Return Journey
On their way back to Two Rivers Territory, Victor led his team past the original location of the gazelle herd and found that only a small herd of several thousand gazelles remained; the countless gazelles that had once been there had all left.
Victor knew this might be related to the giant gazelle they had hunted, but since the flock had already dispersed, Victor stopped worrying about it.
He led his army to capture gazelles again, but this time the small herd was in big trouble. Half of them were captured by Victor's army, and the rest scattered into several small groups.
At this point, the herd of at least tens of thousands of gazelles had completely vanished, becoming nothing more than a topic of conversation for these soldiers after they returned to their territory.
As for the true reason for the emergence of this unusually large herd of gazelles, only Victor himself probably knows.
Before returning to Two Rivers Territory, Victor made a trip to Supply Station Number Three. Gansen and Luda's cooperation was going smoothly. During Victor's absence, Gansen used Luda's people to mix with the original station's troops to form a new War Department.
This army has grown to the size of a detachment, with a total of over 600 men. Of course, only a small portion of them have reached the standard of the Two Rivers Territory's regular army; the majority of the others are still considered militia and Auxiliary Troops.
After seeing the newly formed unit, Victor encouraged the two men to keep up the good work.
Gansen pointed out that there was not enough qualified armor; currently, there were fewer than a hundred soldiers who could be equipped with full sets of iron armor, far fewer than the regular troops in Two Rivers Territory.
The Supply Station Number Three's inventory mainly consisted of weapons, with very little armor. He hoped that some could be allocated from the Two Rivers Territory. Even if it couldn't reach the 50% armor coverage required by the regular army, it should at least be 30%, otherwise it would be difficult to gain an advantage against the Barbarians troops.
Victor promised to resolve the matter for him once he returned to Two Rivers Territory. Although the newly produced armor from the Arms Factory had already been ordered due to preparations for the Civil War, there were still some old-fashioned iron and leather armors that had been phased out. Victor planned to send these armors to Supply Station Number Three.
After hearing that Victor had agreed to his request, Gansen rubbed his hands together happily and added, "Sir, ordinary leather armor is not enough, it must at least be iron-inlaid leather armor, and cotton armor would be even better."
The 50% armor requirement for regular troops in the Two Rivers Territory now specifically refers to iron armor, such as leather armor with iron trim, chainmail, or half-plate armor. Ordinary leather armor is not considered desirable by any of the troops.
After all, the Two Rivers Territory may lack many resources due to insufficient historical heritage, but it is backed by grasslands and has no shortage of cowhide and horsehide, especially the tough hide of the Gale Wind Horse, which is particularly suitable for making leather armor.
In addition, there were many Barbarians slaves in Two Rivers Territory. Most of the older Barbarians slaves had the skill to tan leather, and after several wars against the Barbarians, Two Rivers Territory was not short of furs. Therefore, Two Rivers Territory produced a large amount of leather armor.
Now even the Auxiliary Troops of the Logistics Department are guaranteed to be equipped with iron-lined leather armor. In wealthier settlements, even the militia are guaranteed to have a piece of ordinary leather armor for each person.
The soldiers that Gansen selected from the Luda tribe all brought their own horses and leather armor. Once they arrived at the supply depot, each of them was given a weapon, and that was considered their full armament.
Now that the Viscount has agreed to send a batch of armor to the supply depot, Gansen naturally wants some good ones, especially cotton armor. He has only seen it a few times, and he has heard that it is both warm and protective. Naturally, he wants to build up more reserves for his troops.
After listening to Gansen's words, Victor shook his head and smiled.
Gansen assumed that the Viscount disagreed and fell into a state of anxiety again.
"You're talking about cloth armor, right? The territory's Arms Factory did produce a batch, but the process was very complicated."
Moreover, its defensive capabilities are not much better than plate armor; it only provides better warmth, but it still can't compare to the fur coat you're wearing.
Therefore, after discussing with me, this type of cloth armor was no longer produced. The batch that had already been produced was either sold or kept as spare armor by various military units.
"If you want some, I'll go back and see if there are any left in the warehouse, and have them send them over."
This type of fabric armor is made by embedding iron plates between the inner and outer layers of thick cotton fabric and fixing them with copper nails. It combines the cushioning properties of cotton with the rigid defense of metal, making it a decent composite material armor.
However, its defensive capabilities are certainly not those of plate armor, and its manufacturing process is quite complicated, so it is basically an abandoned product.
It started as just a casual remark by Victor, but unexpectedly, Bob led the Arms Factory to produce it, which can be considered a kind of technological reserve.
Bob and the business manager Rabik, however, believed the armor had great potential and planned to sell it as a flagship product to other noble territories after the Civil War ended.
Victor was naturally optimistic about this, and he did not object to his troops taking initiative.
After Victor made his assurances to Gansen, he Supply Station Number Three.
They left the next morning, and most of the gazelles they hunted were left at Supply Station Number Three.
In exchange, the supply depot also provided Victor's troops with some other supplies, including alcohol, pickles, and dry bread.
Supply Station Number Three were always convenient to resupply because they were located near the Lime River, and the abundance of supplies they received was far greater than that of the Blue Lake Bay Outpost.
On the way back, Victor wasn't in such a hurry as before, and even rested for a night at the Supply Station Number Two.
The garrison officer at Supply Station Number Two was far less capable than Gansen and Parisben. Victor also thought he was only competent enough to be a Company Commander, though he was certainly capable of guarding Supply Station Number Two.
If the land near the Supply Station Number Two is to be developed in the future, Victor will arrange for the Government Affairs Office to send a capable civil officer to take charge of the work.
The garrison officer of the Supply Station Number Two only needs to do his job well; he doesn't need to hold important positions like Gansen and Parisben.
The same arrangement will be made for Supply Station Number One, where a separate civil officer will be specifically assigned to oversee the development work.
From Supply Station Number Three to Supply Station Number Two and then to Supply Station Number One, Victor led his troops on a leisurely six-day journey, conducting further reconnaissance along the Lime River.
He finally returned to Wood Fort Town in early January. The day before he was to return, it started snowing heavily again. If it weren't for the heavy snow, Victor might have been able to return a few more days later.