corps have been wiped out by us and the remaining four can't even defend themselves.
So, they have no choice but to leave the Alliance at Cape Loducus because they're afraid that the four corps will raise the white flag and surrender, causing Shiks to lose face.
"Without the Alliance docking at Cape Loducus, we can take our time dealing with the four corps there since they really have nowhere to run. We can even force the high-ranking officers of the four corps to surrender to us.
"Just like the three high-ranking officers of the corps who surrendered to us at Popia, as long as we agree to pay them a ransom to return home.
"However, the Alliance's docking at Cape Loducus is akin to supervising the war, forcing the high-ranking officers of the four corps to stand firm against our attack.
"That's because they have a path of retreat. No matter how many of their soldiers die, the high-ranking officers will still be able to board their ships and leave. That'll only bring more unnecessary casualties to our attack force.
"Regardless of whether we attack the Shiksan camp from the northern or eastern border, the enemy will be able to use their defensive positions to resist and retreat step by step.
"In the end, the remaining troops will be able to board their ships and leave, or wait for Shiks to send more reinforcements to delay the war.
Both outcomes are very unfavorable to our theater of operations, so ending this colonial war as soon as possible is the only choice for our theater of operations. "
Eiblont slapped his forehead. "That's right. Shiks announced the formation of ten corps to continue the war, but they didn't say that the war would end once the ten corps are gone. They can easily send another ten corps over as long as they have the funds to pay for it."
"That's the logic. You want to use the water route to outflank the Shiksans and cut off their hopes of boarding the ships, forcing the four Shiksan corps to surrender and reduce our casualties.
That's a good idea, but it's too risky. I don't recommend you do it yourself. "Bolonik shook his head again, but he wasn't as resolute as before.
"Why don't I go in Claude's place?" Eiblont volunteered.
Claude shook his head. "I'm not saying you can't do it, Allen. I'm just worried that if I don't go, those bastards won't take you seriously and act on their own. That would turn a good thing into a bad thing.
Only 1st Folk can carry out this ambush because they've been trained for it.
Your 2nd Folk suffered more casualties in the previous war. Also, Myjack, Bloweyk and Berklin are hard to control. If I don't go, those bastards will easily cause trouble. "
That was the truth. Thundercrash's 1st Folk was publicly acknowledged to be the most powerful and prideful unit in the theatre.
Apart from Claude, it was questionable whether anyone else would be able to command them.
Even though Eiblont was the chief of staff of Thundercrash and was acquainted with Berklin, Myjack, Moriad and the others, going to the taverns for drinks and whatnot, only Claude's orders would be obeyed in times of crisis.
That wasn't all that surprising, as each of the five generals had their own troops.
Claude was in 1st Folk and Eiblont was in 2nd Folk.
Bolonik was in 1st Folk and Beechlin was in 2nd Folk.
General Skri originally didn't have his own troops, but after General Sevict was assassinated by the Grey Tower Mages, his division was scattered, and General Skri incorporated two of the main field regiments into the Logistics Department of the theater of operations.
This time, General Bolonik led two regiments to defend Lanu City. One of them was the garrison regiment that General Skri was in charge of in charge of the logistics department. They were originally responsible for the security of the various warehouses in the war zone, but due to the urgency of the situation, they were pulled out to defend the frontlines.
Out of a regiment of 5500 men, only about 1500 survived the battle, which made General Skri's heart ache so much that he wanted to die …
It wasn't the privatization of the troops under the five generals. Rather, it was the aftermath of the five enhanced folk that Michelc had set up for the theatre before he returned to the kingdom.
Apart from the troops directly under Skri's logistics department, which were made up of soldiers who had been eliminated, the five folk were under the command of their respective chiefs.
Claude, for example, was recommended by Michelc to be the highest commanding officer of the theatre, but he only had Thundercrash under his command.
Later, when the war zone was formed, General Eiblont brought his direct subordinate unit, the Monolith 3rd Division, into the Thundercrash Army. They were renamed the 2nd Thundercrash Division and became the chief of staff of the army.
However, Claude still had to go through Eiblont if he wanted to command the 2nd Folk. After all, it was originally under his direct command and Claude had to respect Eiblont's authority.
The Monolith Corps was originally composed of General Bolonik's 1st Monolith Division and General Sevict's 2nd Monolith Division. At that time, General Birkin's 4th Monolith Division could only be reorganized as a reserve division.
But after Sevict was assassinated, Birkin led the reserve folk to become 2nd Folk of Monolith.
Two of the 2nd Folk that was originally under Sevict's command were taken away by Skri and the remaining troops were split into the two corps.
It couldn't be helped, it could only be like this in times of war. The war zone was a special situation, and only his own troops could obey his orders. This was also the reason why General Birkin didn't want to accept the troops left by General Sevict.
For example, Thundercrash's 1st Folk's most elite reinforced Tribe 131 was led by Claude's brother-in-law, Myjack, while Wolfang was led by Claude's younger brother, Bloweyk.
Lines 1301 to 1303 were Berklin, Moriad and Dyavid, Even the newly appointed Line 1304 was Claude's former adjutant, Anders. They were all Claude's trusted subordinates.
That was why Claude wanted Thundercrash's 1st Folk to carry out the surprise attack on Cape Loducus. He had no choice but to do it himself.
If Eiblont took command, he would be worried that those bastards wouldn't be willing to give him face.
What he was most afraid of was them turning a good thing into a bad thing. Claude wouldn't even have time to regret it if that happened.
Bolonik naturally knew the ins and outs of Thundercrash's 1st Folk. His 1st Folk was in a similar situation. The troops under him were all his trusted subordinates.
That didn't mean that the troops under the five generals in the theatre would become the warlords' troops. Rather, it was a shortcut for their trusted subordinates to make a name for themselves.
Claude's younger brother, Bloweyk, was promoted to the rank of captain after only a few years in the army.
That was largely due to Bloweyk's hard work and contributions on the battlefield, but without Claude's guidance, he wouldn't have been able to rise so quickly.
But without Claude's care, he wouldn't have been able to rise through the ranks so quickly. His rise from recruit to captain wouldn't have been so smooth either.
"Now is the best time for our theatre to end this colonial war."
Claude pointed at the eagle messengers on the table. They were all intelligence reports from the spies in Cape Loducus. "Our real target for the surprise attack on Cape Loducus is the Alliance's fleet.
As you all know, the Alliance is leased by Shiks to Nasri and Canas. If they're destroyed, Shiks, Nasri and Canas will be at loggerheads with Shiks.
When the Alliance's fleet roams the seas, we can't do anything to them at all.
Now that they're anchored in Cape Loducus and the sailors and crew have come ashore, it's the best chance for us to launch a sneak attack.
If we're unlucky, we'll burn them down, but if we're lucky, we'll be able to take over half of them. Then, we'll be able to form our own patrol fleet.
"The enemy believes that we'll attack from the mountains, so they'll focus their defences there. They won't expect us to attack from the back of Cape Loducus.
Since the sea routes are under their control and we don't have any patrolling fleets in our war zone, the Shiksans will only believe that the waters between Cape Loducus and our war zone are their territory.
"As long as we destroy the Alliance's fleet, the four Shiksan corps stationed at the front will have no choice but to surrender.
"Without the Alliance's fleet, how many corps can Shiks escort to Cape Loducus with Seaking alone?
"Too many and they won't be able to carry enough, while too few will just be food for our theatre. That's why I believe that as long as the surprise attack is a success, the war between us and Shiks will be over!"
"What do you think the success rate of this surprise attack is?" General Bolonik asked.
"I can't guarantee a 100% success rate, but I'm at least 70% confident.
"Look, Shiksan's logistics officer asked Wild Bull to provide them with large amounts of rations, ale, fresh meat, fruits and all sorts of high-grade ingredients.
They're willing to pay double the market price and transport costs.
"Our spy even joked that the Shiksans must be crazy to prepare so much good food after losing the war.
"I believe that's to boost morale and to prepare for reinforcements. If we want to complete the order, we'll need at least a hundred transport ships.
"Thundercrash 1st Folk can hide in the hold of the ships and head to Cape Loducus under the guise of transporting the goods.
"Once we reach Cape Loducus, we'll launch a surprise attack and take over the Alliance's fleet before taking over the Shiksan logistics base!"