Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 568: There Are Wolves Outside, There Are Three Best

Claude soon received a reply from the Duke of Red Dragon and the Marquis of Lions, although Claude felt a strong sense of tiredness in the Duke of Red Dragon's reply. In his letter, the old man made a number of good remarks for the noble coalition, finally acknowledging that when he captured the fourth county, the noble coalition did not receive satisfactory returns after paying a heavy casualty price because of the enemy's firm wall clearance and timely retreat. At that point, when they met slave traders from seven countries in the central part of the continent, they simply sold all their captives to make up for their losses.

The old man admitted that it was his own lack of supervision that had led the noble coalition to commit such a moral and kingdom law violation, but went on to say that he was too old to continue to lead the army into battle, ready to resign from the post of chief commander of the noble coalition in the near future and would return to his family territory to support his mutilated body. So he apologizes to Claude because the sweep he received from Claude of ten counties in the western part of the Hicks kingdom seemed impossible to complete...

Compared to the Duke of Red Dragon, the old man, who was in the fog, who was halfway through the truth and falsehood, the response of the Marquis of the vultures was much more straightforward. In his letter, he bluntly stated to Claude that the coalition of nobles had lost its most basic military discipline and that they were no longer an army, but a supermassive criminal gang, the most shameless bandit organization. He was ashamed of his position as Deputy Commander in such an army!

Ever since the Alliance of Nobles moved into the three western counties, he has witnessed a multitude of crimes with no moral threshold, most of which were committed under the leadership of the nobles of a decent kingdom. They have completely lost the cultivation and style of a royal nobleman in these occupied territories, leaving only a glimmer of gold in their eyes. In order to get a gold tooth, they would brutally cut off the head of a september old man, and in order to force the merchant to hand over the last gold coin, they would drop the baby still in the swaddle on the wall...

This is how the Marquis of the vulture describes the crimes committed by the coalition of nobles. Shooting them all would surely result in injustice. There are 100,000 people, many of whom are self-righteous. But the other one was shot, and the other half was full of evil. The noble coalition, the undisciplined military, the large and small territorial nobles, each formed a group of forces of varying size, whose sole purpose was to scrape the property of the people, so that they could make peace with the slave traders and trade in slaves in contravention of the prohibitions and laws of the Kingdom.

In the letter, the Vulture Marquis reminded Claude that there was no longer any hope for the impromptu strength of the coalition of nobles. The aristocrats of those territories, which had made a fortune, had no intention of continuing to fight, and now all they wanted to do was withdraw their troops and return to their respective family territories to enjoy the looted property. Both the noblemen above and the soldiers below are worried about losing their lives here. Because of the evil they did, so many resistance groups and guerrilla armies were everywhere in the four occupied counties, a squad would most likely run back to only three or four people...

Worst of all, there was little security in the heavily guarded barracks, where the Hicks had sent dead men to rush into the barracks in the name of vegetables in gunpowder wagons, causing a massive explosion that killed and injured nearly 100 people. Even the Hicks blended into the barracks and poisoned almost one battalion, killing more than a hundred people. Now the noble coalition, no more than a squadron, dare to patrol the battalion...

All the territorial nobles, frightened by these spontaneous civil resistance, have demanded evacuation, are afraid to continue sweeping away other counties, and no one is willing to continue their attacks, and now they fear that they will be able to do so safely. In his letter, the Vulture Marquis told Claude that perhaps by the time he read the letter, the Alliance of Nobles had embarked on a withdrawal...

Claude had some regrets that he should not have greeted the 100,000 horses of the noble coalition as a powerful complement to the autonomous military region and promised to join them in this strategic plan for the Kingdom of Hicks. Now, they're not only pig teammates, they're also a bunch of old men, they want to escape after saving a hand and leave a mess for the autonomous military region to clean up. Claude had to send an urgent letter to Avettelli I of the Breot kingdom to raise his preparedness and vigilance so that the coalition of nobles could evacuate through the Breot kingdom without creating any moths.

Just go, the noble coalition is just a bunch of plague gods, send everyone away and relax. Claude nevertheless had to draw out a division of the Storm Regiment to the western border of the ten counties, either to monitor the withdrawal of the coalition of nobles or to wipe them out so that the resistance forces formed by the western counties could not enter the areas controlled by the Autonomous Territory...

In late May 605, the ocean convoy returned to Port Patkara again, escorted by the Ironclad Fleet, meaning that families and relatives of the Hicks Return Corps officers and soldiers gathered in the city of San Hiplian in Wangjing could embark on ships to migrate to the overseas autonomous territories. In more than two months, with several more local counties swept away by the Legion of Thunder, the city of San Hiplian in Wangjing gathered more than 600,000 soldiers.

Good thing it's Murrides. Count Jack Christer's Guardian Army has taken over five counties along the southern coast and five counties in the central region, so that the Autonomous Territory Front Line Command does not have to worry about its own flanking security concerns. At the same time, the Thunder Division could be drawn out to carry out the original offensive plan to capture four local counties in the eastern region of the neighbouring Hicks Kingdom for the Kingdom of Breot.

And by that time, the proxy nations around the Hicks kingdom had finally reacted, and now the Hicks kingdom was like a piece of fresh fat in front of its former little brother, and the proxy nations who thought they were entitled to a slice of it were ready to tear down one of their own pieces from the fat. News from all over the world continues to reach Claude in the town of St. Hiplian, Wang Jing...

“Marshal, this is an urgent letter from Avettelli I.” Lieutenant Faherring placed a message just received from the Falcon in front of Claude.

Claude picked up the urgent letter and sent envoys to the Kingdom of Breot from five countries: the Principality of Santa Cruz, the Kingdom of Castro, the Kingdom of Monadillo, the Principality of Tumaco and the Kingdom of Isabella. They wanted to come to see Marshal Claude, the chief of the Autonomous Territory, through Avettelli I's relationship, so Avettelli I specifically sent a letter to Claude.

Claude stood up and looked at the national map of the northern part of the Farea continent hanging on the wall, and soon discovered that the five countries mentioned in Avettelli I's letter were the proxy States adjacent to the eastern and western borders of the Kingdom of Hicks. Obviously, the five countries sent envoys here in an attempt to strike at the idea of the Kingdom of Hicks. Like the Kingdom of Breot, they have been more or less ceded and occupied by the Kingdom of Hicks...

“Let their envoy come and inform Avettelli I.” Claude commanded.

Captain Fahselin promised to go out and send the Eagle a message.

Claude looked at the map and wondered, five countries on the eastern and western borders, plus the Kingdom of Breot, all six of them. Although none of the five countries adjacent to the northern border have moved much, the three most northerly are the highland Barbarian tribal countries, which can be ignored, it is strange that neither of the following countries has reacted. Eleven counties in the northern part of the Hicks kingdom, but three counties were forcibly cut off from the territory of the two kingdoms and fought four years of border war...

Colonel Boquer pushed the door in, very unnecessarily looking for a bottle of fruit wine to open and grabbed a cup to drink. Claude looked at him, full of dust, and he just came back from nowhere: "Where have you been? ”

“Port Patcala.” Colonel Boquer replied, "This time with four more Ironclad carriers, some more people and supplies can be transported back. In addition, General Skerry of the Gulf of the North has asked us to deliver 30,000 young and powerful prisoners to serve in the labour force, where a large number of servants are required to carry out the infrastructure. At the same time, three million in infrastructure funds are needed, and the Autonomous Territorial Council is demanding funding from our proceeds..."

Claude laughed and over-received revenues in the Kingdom of Hicks, making the Autonomous Territorial Council blush. Now even the funds for the construction of the Northern Bay will have to be allocated by the Autonomous Territorial Region: “It's okay, send 50,000 young and powerful prisoners first, and as for the funds, also deliver 10 million gold kroner worth of goods to General Skerry, just keep the accounts. Anyway, the autonomous consular assemblies now spent will be able to repay it slowly in the future, without fear that they will not admit it. ”

“It's just a small thing.” Bok Al said, "Yesterday I received a report from an MIA agent named Murrides of the Guardian Army. Count Jack Christer addressed the local congress held in Scannamo, the capital of Skavia County, to the effect that the Kingdom of Hicks was at its most critical juncture and that the Guardian Army had endured the burden of reaching a peace agreement with the aggressors from the Overseas Autonomous Territories only to restore the Kingdom's vitality and salvation.

He said at the meeting that the occupying forces in our autonomous territories were sharp and that no army in the Hicks kingdom could be our opponent. That is why the Guardian Army will turn to the aggressors in order to restore the social order and security environment in the swept up areas and resume production as soon as possible to accelerate the accumulation of strength until one day the aggressors can be expelled from the Kingdom of Hicks.

At the meeting, there was accusation against Murrides. Count Jay Krester has turned to us as a traitor and betrayed the great Kingdom of Hicks. If there's a country to report, we should send troops to Pilag, the Grand Duke of the North. Duke of Hi-Friot. It is said that 300,000 men from the North are marching towards the ten western counties under the banner of the restoration of the Kingdom of Hicks...

And then the questioning delegate was met by Murrides. Count Jay Christer's refutation that he is now on a curved path to saving his country is understandable. But what he's trying to say is, if the Guardians go to the Grand Duke of the North, who can be sure that the Grand Duke's forces will defeat the aggressors? If it fails, then the Kingdom of Hicks is truly doomed, and there is no more reliable force to protect innocent people.

So, someone else can go to the Grand Duke of the North, but the Guardian Army cannot go, it has to stay here and protect the people of this invaded and looted territory from the humiliation of the aggressors, while also silently accumulating strength, leaving the Kingdom of the Hicks with the last hope, which is the most important duty of the Guardian Army at present... "

Colonel Boquer's tongue was dry and he drained a glass of fruit wine, so he gasped and said to Claude, "I see this Murrides. Should we give Count Jack Christer a warning if he is unreliable enough to speak out in a general meeting hostile to our Autonomous Territory? ”

Claude smiled and waved: "It's perfectly normal for us to be the occupying forces, the invaders. The five southern coastal counties and the five central counties were thrown at him because we had swept through those 10 local counties, which had lost their role and appeal to us. Our Autonomous Regions support this Muriel Deeds. Count Jack Christer and the Guardian Army simply do not want these ten local counties to be the home battalions of those who resist us.

As things stand, the Count is doing very well and is a perfect local guard. It is also of great benefit to us that he can suppress those resistance elements, restore local production and maintain social order. The first is the ability to engage in normal business dealings with his territory and to provide our occupied territories with a continuum of daily consumables and necessities. Secondly, we do not need to waste our strained forces on the territory for which he is responsible.

So it is perfectly normal for him to say something against hostility, because the Count also hopes to bring the hearts and minds of the local people together. It's just, don't you think it's funny what he said? The curve saves the country, secretly accumulates strength, has the certainty to expel us. Oh, anyway, we don't want to occupy the territory of the Kingdom of Hicks, believe me, before the Count's strength exceeded ours, we left to return to our Overseas Autonomous Territories... "

Colonel Boquer suddenly realized, “Yeah, I forgot what we were trying to do with him, not stay here. On the other hand, the coalition of nobles has withdrawn from the Kingdom of Breot without any accidents. However, their trip to the Kingdom of Hicks was very rewarding, with nearly a thousand cattle cars alone, even some looted furniture tied up in cattle cars and transported back..."

Claude sighed: “It's really good news that the grandfathers are finally gone, at least we won't have to worry about these pig teammates messing us up later. By the way, is it true what you just said about the Grand Duke of the North marching more than 300,000 into the ten western counties? ”

Colonel Boquer shook his head: “Nor can we tell if the news is true or false, because our agents have not been able to penetrate the eleven northern counties. The message they sent was also drawn from the popular circulation of the Hicks, who were sworn to be true and false, because the two standing regiments that had entered the Grand Duke of the North had remained static in the county of Grosta in the North and the Grand Duke of the North had not appeared before the people.

However, I personally believe that the news could have been true, otherwise that noble coalition would not have withdrawn so quickly. They should have been the first to receive this information, which is why they decided to withdraw. I calculated that the alliance of nobles went from east to west in ten counties, and the 300,000 men of the Grand Duke of the North went from north to west in ten counties, 30 to 40 days apart. It should be the Grand Duke of the North. As soon as the aristocratic coalition got the news, they turned around and retreated, and they didn't let us know... "

Colonel Boquer was somewhat angry, and he believed that the coalition of nobles had other sources without informing the autonomous military region was clearly harbouring ill intentions. If you knew that, you should have designed an evacuated coalition of aristocrats for a price...

Claude stood up and looked at the map for half a day and shook his head: "Maybe it was just a coincidence. I find it strange that if the Grand Duke of the North were to march more than 300,000 troops under the banner of the restoration of the Kingdom of the Hicks, he should attack nine counties in the east. That's where our Legion of Thunder swept up, and he should come and seek a duel with us. But what's his 300,000 army doing in the ten western counties? There's no one there but a retreating coalition of nobles...

Perhaps there is a possibility that the 300,000 horses were not recruited by the Grand Duke of the North, but by another man. Entering the ten western counties most likely wanted to occupy their territory, which is why they avoided the nine eastern counties attacked by the Legion of Thunder. This demonstrates that the commander of this man has a clear understanding of his strength and should understand that they are not rivals of the Legion of Thunder, which avoids weakening. Send someone to find out if this is the case. ”

Colonel Boquer nodded: “I see. I'll send someone. ”

“By the way, one more thing, keep an eye on the rest of the central county. A man like Count Jack Christer?” Claude pointed to the map and said: "In the nine eastern counties, there are four counties that belong to the Kingdom of Breot, and the remaining five counties should not be able to be preserved. The two neighboring countries, the former proxy brothers, the Duchy of Santa Cruz and the Kingdom of Castro, are looking at the five counties and trying to tear a piece of meat from the Kingdom of Hicks...

Three countries, the Kingdom of Monadillo, adjacent to the border of the ten western counties, the Principality of Tumako and the Kingdom of Isabella, are also stupidly prepared to reclaim the land they have been cut off, depending on their own ability to succeed. Now that the five counties of the south and the five counties of the centre belong to the Guardian Army, the territory of the Kingdom of the Hicks, the eleven counties of the north and a few counties of the west, would be left if there were one less lap in the east and west.

So, the 10 central counties and the Wangjing region, we need a suitable candidate to compete with the Grand Duke of the North, the Guardian Army, in order to build a three-pronged postwar Hicks kingdom. By then, we will have nothing to worry about when we leave the Kingdom of Hicks. There are a bunch of wolves out there, the top three, maybe the kingdom of Hicks, the Northern Dipper, will become a legend... "