This military order could only be called harsh. Heshima had practically placed the lives of this entire army in Shikele's hands, putting immense pressure on him.
Moreover, Heshima had set a deadline: before April 20, Shikele was to capture the Northern Frontier nobles' fortress in the Blue Lake Bay Region. Then, Shikele and Kuba were to lead this force deep into Two Rivers County, circle around to the Northwestern Border Fortress, and join the main Barbarian army in a pincer attack to wipe out the Two Rivers County forces in one stroke.
The schedule was extremely unfriendly to Shikele's detached force, but he could understand Heshima's urgency. After all, it was already April, and the snow and ice would melt in just a few days. The grasslands would then enter a muddy thaw period lasting roughly half a month.
Once that half-month thaw period passed and late April arrived, the armies of the other Northern Frontier nobles would be able to move out.
Although Heshima had confidence in the Barbarian army under his command, the Northern Frontier Allied Army's numbers could not be underestimated. If the Northern Frontier nobles joined forces, the Barbarians would certainly gain no advantage. This was the reason Heshima had given the others for speeding things up.
There was another reason Heshima had not voiced: the entire Barbarian army's food reserves were being consumed at a terrifying rate and could last, at most, another half month.
Thus, Heshima had only one demand for both Shikele's detached force and the main army directly under his command: break the enemy fortresses as quickly as possible.
Only then could they secure victory before the army's food ran out. Otherwise, the starving herders and slaves would overturn the entire Barbarian army.
Heshima had no choice but to include Shikele's detached