I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 340 The joy of harvest

The blizzard is slowly dissipating.

At first, the wind stopped tearing the air so wildly. Then, the thick, seemingly endless snow curtain thinned out and turned into tired, drifting fluff.

Mia rode on Aisha's broad, warm back, standing on the snow two kilometers outside the military camp, and she could clearly feel this change.

The biting chill is receding; it's no longer a relentless, needle-like attack, but a milder, more "normal" winter cold.

As her field of vision gradually opened up, the world that had been compressed into a small space by the wind and snow was now expanding into the distance at an astonishing speed. She could see the coniferous forest covered by snow in the distance, and also the blurry outline of the military camp fence in the distance.

Mia could even vaguely make out the people walking back and forth on the military camp's watchtower, people dressed in white... they were her own people.

Aisha, her loyal and strong companion, seemed to sense the change. She snorted softly, and her ears, which had been slightly erect due to alertness, relaxed and twitched, as if trying to catch sounds beyond the wind and snow.

Then, it laboriously raised its head and grunted a few times at Mia on the pig's back.

"They won? Oh, that's great, they..."

Mia pondered for a moment, wearing a huge, fluffy, snow-white coat that made her look like an Arctic hare sitting on the back of a pig. After thinking it over carefully, she nodded vigorously.

“They can eat ten… no, eight candies.”

Elsa immediately raised her head and hummed in protest.

"Oh, Elsa has some too, eight pieces... okay, ten pieces of candy."

Mia showed Aisha her ten fingers. Aisha was very smart, but she could never understand numbers above ten... This was probably because Mia only had ten fingers.

Aisha nodded in satisfaction after receiving Mia's assurance. Then she sniffed hard and started whimpering again, this time louder and more urgent.

"Someone ran away?"

Mia straightened up, stood on the pig's back, tiptoed and looked into the distance. After a while, she waved back.

The "snowmen," who had been standing quietly behind Mia like statues, also began to move because of her actions.

They had faces etched with deep lines by the cold wind, eyes as sharp as eagles, and wore thick, tanned animal hide armor in shades of gray and dark brown for camouflage in the snow.

What is most striking are the long, polished sleds beneath their feet, as smooth as mirrors, and the hardwood javelins, each about a meter long, that they grip tightly in their hands, their tips gleaming with a cold, hard light.

There were no shouts, no roars, only a low, short whistle, like the guttural sound of some snowfield beast, emanating from the leader.

Almost simultaneously, these barbarians from the northern mountains thrust their poles deep into the snow, unleashing tremendous force from their powerful legs, propelling their sleds forward like arrows.

The soft snow was no longer an obstacle, but rather an aid to their rapid gliding.

They crouched low, pressed close to the snow, their movements fluid and brimming with wild power, like a group of white ghosts drawn by the scent of blood, silently yet swiftly cutting into the snowfield, encircling the fleeing black dots.

This is the mountain hunters assembled by Chris. Led by Mia, they are a special forces unit skilled in combat in mountainous, frigid, and other special environments.

The process of forming an army is also very simple: gather people together, let them go into the armory and take whatever they want, and then you have an army... The mountain barbarians have their own discipline and leaders.

Fishing and hunting is a highly disciplined activity, much like a war. Fishing and hunting teams have a clear division of labor, including hunting leaders/generals, prey trackers/scouts, herders/light infantry, hunters/heavy infantry, and support and transport/logistics units.

At the same time, participants in the fishing and hunting activities must strictly abide by any order issued by the leader, appear where they are supposed to be, not run around, and are absolutely not allowed to panic.

If a mistake is made, at best people will die, at worst the prey will escape and the fishing and hunting profits will decrease... The death of one or two people is a minor matter, but if a large-scale hunting activity goes wrong and the prey escapes, it could be a major event that could cause many people to starve to death.

Even if the person who makes the mistake isn't killed by the chief and tribal elders who are presiding over the event, they will be ostracized by other tribesmen when they return to the tribe, and live a life worse than death.

Therefore, the mountain savages on the Casro Snow Goggles Line possess extraordinary discipline, and Chris could easily assemble a mountain snow goggles special forces unit without training them.

However, while such a team is easy to form, its disadvantage is that the upper limit of its combat effectiveness is not high.

When the main player force went to attack the Leterian military camp, Chris sent such a team, led by Mia, to join the battle if the player's attack failed.

Don't get me wrong, Chris didn't expect these mountain barbarians to turn the tide and defeat the enemy that the player couldn't defeat.

Chris's task for Mia was to have these barbarians use sleds and javelins to attack and harass the Retalians chasing the players while they were escaping, thus covering the safe retreat of more players.

Now that the player has won, this barbarian special forces unit is conveniently cleaning up the mess for the player by hunting down the routed soldiers outside the camp.

Exhausted deserters were no match for the barbarians who were skiing at full speed. They couldn't stop the powerful javelins the barbarians were throwing. Even the few Retalia knights on horseback couldn't fight them and could only flee in disarray.

Bows and crossbows and firearms would be unusable due to cold, dampness, or strong winds, but javelins, one of humanity's most primitive weapons, would not be; although their range was short, their reliability was top-notch.

……

Xiao Dao, Lin Ruoyu, Lao Li, and others successfully captured a Reteria military camp, taking nearly four thousand enemy soldiers prisoner. They earned a fortune in military merit and prestige, and made a huge profit from the supplies.

These Leterians were skilled robbers, and they made a fortune by ravaging the Minesians of the Chivelevka province, leaving them destitute and homeless.

Now that the players have captured the military camp, they have naturally taken over their wealth completely. Whether the players are dead or alive, they have all made a fortune... The players who fell behind didn't, so they're just unlucky.

As a result, over three hundred players who attacked the military camp were killed... Well, that's not a heavy loss, from the players' perspective.

Besides military merit, prestige, and wealth, the most valued item for players was the mounts. Nearly five thousand were captured in this battle, including over a thousand warhorses and about four thousand pack horses, inferior horses, and dung horses. This was the result after the Retalians killed many people due to food shortages.

The land of white galloping horses truly lives up to its reputation as a land of knights; they have an abundance of mounts. Many of the horses they consider inferior are regarded as fine horses by the players. They may not be suitable as mounts for heavy cavalry, but they can provide enough mounts for a light cavalryman.

Such a bountiful harvest delighted the players, who even wanted to continue fighting and raid more Reteria camps.

This idea is not just held by a few people; it is actually the idea of ​​the vast majority of players.

Many people died?
Who cares? New players are already on their way. All they need is a day of rest. They can hand over the prisoners of war to the warband servants who are coming later, and the main force of three thousand men can set off tonight.

Most players were fired up, but only Little Knife Stabs Butt, who was regarded as a fanatical warmonger by other players, remained unusually calm.

During the operational meeting, as everyone excitedly pointed to the coordinates of the nearest military camp around the captured supply map, he crossed his arms, frowned, and interrupted the heated discussion in a low but clear voice.

"and many more."

The sound of the knife brought a moment of quiet to the tent.

"The blizzard has stopped."

He pointed outside the tent, where the gray but no longer raging sky was clearly visible.

"what does that mean?"

"That means the roads will be easier to travel on!"

One player immediately chimed in.

“We can get to the next camp faster.” “Yes, the enemy can also move and regroup faster.”

Xiao Dao retorted without hesitation.

“Brothers, we just captured this camp. It was quite a commotion. The blizzard has stopped, but there are plumes of smoke, fleeing soldiers… Do you think the other Reteria camps around here don’t know? Their messengers can spread the news in no time, riding fast horses.”

"The fleeing soldiers? Wasn't Mia leading a group to intercept them?"

"Stop talking nonsense. I've asked around. Several knights ran away. Their tall horses were too fast... Even if no one escaped, the scouts of Leteria must have noticed something was wrong. Don't expect the enemy to be stupid."

Xiao Dao walked to the captured map, pointed his finger hard at the location of the military camp they had just captured, and then swiped towards the nearest other target.

“Look at the distance, fifty kilometers doesn’t sound far, but don’t forget this is a snowfield. The blizzard has stopped, but the snow is still there. We just finished a tough battle, and we’re exhausted. Even if we have captured some horses, how much fighting power can we generate in a short time?”

Dragging their baggage train and exhausted bodies, forcing a 50-kilometer march through deep snow to attack a pre-warned military camp?

The players inside the tent gradually quieted down, their excitement dampened. Old Li stroked his chin, lost in thought.

"What Xiaodao said...makes some sense."

"It's not just a little bit reasonable, it's a fact."

Xiao Dao looked around at everyone.

"Our victory this time was due to surprise, the cover provided by the blizzard, and the fact that the enemy never expected us to launch an attack in this awful weather."

Now? The opportune moment is gone, the advantage of a surprise attack has vanished, and we are no longer facing an unprepared enemy, but a well-prepared force, possibly even one that has already laid an ambush.

Lin Ruoyu calmed down and added.

"Moreover, we still have more than 4,000 prisoners to guard. They are ticking time bombs. Once our main force leaves, our rear will be vulnerable. If these people cause trouble or are rescued by other enemy forces, everything we have just gained may be lost."

One player shouted in frustration, making a suggestion.

"Why don't we kill all the prisoners of war and let them dig their own graves..."

"Don't talk such nonsense. You don't want reputation points anymore, but I do!"

Someone immediately rebuked.

"What should we do then? Are we just going to give up this immense wealth?"

"Yes, of course."

A glint of light flashed in Xiao Dao's eyes.

"But not now, not by forcing our way in this way!"

He walked to the tent entrance, lifted the curtain, and pointed to the group of prisoners being driven and guarded by the players in the distance, as well as the captured horses that were still in disarray.

"Our top priority is to consolidate our gains and stabilize our rear."

"First, immediately organize manpower to prioritize identifying officers, nobles, and dangerous individuals with rebellious tendencies among the prisoners, and detain or dispose of them separately. As for the remaining ordinary soldiers, use the captured food to keep them in check, let them know that surrender will save their lives, while resistance will only lead to death, and assign reliable manpower to keep them under close guard."

Or perhaps they could simply move them to the rear and hand them over to Prince Chris in exchange for military merit.

"Secondly, those horses, five thousand of them, represent a tremendous wealth and power. We must distribute them to other players as soon as possible according to their merit points. Since they have contributed, they should receive their own mounts."

"Third, repair the defenses of the military camp. Although the blizzard has stopped, the weather is still cold, and the enemy may launch a counterattack at any time."

We must use the captured supplies to reinforce the fences and repair the watchtowers, transforming this military camp into a fortified outpost, not a supply point that can be hastily passed through and abandoned at any time.

He turned around and looked at the other military camps marked on the map.

"As for the next target... of course we need it, but not now. We have to wait."

"What are you waiting for?"

someone asked.

"Waiting for the next blizzard."

Xiao Dao said decisively.

"Wait for the next blizzard, wait for our people to send the corpses back to the rear to revive them and then come over, wait for the rear to be stabilized, wait for the prisoners to be escorted back in batches, and wait for Prince Chris's NPC troops to arrive and take over the defense of the camp."

"Chris's mission for us was to harass and create chaos, and we have now exceeded expectations by taking over the entire camp."

But greed leads to failure; continuing to advance rashly now could very well result in losing all the gains already made, or even total annihilation.

Xiao Dao's voice echoed in the tent, carrying an undeniable clarity.

The players looked at each other, the frenzied atmosphere completely cooling down, replaced by thought and weighing of options. Although Xiao Dao was usually warlike, the strategic vision he displayed at this moment had to be acknowledged by them.

"So... what do we do for the next few days?"

Black and White Bear asked, "The one who should be here representing the Han and Tang warriors is Elder Li of the battle group, but who told him to be a pile of charred remains?"

This naturally meant that only the top champion of the battle group could handle it.

"What?"

A ruthless yet shrewd smile curled at the corner of Xiao Dao's mouth.

"Take stock of the wealth, reorganize the troops, strengthen the defenses, interrogate prisoners to obtain intelligence... Do whatever you want. If you feel bored in the camp, you can ride sleds like ghosts and harass and scout other camps around you during this time before the blizzard comes again."

Let them live in fear and unease, paving the way for our next truly devastating strike!

"Bros."

He said finally.

"Now that we've started the operation, we can't rush it. The Retelians are holed up in the military camp; they can't escape, but taking them down won't be easy."

The blizzard gave us our first opportunity; we must be prepared to seize the next one, instead of betting all our winnings at once like a gambler.

There was a moment of silence in the tent, followed by a chorus of approving whispers and echoes.

The fervent desire to continue the offensive was completely extinguished by Xiao Dao's realistic analysis. The next goal was to digest, prepare, and lie low, waiting for the next storm that would belong to them.

(End of this chapter)