Expedition

The date was Thursday, March 32, Imperial Calendar 1157. The morning was overcast.

Early that morning, Sean brought Thor and Phil to the Garrison Barracks. Afterward, they attended the pre-expedition Oath-taking Rally together. Once figures from all sides had made their appearances, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel, the Commander-in-Chief of this expedition, issued the order to set out.

A total of 1,200 soldiers—one battalion and four Independent Squadrons—were taking part in this expedition to suppress the River Bandit Gang. They were divided into three echelons and would head separately to the combat zone in the Southern Wilderness.

The First Echelon, serving as the Advance Team, consisted of 400 soldiers from one company and one battalion. They had assembled and departed yesterday morning. Carrying a small amount of supplies, they would cross the Dorosun River and travel overland along its southern bank to reach the combat zone ahead of time. They were to establish a temporary camp and defensive positions for the main force, while also scouting out detailed intelligence on the River Bandit Gang.

Sean and his Independent Squadron were assigned to the Second Echelon, along with the other three Independent Squadrons. The Second Echelon was Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's Direct Command Unit, consisting of 500 soldiers from one company and four Independent Squadrons. They were to board ships with him in Linshui City's Dock Area and sail upstream along the Dorosun River. The voyage would take roughly two days, after which they would turn into the Lingnan River, a tributary of the Dorosun River, and continue south against the current. Once they entered the combat zone, they would rendezvous at the temporary camp established in advance by the First Echelon.

The Third Echelon consisted of only 300 soldiers from one company. They would use carts to transport the vast majority of the army's grain and logistical supplies along the northern bank of the Dorosun River to a small town at its confluence with the Lingnan River, where they would stand guard and wait for the Second Echelon to rendezvous with the Advance Team. Only then could transport ships be freed up to return to the confluence of the two rivers and carry the grain and supplies to the temporary camp. Once all supplies were in place, they would travel by ship to join the others.

To ensure the smooth transport of all officers and soldiers in the Second Echelon, Linshui City had mobilized not only every river patrol vessel but also requisitioned a large number of fishing boats. Sean's squadron was assigned one river patrol vessel and one fishing boat to carry the squadron's logistical carts. He boarded the river patrol vessel with Thor and Phil, along with soldiers from four platoons. The remaining platoon was tasked with guarding the fishing boat carrying the carts, under Sergeant Donnie's command. The two groups would rendezvous after reaching their destination.

Sean's Independent Squadron had no directly supervising officer. This was due to his status as a Cadet Officer; after all, he was not yet a true professional soldier. The other three Independent Squadrons were likewise led by Cadet Officers, just like Sean. Thus, all four Independent Squadrons were effectively under Lieutenant Colonel Merkel's direct command.

Before long, the soldiers of the Second Echelon boarded the waiting ships one after another. Once the responsible officers had inspected and confirmed everything, the Flagship bearing the command banner departed first. Sean then directed his vessel to follow it out of the harbor. As the soldiers in the cabins chanted in unison and rowed with all their strength, Linshui City gradually shrank in Sean's eyes until it vanished from sight altogether.

Because the middle reaches of the Dorosun River had no large lakes to regulate and buffer the water level, the river flooded disastrously every summer and autumn. Furthermore, the Southern District on the river's northern bank lay slightly higher than the Southern Wilderness Region on its southern bank, so most floodwaters flowed toward the southern bank.

This had created the Empire's largest swamp region, the Southern Wilderness Great Swamp. The River Bandit Gang responsible for the kidnapping of a noble was active in the heart of the Southern Wilderness Great Swamp, more than a hundred kilometers southwest of Linshui City.

The Southern Wilderness Great Swamp was not entirely swamp unsuitable for human habitation. Rather, it resembled an archipelago. Amid the densely scattered swamps lay terrain such as Small Hills, forests, and patches of plain. During the current dry season, the area of land suitable for normal passage or combat became even larger.

This time, the Garrison would venture deep into the Southern Wilderness Great Swamp. According to the intelligence they had obtained, the River Bandit Gang they needed to eliminate numbered nearly five hundred people and was one of the largest groups of bandits in the entire Southern Wilderness Great Swamp.

Even so, the strength of this group of river bandits was still vastly inferior to that of the expeditionary army. Their actual combat power was only comparable to a company of three hundred soldiers. Leaving aside the gap in weapons and equipment, there was already an enormous difference in training, organization, and logistical support. In Sean's view, the strength of an organized army did not lie in individual fighting ability, but in the casualty rate it could endure—in how many casualties it could sustain while continuing to fight without collapsing.

In a frontal battle between two armies, the soldiers killed or wounded in combat were far fewer than those lost during pursuit after one side collapsed. An ordinary ancient army could be considered formidable if it could endure a ten percent casualty rate, while a modern army could continue fighting even after taking fifty percent casualties. Therefore, in Sean's view, given equal numbers and disregarding differences in martial skill, a modern army armed even with cold weapons could almost slaughter an ancient army one-sidedly. This was because modern military training emphasized discipline as its core, treating an army as a single person...

Clearly, bandits, river bandits, and other criminals lacked strict discipline. They were only good at fighting battles with the wind at their backs or pursuing defeated enemies.

By that afternoon, after eating the simple lunch Phil had prepared aboard the river patrol vessel, Sean stood alone on the deck and watched the scenery along both banks. It was nearly April, and lush green grass covered both sides in a vibrant display of life. Yet the northern bank held neat fields, while the southern bank was covered only in desolate weeds.

The fleet moved slowly that day, traveling less than thirty kilometers in over three hours. Sean practiced the Riding Secret Method alone on deck. He did not want to miss a single day of cultivation.

Only through constant perseverance could one see the final scenery. Sean planned to complete his cultivation during a stretch of time each afternoon over the next few days. Considering the actual circumstances, afternoon was probably the safest period. At night, they might need to be even more vigilant; if they were hit by a Night Raid, a disorganized army would be extremely vulnerable.

Meanwhile, in the Southern Wilderness Region, dozens of Fast Boats of various sizes were moored in a river bend along the middle reaches of the Lingnan River. This was the base of the infamous Gil River Bandit Group. It was also the heart of the Southern Wilderness Great Swamp, with vast stretches of marshland and reed wetlands. The terrain here was exceedingly complex, and outsiders rarely came here year-round, making it highly concealed.

The Gil River Bandit Group had existed here for decades. No one remembered what it had originally been called. But after the current Chief Gil became the leader of the river bandits, the Gil River Bandit Group acquired its current name.

Gil had been chief for more than ten years and had originally lived a fairly leisurely life. The only thing he needed to do was keep an eye on his ambitious river bandit subordinates, guarding against them trying anything underhanded—just as he himself had once done to the previous chief.

Half a month earlier, Max, the chief of another large Bandit Gang, had sent someone to request an audience with him. Max asked him to capture someone for the Max Bandit Group on the Dorosun River and promised to pay him a large sum of money afterward as thanks.

Gil did not agree to the request on the spot. He was not some inexperienced rookie fresh out of the gate. He would not rashly agree before learning the target's exact identity; even thieves had to consider their own reputation.

Gil pressed the man for the target's specific identity while also sending trusted subordinates to gather news from the underworld. After several days of investigation, Gil became certain that the person Chief Max was paying him to kidnap was merely an elderly blacksmith.

Gil was overjoyed. He no longer hesitated, and after some bargaining, he agreed to the request. Then he sent his river bandit subordinates to take turns monitoring the Dorosun River. Whenever a vessel passed by, they would immediately rob it while searching for travelers who matched the description.

The bandits of the Southern Wilderness Region did not survive solely through robbery; at most, it was an occasional side job. They had to cultivate some land within the territory they actually controlled and grow grain and other crops to ensure they would not suffer from hunger. The Southern Wilderness Region was simply too barren, and sometimes months would pass without anyone worth robbing.

The Gil River Bandit Group had likewise reclaimed large stretches of farmland beneath a Small Hill near their base. However, rainfall this year had been somewhat heavier than in previous years, causing Gil and his many river bandit leaders to worry about the scale of this year's floods.

Among them was a large, crude leader who, while robbing a ship several days earlier, had done the foolish thing of kidnapping a Noble Cadet to extort grain. This had infuriated Chief Gil, who had nearly wanted to personally cut down the idiot. But he also knew that even if he did so, it would not help matters. Thus, over the past few days, he had been forced to act cautiously, constantly sending clever river bandit subordinates to investigate Linshui City's movements.

"Brothers, tell me, what should we do now?" After receiving word that Linshui City had sent troops to suppress them, Chief Gil looked at his subordinate leaders and asked irritably.

The dozen or so leaders seated below Gil looked at one another, then all glanced in unison at the large leader who had caused the trouble.

The large leader felt the strange looks from everyone make his hairs stand on end. He shifted awkwardly in his seat, then tentatively suggested to Chief Gil, "Boss Gil, we could ask Chief Max's Bandit Gang for help..." After saying that, he gave Chief Gil a humble smile, his eyes filled with ingratiation.

"Help? Fucking hell..." Upon hearing the large leader's suggestion, Chief Gil immediately let out a thunderous roar. It was so loud that it seemed capable of shaking the entire Council Hall. He panted heavily, venting the frustration that had built up over the past few days. Not only had his subordinate caused a disaster that could cost them their lives, but after they handed that old blacksmith over to the Max Bandit Group, the other side had immediately reneged on the deal and refused to pay the full reward they had agreed upon beforehand.

"Boss, calm down." Facing Gil's roar, the dozen or so leaders around him all spoke up to soothe him. Only after quite a while did Chief Gil calm his anger. At that moment, another river bandit leader suggested, "Boss, I heard the Garrison's grain and supplies haven't arrived yet. How about..." As he spoke, he glanced toward the large leader, immediately drawing Gil's attention.

The undisguised looks from the two of them immediately drew responses from the other leaders present. With his boss and the other river bandit leaders in the hall all staring at him with strange expressions, the large leader felt an inexplicable sense of panic. He soon realized that trouble was likely about to befall him.

After the river bandits in the hall discussed matters for another half hour, the large leader finally walked out of the Council Hall with a deathly pale face.