I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 343 Boring
Chris was anticipating the attack by two thousand light and shock cavalrymen of the Leterian army on the camp held by the Marlowe Army Group.

When the Reteria cavalry arrived near the Marlowe army, the player spotted the uninvited guests. After all, the two thousand cavalrymen were visually more impressive and took up more screen space than the four thousand infantrymen.

Hiding so many people and horses is no easy task.

When Chris saw the arrival of the Retalia cavalry through the eyes of different players, his mindset naturally shifted to that of a player, with a feeling of enjoying the drama.

The scene of feudal classical cavalry charging into a military camp guarded by line infantry, who are equipped with a large number of muskets and cannons, as well as rockets and some strange and unusual firearms, would definitely be a spectacular battle.

Isn't this more exciting than watching a movie?

Therefore, Chris was looking forward to seeing the Retalian cavalry charge, and was even somewhat impatient.

In the past, when he played games like Total War, Red Alert, and Mount & Blade, he liked to play as the defender, setting up positions in advance and waiting for the enemy to attack.

Watching enemy troops being destroyed by his own powerful long-range firepower brings Chris genuine joy; he could play this game all day without getting bored.

However, the Retalians were not going to grant Chris's wish to relive the joys of his childhood... After watching for a while, the two thousand-plus cavalrymen ran away from Major General Marlowe's camp.

Ran! ?
This greatly disappointed Chris.

A bunch of cowards.

……

Omdur Harbor, temporary command post.

After hearing the report from the Hohenheim centurion, who was kneeling on one knee, Seba Reteria's face turned ashen, and the crystal wine glass in his hand creaked as he gripped it.

Finally, he smashed the glass on the ground, shards and wine splattering everywhere.

"Trash, a bunch of trash!"

Prince Reteria roared, veins bulging on his forehead.

"You've lost a camp of six thousand men, and now you can't even take down a lone army. What use are you to the Empire?!"

Hohenheim lowered his head, bearing the prince's wrath, and said in a deep voice.

"Your Highness, please calm your anger. The Bagnians have constructed extremely strong fortifications and possess a large number of cannons and a dense firepower configuration."

A forced attack would only result in the 'Snow Wolf' and 'North Wind' elite knights being needlessly buried in front of trenches and barbed wire, becoming targets for the enemy's muskets and cannons.

We... lack the capability to breach enemy strongholds, nor the supplies to sustain a prolonged siege in the open. The bitter cold... is more deadly than the Bagnians' muskets.

Seba's chest heaved violently. He knew perfectly well that what Hohenheim said was true, and the intelligence that followed from the scouts also confirmed the strength of the camp's defenses. But the frustration and repeated setbacks were driving him almost insane.

"loss?"

He forced himself to calm down, his voice icy.

"Forty-three warhorses froze to death, and fifteen warhorses were severely frostbitten and rendered incapable of fighting, requiring treatment."

Twenty-seven soldiers suffered frostbite, five of whom... will likely require amputation.

Hohenheim's voice was filled with sorrow.

"No personnel... were killed in action."

"They didn't die in battle..."

Seba repeated it, his voice full of sarcasm.

"What a fine 'not killed in battle' claim! So what did you all do? Did you go sightseeing on the snowfields?!" Hohenheim remained silent.

Seba paced restlessly in the ornately carpeted hall.

He couldn't really do anything to Hohenheim; these two cavalry units of a thousand men were the only elite forces he had that could maintain some mobility in winter, and he couldn't afford to lose them.

Finally, he stopped, turned his back to Hohenheim, and spoke in a tired and suppressed voice.

"Get out of here and take care of your defeated troops. I will remember this debt."

Hohenheim bowed silently and left the oppressive hall.

Seba walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the port where snow was still falling and the sea was covered with a thin layer of ice.

His clenched fist slowly loosened, and what burned in his eyes was no longer just anger, but also a deep-seated fear.

“Chris… Marlowe…”

He murmured the two names.

"Do you think this is enough to win? Winter... is still a long way off!"

However, he himself did not realize that, for the first time, a chilling current called "caution" had been mixed into the depths of that flame of revenge.

The Bagnians seemed to be much more troublesome than he had anticipated.

The war was far from over, but the unfavorable start and the setbacks on the icy plains had already cast a shadow over his mind.

He needed to reassess his enemies, and... this damned, extremely unfriendly winter to the Retalians.

……

Well, for Chris, after the Marlowe Army successfully moved into the camp, the boring winter began. For a considerable period of time afterward, he could only stay in Tavitsky, doing tedious and uninteresting administrative work.

Chris is redividing the land, the land of Tavitsky, and at the same time, he is drawing circles in various important places in the Tavitsky province.

As long as he draws a circle on the map, it represents the corresponding location in reality where a farm or a defensive point should be built. The defensive point can be a small fortress or a building similar to a pillbox.

Defensive structures don't need to be overly sturdy. They only need to be able to block small-scale enemy infiltration forces or withstand a surprise attack by a few dozen cavalrymen, and protect the hundred or so people who take refuge inside. Then, they are considered successful defensive structures.

Chris planned to build such defensive structures all over the Tavitsky province, not in winter, but in the spring, of course.

With the addition of over four thousand laborers in the rear, the slow-moving railway construction began to accelerate. It might reach Anvil Fortress before spring.

This is good news for Chris, as it allows him to mobilize his troops more quickly.

As for whether this would cause other problems, such as surprise from friendly nations, Chris didn't want to worry about it.

Chris was bored, but the players had a lot of fun. There were quite a few Leterian scouts in the snowy wilderness, and they were quite stubborn. All winter long, the players were playing "hide-and-seek" with them and had a lot of fun.

During this time, another blizzard struck, and Knife led his men to attack a Reteria military camp located in the province of Dur.

This time, however, the result was not good; it was only half successful. The military camp was destroyed, but the Leterian people inside were well prepared and inflicted heavy casualties on the three thousand players who came to raid it. At the same time, they preserved half of their own forces and calmly withdrew from the military camp.

With the battle going on like this, the player could only burn down the camp after the blizzard ended, leave with over a thousand horses, and the loot was not as good as the last time. This made the player lose interest in launching a third blizzard raid.

Because of this war, the two sides officially entered a period of stalemate until the end of winter and the arrival of spring.

(End of this chapter)