Delivery Complete, the Expedition Begins

Three months later, Burke returned to the Fourth Regiment's camp.

At this moment, he said to the Santos Regimental Commander standing to the side, "Viscount Santos, the remaining 600 Type One Rifle are all here, waiting to be counted. Once that's done, the delivery mission will be complete."

Santos took the handover list, glanced at it, and then tossed it directly to the deputy Regimental Commander behind him.

He said to Burke, "You've worked so hard these past few days, Factory Manager Burke."

The Arms Factory not only readjusted some details based on our feedback to make the Type One Rifle more perfect, but also completed the production of this batch of rifles while ensuring quality and quantity.

The fact that we were able to complete the delivery a month ahead of schedule allows ample time for subsequent operations, and all of this is thanks to your hard work and that of all the staff at the Arms Factory.

"Not at all, this is our job, you flatter us too much."

Please make good use of these Type One Rifle. We hope to achieve a great victory in the upcoming battles. We will also cheer for the Fourth Regiment.

"Don't worry, we are also looking forward to seeing how this Type One Rifle performs in the upcoming war."

Both men were overjoyed. With the delivery of this last batch of Type One Rifle, all 2,000 Type One Rifle originally intended for the Fourth Regiment had arrived.

Prior to this, almost all units within the Fourth Regiment involved in the equipment replacement had already completed training with Type One Rifle.

It's not just the troops that have been re-equipped. Now, every officer and soldier in the Fourth Regiment, including the logistics transport team, knows how to use Type One Rifle.

Of course, this was to ensure that the troops could maintain their combat effectiveness even if these Type One Rifle malfunctioned.

This time, the Fourth Regiment will have to bring all its original weapons and equipment, which means the Fourth Regiment will have to carry a lot of supplies and equipment.

It's already early March, although winter isn't completely over yet.

But by this time the snowfall had decreased significantly, Santos planned to ask Victor to allow the Fourth Regiment to depart ahead of schedule.

If we had delayed our departure by another month, by mid-April when the weather warmed up, the snow and ice on the grasslands would have melted, turning the grasslands into muddy, frost-covered areas, which would have caused great difficulties for transportation.

It's better to start the Santos mission now, while the grasslands are still relatively frozen and the snow isn't too deep.

Victor soon received Santos's request for instructions. After reviewing Santos's opinion, he summoned him directly.

He asked, "Is the Fourth Regiment ready?"

Can the troops who have been re-equipped become proficient in using Type One Rifle?

Besides the rifles delivered to you, has the ammunition arrived at the Arms Factory yet?

In addition, have you prepared all the necessary supplies and weapons? Do you have enough heavy sleds and wagons for transport?

Victor asked a series of questions, as he didn't want the Fourth Regiment to be unprepared and rush off, which could easily lead to problems.

After all, this expedition will take at least half a year to go, with three months spent on the round trip alone, covering a distance of more than 2,000 kilometers.

Victor must ensure that the Fourth Regiment is ready; otherwise, it would be a disaster if such an elite force suffered heavy losses on the steppe.

Since Santos was planning to depart early, he had naturally made thorough preparations.

He answered Victor's questions one by one, "Currently, all our soldiers have fully mastered the use of Type One Rifle."

All the necessary supplies and vehicles have been prepared, enough to supply us for six months.

The Arms Factory is producing very quickly. In addition to the 2,000 rifles they delivered to us, they also provided each rifle with 300 rounds of ammunition, as per the contract you previously agreed upon. That should be enough for us for a long time.

My idea is to set off now. If we wait until the weather warms up and the snow and ice start to melt, the grassland will become muddy, which would be a real problem.

After all, we're traveling over a thousand kilometers, and it will take at least a month and a half to reach our destination. I think now is the perfect time to set off."

Victor remained silent for a moment, and seeing Santos's resolute attitude and firm gaze, he knew that Santos must have been prepared.

Santos was the most cautious and careful among his Regimental Commander, and having just undergone Transcendent transformation, Santos was now younger and in the prime of his life.

Victor chose him as the team leader this time in the hope that he could perform better so that he could be rewarded.

After all, Santos was one of the earliest officers to follow Victor and was considered one of Victor's confidants, but his rank in the territory's army was not high. Hopefully, this time he can be promoted.

Victor eventually agreed to Santos's request, but asked Santos to give the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment a leave of absence.

In order to master Type One Rifle, the soldiers of the Fourth Regiment hardly had any holidays that winter.

To maintain secrecy, they stayed in the camp for extended periods.

Now that they are about to embark on a journey that will last at least six months, covering more than 2,000 kilometers round trip, Victor hopes they will let their families know.

After hearing Victor's suggestion, Santes quickly nodded in agreement; he also felt that a vacation was indeed necessary.

These officers and soldiers didn't get to enjoy a proper winter vacation. Letting them go home to say goodbye to their families before they set off will allow them to participate in this expeditionary operation with greater peace of mind.

Even if he doesn't come back, it will still be a comfort to his family.

Five days later, near the Iron Mountain, Victor escorted the Fourth Regiment to this location.

This expedition was indeed extremely difficult, with the time and distance exceeding all previous operations of the Golden Sunflower Family. Victor was not entirely sure how successful the operation would be.

Although all preparations had been made and there were people to meet them, Victor was still unsure whether an army that had just transitioned from the feudal era to the modern era could withstand such arduous combat.

Regardless of the outcome, this war will bring new gains to the Golden Sunflower Family's army.

Their experiences and lessons will become the best teaching materials for the military academy, and the hard-working will they have honed will become the most profound foundation of this army. That's why Victor came personally to see them off.

Santos said to Victor, "Duke Grace, that's enough for now. Please return."

"You can come and welcome us when we have achieved great merit and returned in triumph."

Victor nodded. "I look forward to your triumphant return."

"I hope everything goes smoothly. I hope you can bring them all back safely."

"That's exactly what I expected!"

Santos then led his troops forward, and Victor watched as this massive army marched toward the distant plains.

This time, in order to prepare enough supplies for this unit, Victor also specially allocated a militia battalion to help them with the transfer of supplies.

In this way, the entire expeditionary force numbered over 7,000 people, and with the accompanying transport team and livestock, they looked like a migrating Barbarian Tribes.

At this moment, snowflakes began to fall slowly from the sky. Victor was very familiar with this kind of weather and could tell at a glance that the snowflakes meant that the snowfall would not be heavy.

He looked at the falling snowflakes, as if they represented the difficulties the team was about to face.

As the column moved forward, Victor could no longer see Santos at the front, and could only silently wish him a successful expedition.

A few days later, Victor was handling official business in his Ducal House when there was a knock on the door.

Victor heard one of his confidential secretaries call out from outside the door, "Duke Grace, we just received a report from the outpost on the steppe that Lord Santos's Expeditionary Army has successfully arrived at Outpost No. 4."

"Come in!"

The door was then pushed open, and his confidential secretary handed the telegram to Victor.

Victor glanced at it briefly; the content was short, only a few dozen words.

However, it was clearly stated that yesterday afternoon, Santos led the Expeditionary Army, mainly composed of the Fourth Regiment, to successfully reach Outpost Number Four.

He reported to the Two Rivers County via telegram from Outpost Number Four that their journey was going well and there were no casualties due to unforeseen circumstances, and that Duke Highness should not worry.

The territory's previous outposts on the plains are now equipped with wireless telegraphs, enabling them to communicate with each other and transmit information to Two Rivers County.

This allows Victor to keep abreast of the situation on the steppe, and now he can learn about the Expeditionary Army's status in a timely manner.

The Expeditionary Army has now reached Outpost Number Four, which is exactly 130 kilometers away from the territory.

Victor did the math in his head and realized that the Expeditionary Army had marched 130 kilometers in just four days, a speed that was quite beyond Victor's expectations.

They marched an average of more than 30 kilometers per day. Although the grasslands are not yet in the spring season, there is still a lot of snow.

With the army marching at this pace, Victor could imagine how exhausted the soldiers must be.

He simply sent a telegram back, advising Santos to control the marching speed, proceed according to their capabilities, and not let the soldiers become too tired, otherwise they might not be able to react in time to unexpected situations.

After receiving Victor's reply, the confidential secretary immediately went to send a telegram back.

There's not much Victor can do now; he can only keep track of the Expeditionary Army's situation through telegrams and hope that everything goes smoothly for the Expeditionary Army.