But after the battle in Polyvesia ended, apart from Pilag Si Feriot, who brought around seventy to eighty thousand men back to Shiks, the remaining 400,000 soldiers of the allied army were wiped out by Thundercrash and Monolith.
In the capital of Polyvicia alone, 180,000 corpses had been cleaned up from the western district. Of course, this also included the estimated 50,000 to 60,000 people killed by the bombardment in the square of the Nasrian royal family.
There were only 130,000 wounded and surrendered soldiers. It was a very rare instance where the losing side suffered more casualties than the captured and surrendered soldiers.
Even in the thousands of years of Faslan's history, there had never been such a precedent. After breaking through the city's defences and entering the city, the attackers outnumbered the defenders by four to one, and yet they were completely annihilated.
Later generations of war historians and military experts gave the Battle of Polyvicia a very high evaluation, especially the fact that the defenders used the scattered treasures stored everywhere to make the attackers lose their will to fight. They only cared about getting rich and turned a powerful army that was about to win into a motley crew, falling into the traps laid by the defenders, and finally turning victory into defeat …
The only bright spot in the battle was when their highest commander, Pilag Si Feriot, realized that his troops had fallen into the enemy's trap and decisively took away all the Shiksan wounded and administrative personnel in the main camp, as well as any allied soldiers who were willing to go with him.
At the same time, they took away all the mounts of the Canasian light cavalry in the main camp, depriving the victorious Thundercrash and Monolith of their most valuable spoils of war.
In the capital of Polyvicia, the Alliance lost about 310,000 soldiers, and Marshal Pilag Xi Ferriott took away another 70,000 to 80,000 men.
Coupled with the casualties they suffered in taking the frontlines and walls, Thundercrash didn't face any resistance when they took over the main camp. Nearly a hundred thousand Nasrian and Canasian soldiers were left in the camp, which was equivalent to adding another burden to the victors' medical bills.
Fortunately, Pilag Si Feriot knew his limits and didn't take his subordinates' advice when they retreated from the main camp. He set fire to the warehouses where the rations and supplies were stored.
All he did was take all his belongings and weapons with him.
In order to travel light, he ordered that nothing that would affect the speed of the journey be brought with them apart from supplies needed for a long march. That left Thundercrash with some spoils of war.
After taking over the main camp, Eiblont gave up on chasing the Shiksan survivors and returned to the capital.
However, Claude immediately gave him another mission. He was to transfer Lines 2, 3, 7, and 8 from Thundercrash and replace them with soldiers from the other lines to form a makeshift folk.
Claude had Eiblont lead the folk to Bomaris Castle, the capital of Canas, and destroy the duchy.
By then, only three lines of Monolith's 2nd Folk, around 16,000 men, and Thundercrash's remaining 6,000-odd men were left in the capital.
Those 20,000 men had to watch over the 200,000-odd captives and sick soldiers of the alliance, which put a lot of pressure on them.
Fortunately, the captives were scared out of their wits by the end of the battle and were obedient. Under Thundercrash's watch, they went to the western district of the capital to clean up the battlefield every day and didn't resist at all.
Claude's temporary folk were all for the sake of speed. He hoped to take Canas' capital by surprise and catch Duke Canas off guard.
Due to the alliance's highest commander, Grand Marshal Pilag Xi Feriot, retreating first, the battle in Polisia came to an imperfect end.
Once Grand Marshal Pilag Xi Feriot's troops were out of danger, he would definitely inform Grand Duke Canas right away.
Claude didn't want Grand Duke Canas to escape as well and cause Aueras trouble when it came to unifying the eastern parts of Freia.
A single folk was more than enough to wipe out the entirety of Canas. Canas had provided three light cavalry corps for the alliance. Had it not been for Shiks, Canas wouldn't have been able to muster so many troops.
Currently, the duchy only had folk of the capital's capital, Bomaris, and a few other local garrisons. They wouldn't be able to withstand the might of a folk.
Although the military strength of the Kingdom of Polyvicia was a little weak, the wounded from a few months ago had already recovered from the treatment camp set up in the palace. After some time, two temporary field regiments could be formed to maintain the order and security of the Kingdom.
Bolonik had also sent a folk to join up with Thundercrash's 3rd folk. They would arrive in five to six days.
The battle in Polisia began on the 7th of the 11th month, year 600, when the alliance's army arrived at the capital. It ended on the 29th of the 11th month, when Thundercrash and Monolith fully recovered the western district of the capital and the last few Shiksan soldiers in hiding were discovered and captured.
It lasted for 23 days.
Thundercrash and Monolith were the final victors.
It could be said that from that day onwards, Aueras' mortal enemy, Nasri, had officially fallen and left the stage of history in the eastern parts of Freia.
Aueras only received the report from Thundercrash and Monolith on the 5th of the 12th month. There was even a small mistake during that time.
When the officer on duty received the letter, he arrogantly thought that the two corps were lying and boasting. From his point of view, the alliance had more than 500,000 men while Thundercrash and Monolith only had 112,000 men in Nasri. How could they possibly wipe out Nasri?
So, the officer on duty tossed the letter aside and ignored it. Half a month later, the well-informed merchants in the capital learned of Thundercrash and Monolith's accomplishments through messenger pigeons and horses. They started to spread the news of the great victory in Polyvicia and celebrated the fall of Nasri. Some even organized caravans to head to Nasri to seize business opportunities. Only then did Fredrey I catch wind of the news and seek out a high-ranking officer from the Ministry of the Army to ask about it.
The funny thing was that the high-ranking officers of the Ministry of the Army didn't receive any official report, so they swore to Frederick the First that the news spreading among the people must be rumors, or perhaps it was the work of the Overseas Dominion.
They probably wanted to increase their right to speak in court, which was why they exaggerated the power of Thundercrash and Monolith in hopes of gaining the goodwill of the people in the capital. At the same time, the two corps were being portrayed as the kingdom's saviors and hope. There had to be some ulterior motive behind it.
The high-ranking officers of the ministry of the army spread out a map of Nasri in front of Fredrey I, explaining why Thundercrash and Monolith couldn't defeat the Alliance's army and might even be forced to retreat from Nasri in a pathetic manner in the face of the enemy's 600,000-strong army.
The new prime minister, Marquis Blancarte, rushed into the court and waved the letter in his hand excitedly. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Nasri has fallen! Long live Thundercrash!
Long live Monolith! "
King Frederick I and the senior officers of the Ministry of the Army stared at the new prime minister, Marquis Blancarte, going crazy in front of them. After a while, King Frederick I asked in confusion, "Blancarte, what are you celebrating?
Nasri has fallen? "
"Yes, Your Majesty, it's true!"
Blancarte said excitedly, "Thundercrash and Monolith have won the battle of Polyvesia and wiped out more than 400,000 alliance soldiers. Shiks' highest commander, Pilag Si Feriot, fled back to Shiks with 80,000 men. Nasri has officially fallen!
This is a day worth celebrating, Your Majesty. We won't have to hear the name of our mortal enemy ever again! "
Blancarte, who was cheering, looked at the senior officers of the Ministry of the Army and asked in puzzlement, "What are all of you doing here?
You should've been the first to receive the news, right?
Why do you look so strange?
Haven't you received reports from Thundercrash and Monolith yet? "
One of the high-ranking officers asked awkwardly, "Mister Prime Minister, where did you get this letter from? Is it accurate?"
Blancarte handed the letter to the high-ranking officer. "Take a look for yourselves. This is Monolith's General Bolonik's personal signature.
He says that he sent a report to the ministry of the army half a month ago. When he received my letter, he was puzzled as to why there hasn't been any movement from the kingdom.
I found it strange when I heard the news from my family's trading company, so I sent him a letter to ask if it was true. "
General Bolonik had sent a private messenger eagle to the Prime Minister, Marquis Blancarte, confirming that the news circulating among the people in the capital was true.
However, Bolonik didn't describe the battle in detail. He only mentioned that Thundercrash and Monolith's 2nd Folk, under the command of Claude, Birkin and Eiblont, wiped out 400,000 Alliance soldiers and destroyed Nasri.
At the same time, Bolonik also mentioned the detailed report on the battle in Polisia that Claude had sent to the ministry of the army half a month ago. The prime minister could check it out at the ministry of the army. There were confirmed casualties on both sides as well as spoils of war. The royal court was also requested to send officials to Polisia to take over the administration of Nasri's affairs.
Thus, King Frederick the First, Prime Minister Blancarte, and the high-ranking officers of the Ministry of the Army paid a visit to the Ministry of the Army. After searching for more than half an hour, they finally found the joint letter from Thunderclap and Monolith in a pile of discarded documents.
It briefly described the battle in Polyvicia. The gist of it was that Claude had set up a trap in the capital of Nasri to lure the Alliance army into the city.
Thundercrash and Monolith used ambushes and cannons to fight the enemy in the streets. In the end, they wiped out more than 300,000 enemies in the city. Then, they launched a counterattack and captured the main camp of the allied army, winning the battle.
The letter also listed the more famous generals and high-ranking officers of the allied army who were killed or captured, as well as the amount of supplies and rations they seized from the main camp.
As for the riches, Claude only mentioned the two million crowns in the Nasrian treasury. He completely forgot about the riches he plundered from the commoners and the treasures he found in the Nasrian treasury.
As for Claude's request for the royal court to send officials over to take over the administration of the region, it was only natural. After all, Thundercrash and Monolith were both part of the region's military. It didn't mean that the territories occupied by the two corps would be under the jurisdiction of the region.
This was Freia, not Nubissia. The region didn't have the right to interfere here.
Also, after leaving the troublesome administrative matters to the royal court, Claude could focus on the reorganization of the two corps and the spoils of war.
For the high-ranking officers of the ministry of the army, the letter was like a slap to their faces.
Not long ago, they had confidently promised Fredrey the First that Thundercrash and Monolith would be defeated. Yet, the news of the defeated army annihilating most of the Alliance army and Nasri had been lying in the ministry of the army for half a month.
Had it not been for Blancarte getting wind of it and sending a letter to Bolonik, the matter might have remained silent for even longer.
The longer it was discovered, the more embarrassed the ministry of the army would be. King Fredrey was looking at the high-ranking officers with suspicion.
Perhaps the seeds of distrust had been planted in His Majesty's heart. After all, since the start of the Debt War, the judgments and predictions of the high-ranking officers of the Ministry of the Army had been wrong time and time again. Very few of them were accurate. Especially this time, it was ridiculous. Even the news of victory was casually thrown aside as a lie …
The high-ranking officers of the army had no choice but to look for a scapegoat. The officer on duty that day, the major who received the letter, wasn't afraid at all. Instead, he started spouting nonsense in front of King Fredrey.
He believed that he was not mistaken, because the reason he had come to the conclusion that this victory report was a lie was because he had heard too many negative remarks about the overseas autonomous military zone's two corps in the Ministry of War, and these remarks were made by precisely these high-ranking officers.
In order to prove that they were right, the high-ranking officers had conducted many simulations in the ministry of the army. In the end, they came to the conclusion that Thundercrash and Monolith would lose at least half of their forces and flee from Nasri.
The Alliance Army would also suffer a third of casualties. In the future, the Overseas Dominion's two armies would need to occupy new territory, while the Kingdom's Red Dragon Army and Griffin Army would be in a standoff with the Alliance Army at the border of the two countries. This stalemate would last until the Kingdom and the Alliance Army restarted negotiations and signed a peace treaty …
It was precisely because the high-ranking officers of the Ministry of War had fed their subordinates too much unfavorable information about the Thunderclap and Monolith Corps, expressing too many pessimistic opinions. As a result, this major on duty naturally thought that this victory report was a lie.
If so many seniors said that the two corps couldn't win, then the report had to be fake.
Fredrey found it strange and asked, "Don't you have your own judgment?
As a soldier, you should have your own opinion.
Besides, it's hard to fabricate a report like this in a war, and it's impossible to fabricate it like this. There should be training in the academy, right? "
Fredrey didn't expect the major to answer honestly, "Your Majesty, I've never been to the military academy.
I'm from House Alessino. My father was the one who forced me to come to the ministry of the army.
He said that as long as I followed the teachings of my seniors, my path would be smooth.
Like my current military position and mission, they were all arranged a long time ago … "
House Alessino was one of the oldest noble families in Aueras. One of the four major military industries in the kingdom, Terenas Manufacturing, was led by House Alessino. They held great power in the royal guard.
Fredrey's face was ashen. A noble who'd never been to the military academy was given the rank of major the moment he joined the ministry of the army. It was a joke.
They didn't even care about the most basic promotion rules in the royal army. It was no wonder there was such a huge oversight.
A high-ranking officer hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, while Major Alessino hasn't been to the military academy, he's a talented literature student at Crevery Academy of Arts.
We recruited him as a civilian officer to improve the efficiency of our communications and gave him the rank of major. He didn't break any military rules. "
"I remember that the highest military rank for specially recruited and civilian officers is only the rank of lieutenant …" King Frederick the First stared coldly at this high-ranking officer who came out to defend himself for a while before saying this. He then turned around and left.
Prime Minister Blancarte watched the farce unfold and couldn't say anything. He sighed and chased after him.
On the 28th of the 12th month, the royal court sent an eagle messenger to the capital of Polyvicia.
In the letter, Claude was appointed as the temporary viceroy of the Nasrian region and would be in charge of all military affairs.
After the new year's eve, the royal court would hold a court meeting on the 15th of the 1st month to discuss who would be in charge of the Nasrian region. Only then would they head to Polyvicia for the handover.
As for the achievements of Thundercrash and Monolith, they would also be announced during the first court meeting of the new year.
But before he received the eagle messenger, Claude received one from Eiblont.
After a long march of 17 days, he led the temporary folk to Beaumaris, the capital of Canas.
Unfortunately, Grand Duke Canas had already packed his belongings and brought his family, a light cavalry regiment loyal to him and some other dukedom nobles to Shiks to seek refuge.
Eiblont and the temporary folk arrived empty-handed and could only occupy a few towns in Northbay before sending an eagle messenger to Claude.
The Principality of Canas had also fallen …