Everyone felt their hair stand on end seeing this scene…
“Is this the legendary witch?”
Yinan did not give the soldiers time to think. He pointed his longsword and commanded the army to charge the city.
The mountains and rivers were overturned. Under Yinan’s wrath, this territory was directly reduced to ruins. Herol’s territory was riddled with scars…
Men became decapitated corpses under the scorched earth, turning into a fine feast for wild dogs…
The women surrendered to the enemy; they would not become widows, but were about to become the wives of these invaders…
Children looked around blankly, with no one to rely on…
“Brutes! Beasts! Demons!”
This was the evaluation given to Yinan by the surrounding nobles and commoners over the past few days.
Yinan’s army was like a cruel storm, sweeping through the surrounding territories. Wherever they went, the coffers of any noble would be emptied!
Otherwise, they would suffer an unbearable slaughter!
Letter after letter was sent to the Tulip Territory to be forwarded by Marquis Will to the Imperial Capital. All of them were impeachments against this demon’s atrocities!
Meanwhile, Yinan led everyone in his territory to establish a hero’s monument in the Rosen Territory. More than 10,000 names were carved upon it, with the name at the very top being Euan.
The military commander of Silver Lake had ultimately “passed away from his injuries” after the war ended.
Euan’s wife and daughter were reduced to tears beneath the monument. Many commoners were also grief-stricken because their own family members had died in the war…
Yinan also made a rare appearance before the crowd. In their memory, this Lord had never performed any “man of the people” acts.
A heavy rain began to fall, but not a single person left the field.
Servants held umbrellas for Freya and Aurora as they watched from below the stage. Meanwhile, Yinan braved the heavy rain and slowly stepped up the stairs of the hero’s monument…
Finally, he reached the highest level, where he stood alone. Yinan looked down at all the soldiers and commoners below.
After a long silence, he finally spoke. His booming voice drowned out the sound of the rain. “Everyone, although we have achieved victory in this war, the price has been so heavy. Countless vibrant lives have vanished, leaving behind nothing but the grief and tears of their loved ones.”
“Today we are here to erect a monument for these heroes. They gave their precious lives for our territory and for our homes.”
“These 12,398 heroes have used their blood to tell all invading enemies that our land shall not be violated!”
A low sob broke out among the crowd. Euan’s wife and daughter were even more heartbroken.
“Last night, Lord Euan, the military commander of Silver Lake, suffered heavy injuries and failed to recover despite emergency treatment. He has finally left this world. I was shocked when I heard the news.” Yinan’s tone was very low, sounding as if he were deeply sorrowful. “In my eyes, he was an elder brother who had looked after me since I was a child, and even more so, the guardian god of Silver Lake!”
“He was an extremely outstanding and responsible man. He took his work very seriously and always maintained the stability and order of Silver Lake. He was a competent military commander!”
“He was a knight, and to die on the battlefield is his honor! But he was also someone’s husband and someone’s father!”
Yinan paused slightly and looked toward Euan’s wife and daughter. “Starting today, I permit this mother and daughter to move into the Silver Lake Castle and enjoy the highest level of treatment!”
“I will take care of them for the rest of their lives. In the future, no matter what kind of person his daughter wants to become or what knowledge she wants to learn, I will do my best to nurture her!”
“And the same goes for these fallen soldiers! I will provide the funds to establish a school so that all children who have lost their loved ones can enroll for free! The school will hire the most excellent teachers to teach them knowledge and skills, giving them the expertise to live well on this land in the future… Whether it is swordsmanship, magic, literature, or arithmetic, we will teach whatever the children want to learn!”
Listening to Yinan’s words, a trace of hope gradually appeared on the originally sorrowful faces of the people.
The eyes of those children who had lost their families also flickered with a different kind of light; it was a yearning for the future.
Yinan was recovering his reputation. Although he did not care about such things, a noble had to package himself well. Otherwise, the image of him being bloodthirsty would be deeply engraved in the hearts of others.
This protective veneer provided the cohesion for the people of the territory. It would allow Yinan to firmly control the land in his hands even if he was isolated by the surrounding nobles!
—
After Yinan finished harvesting the people’s hearts and left, Karl returned to the Finance Hall to begin distributing pensions, head bounties, and payouts to the gamblers who had invested in the victory fund.
He remained busy for ten hours. It was already past 1:00 AM by the time he finished his work. Although this fat man who loved to overeat was still hungry, he did not stop for a meal immediately.
He gathered all the slave traders and brought them to the main hall of the Rosen Town Hall…
The slave merchants had no idea why they had all been summoned by Karl. They wanted to fish for some information from him.
Each of them took out bags of gold coins and stuffed them into Karl’s pockets, and the fat man accepted them all without hesitation!
His obese frame was dressed in loose-fitting clothes that seemed capable of holding an endless amount of gold coins. It was only after the last slave merchant had finished his offering that he spoke slowly. “The Lord called you here to change your destiny!”
That was all he could reveal, but it was enough to put the people present at ease.
The number of lives lost at the hands of that demon probably totaled over 100,000 — perhaps even more than that old bastard Will…
No one wanted to be called to a party only to be killed for no reason!
“Lord Karl, please stop keeping us in suspense. Exactly how is it going to change?” a short slave trader with a cunning look in his eyes couldn’t help but ask.
Karl directly rebuked the dim-witted fellow. “You will naturally be told when it is time for you to know. Now, everyone be quiet and wait for the Lord to arrive and make the announcement!”
His status was no longer the same as these old associates. In the past, they could call each other brothers and exchange favors, but not anymore!
He now understood his position and knew what he could and could not do!
Meanwhile, Yinan woke up in bed. He slowly pulled himself out of Freya’s embrace, and the maids entered the room to help him dress.
Freya was exhausted and did not realize at all that her husband had gotten up in the middle of the night.
“Clean this place up.” After Yinan was dressed, he left this instruction and departed.
After Yinan walked out of the room, the maids silently began picking up the things on the floor…
Yinan stepped out of the room, adjusted his clothes, and sat in the carriage with a normal expression, heading toward the Town Hall.
Inside the Town Hall, the slave merchants sat up straight one by one, waiting for Yinan’s arrival.