"These demons! Damn demons!" A woman holding a child cried out helplessly in the chaotic crowd. The entire eastern region of Mein was in turmoil, and wherever the marauding soldiers from the Ferry Port City went, there was a human tragedy.
Though their numbers were few, the cavalry of Ferry Port City still wielded immense destructive power when facing civilians.
Dozens of riders shouted as they passed by the edge of the crowd on their horses, using whips to corral the fleeing civilians.
"Please, have mercy! We have lived here for decades! You can't force us to leave our homes!" An elderly man knelt by the roadside, crying and begging, hoping that the indifferent soldiers of Ferry Port City would spare his family.
Unfortunately, the soldiers, eager to return with their spoils, showed no mercy to the old man. They simply kicked him to the ground, leaving him unconscious on the roadside.
"There! There's a beautiful girl over there!" At the village crossroads, several soldiers from Ferry Port City, as if they had discovered a new world, loudly called out to their comrades.
Inside a courtyard in the village, a young girl was desperately trying to hide her son under the bed. "Please, don't come out! Don't make a sound! Don't move!" she whispered to her child.
The curious boy peeked at his mother with wide eyes, then his vision was blocked by the lowered bedsheet.
A few seconds later, the sound of the courtyard gate being kicked open resounded, followed by the hysterical screams of the woman. "Stay away! Stay away from us!"
"Ah!" A soldier, seemingly eager to commit violence but caught off guard, let out a scream, followed by the sound of something breaking.
The young boy waited until there was no more commotion outside before cautiously lifting the bedsheet and crawling out from under the bed. He saw his mother lying on the ground, disheveled, staring at him with wide eyes.
He crawled over and tried to shake his mother, but she remained motionless. He reached out to touch her hair, sat down beside her, and let the spreading blood stain his pants.
The tragedy continued to unfold in various corners of the Mein's east, with countless survivors fleeing to Mein Castle, only to find it adorned with the black iron flags of the Airenhil family from Seris City.
...
In the Battle of the Eastern Forest, Chris achieved a resounding victory. He gathered over 200 soldiers who arrived sporadically and returned to Seris with more than 1,000 prisoners. The Meian army of 2,000 in the front lines was defeated, granting Chris a significant advantage.
With approximately 1,200 able-bodied men, he could accelerate the development of his mines and increase his steel production. Similarly, with these prisoners, when Seris City's forces entered Mein's territory, they encountered no resistance.
Three days later, a messenger returned from Mein City, bringing good news to Chris: Wagnon had taken control of Mein City, and now Chris owned two castles.
Despite not knowing the stance of the Arant Empire, in reality, Chris had already become the lord of two cities. Leading his guards, Chris hurried to Mein and met Wagnon, who had been waiting for a long time.
"The situation is dire! Lord Bauman of Ferry Port City took advantage of the chaos and swept the eastern region of Mein!" Upon their first meeting, Wagnon delivered some bad news.
His forces were too small, which prevented him from risking abandoning Mein Castle to stop the looting by Ferry Port City.
Upon hearing this news, Chris suddenly stopped in his tracks while walking and looked at Wagnon. "What happened?"
"Ferry Port City looted Mein Castle while it was in turmoil. However, I managed to stop them, and they retreated," Wagnon explained. "But they took away the civilians from the east and everything they could carry."
"They destroyed how much, they will repay tenfold!" Chris cursed in anger. "I won't go looking for trouble, but they've practically handed themselves to us! They seek death!"
However, he quickly suppressed his anger. Even if he wanted to launch an attack on Ferry Port City, he needed adequate preparation.
His forces were already very limited, and attacking Ferry Port City with only two or three hundred soldiers was too risky.
Continuing to walk, he reached the study that Lord Ensel had used before his death. Sitting behind Ensel's luxurious desk, Chris issued orders. "First, let's stabilize Mein's civilians! Distribute the gold we brought with us! Let the people of Mein accept the fact that we are ruling them! Reduce some of their additional taxes."
Conquering a place was not a simple task. Chris had to pay attention to every detail. "Post notices telling everyone that we have captured more than 1,000 Mein soldiers, and they will serve in the mines for a year before being safely released!"
Only by making the Mein civilians accept his rule could he truly win this war. "The Mein soldiers who died will be compensated using the money and goods captured from Mein Castle!"
After arranging the occupation of Mein, he instructed Wagnon, "Send someone back to Seris. Let Deans present the facts to everyone immediately and share the fruits of victory with all the surrounding forces."
Chris extended his first finger and began to explain his plan in detail. "On one hand, after the war is over, we will immediately lower tariffs and offer benefits to the three other neighboring powers. Start selling woodworking machinery at a reduced price, and if necessary, even give it away for free!"
After finishing, he extended his second finger. "Distribute the gold we've reserved for the past few days to all the civilians! Treat Seris and Mein equally!"
Then, he extended his third finger and continued, "Exempt Seris from a year of agricultural taxes, and provide agricultural subsidies! Stabilize the emotions of the civilians and tell everyone that the war is over!"
At this point, he remembered another matter and looked at Wagnon, saying, "Reward all the soldiers in this battle. Each one will receive a gold coin! If we don't have enough money, distribute it when Desail brings more!"
"Understood!" Wagnon's face was filled with the joy of victory. He placed his fist on his chest and nodded. "I'll take care of it!"
In reality, there were many more tasks for Chris to handle, such as the critical issue of conscription. With two castles now, his territory had nearly doubled, and he needed more troops to defend it.
Currently, he was in a passive position, surrounded on all sides. Therefore, he couldn't afford to reduce the number of troops he needed. The previous expansion to 2,000 soldiers was still insufficient. Now, he needed at least 3,000 to defend all his lands.
"It's quite a headache," Chris sighed as he surveyed Lord Ensel's luxurious study. He was already showing his cards, and if he delayed for another month, the surrounding powers would likely turn their attention to him. At that point, expansion would become much more difficult.
So, Ferry Port City had to be dealt with quickly. If he could resolve the situation there promptly, he could relieve some of the pressure on one front and gather more forces to deal with threats from the other three directions.
An hour later
, Chris formulated a new battle plan. He would gather all available soldiers from Seris and Mein and launch an immediate attack on Ferry Port City.
"The first thing we need to do is gather our forces as quickly as possible and then swiftly deliver them to the territory of Ferry Port City," Chris said, referencing blitzkrieg tactics from World War II as he outlined the basic strategy.
Seris had 500 cavalry, and these elite horsemen were quite formidable in battle, and their speed should be sufficient.
Wagnon also believed that using cavalry to advance rapidly was a suitable strategy, allowing them to conserve a significant amount of food supplies, which were not abundant in wartime.
"Ferry Port City has almost no decent cavalry, and a hundred or so riders can't pose a threat to us," Wagnon began to provide detailed information about the enemy after finding a detailed map of Ferry Port City in Mein Castle.
Although there was no detailed battle plan yet, as the former commander of Seris City's army, Wagnon diligently gathered information about the military deployments of the surrounding powers.
This gave Chris a more tangible reference: Ferry Port City's military preparations were severely unbalanced, with even fewer cavalry than Mein, but they had approximately 1,200 infantry and 700 naval troops.
Of course, since they were attacking from Mein, they didn't need to go by sea, so the 700 naval troops posed no real threat. The only remaining threat was the 1,200 infantry.
Upon hearing this information, Chris devised a feasible plan. He ordered Wagnon to lead 300 cavalry to quickly assemble on the border and sweep away the scattered border forces of Ferry Port City.
As long as Wagnon could eliminate about 200 of Ferry Port City's infantry or wipe out the ineffective cavalry, they could force the enemy to abandon open-field combat and retreat all the way back to the city.
"Once they abandon open-field combat," Chris pointed to a small cup symbolizing their cannons placed at the back, "I will personally lead the main force with all 20 cannons and approach Ferry Port City!"
