Chapter 93: After the Victory

The crisis had been averted, but there was more work to be done.

The injured required recuperation; someone had to handle the reparations; the frightened residents of the territory had to be pacified; the production work at the camp had to be put back on track again.

The first thing Gawain did was to gather all those blood-red skeletons that had accumulated outside the camp, the mountain pass, and the mountain path. He had used up nearly a third of the manpower to transport those remains back to the camp before they disintegrated. They then stacked the remains at the southern bank of the White River, stacking up a fearsome mountain of skeletons near the sawmill.

The bodies of those monsters were massive and sinister. Even after they died and after their remains were ‘disintegrating’ for one day and one night, the remaining portions still had a terrifying appearance and volume. They were simply stacked up without any order, and there was a constant spiral of smoke and mist that were a mix of black and red. It was just like a formless flame that was burning. Inside the pile of skeletons, there were fewer than ten percent of the skeletons that were complete.

The complete skeletons were mostly left behind from the battle with the defense team. Those monsters that were buried by the cliffs and blasted to death by the ‘landmines’ all had incomplete corpses.

Gawain picked out those skeletons that had a complete frame and supported them using wooden stands. He then placed them in order at the southern bank of the White River. From far away, it looked like the northern side of the camp had a new and dreadful perimeter wall. In front of the pile of bones within the wall, Gawain raised a tall wooden platform.

Every individual in the camp could see the construction process of the pile of bones and the wooden platform. Most of the commoners and serfs got a shock when they saw those horrifying blood-red skeletons. The fear they experienced when their homeland was destroyed back then had arisen involuntarily again, but the thunderous explosions during the defensive battle a day ago had dispelled a portion of their fear. Even those illiterate serfs understood something… Since they were alive in this place and those monsters were stacked up at the riverbank, it meant that their leader’s army had obtained complete victory, and it meant that those monsters weren’t as terrifying.

The soldiers rushed around the camp and announced the leader’s order to gather: Duke Gawain Cecil had ordered everyone on this land to head toward the riverbank’s tall platform to listen for new orders.

The camp that had less than a thousand individuals was easy to move around. Soon enough, everyone had gathered at the plaza located beside the sawmill. Gawain stood at the wooden platform that was constructed at the last moment. He stood in front of the gathered residents while there was a pile of blood-red bones that were constantly disintegrating and fuming with elemental smog.

Heidi released the sound amplification spell, allowing the voice on the tall platform to echo throughout the plaza…

“Residents of the Cecil Clan! Today, I have three things to announce.” Gawain stabbed the Sword of Pioneers on the ground and took a glance at the residents below before he suddenly raised his sword and pointed it at the rows of skeletons that were arranged along the riverbank. “First of all, I want to announce a celebration. For these monsters that once destroyed the Cecil territory, that once massacred your brothers, sisters, and friends, that threatened all of our lives not long ago, these monsters have been defeated! They met us head-on and suffered a crushing defeat! These monsters numbered nearly a thousand, a number that is nearly ten times the camp’s defensive force. But they were ultimately unable to take half a step into our camp… You should know how powerful and frightful these monsters are, but you should also know that these monsters are not undefeatable!”

These words had made the residents below to raise a little uproar; it had made them realize that these were truly simple and honest words. Originally, the residents had guessed that their lord was going to announce the celebration for this unbelievable victory. Gawain’s current words had simply knocked down the facts and started to brew a passionate and exciting atmosphere.

Gawain’s next words were about to turn this atmosphere into cheers. “In order to celebrate, after we finish today’s work, everyone in the camp will get to eat meat soup and white bread! And also the ale transported here from Tanzan Town!”

Soon enough, there were cheers echoing in parts of the crowd… The cheers became a starter that ultimately made everyone cheer along.

Gawain waved his hand while the crowd started to turn quiet. Immediately after, Gawain continued, “Secondly, I want to thank and express my gratitude to everyone for their contributions to the defense of the camp… It includes my soldiers and all of you too.”

Gawain had purposely paused, and as expected, the crowd below started to stir up.

Because this was the first time they had heard such a strange speech.

A noble was expressing gratitude to the commoners and even the serfs… Furthermore, it was such an official and solemn occasion. This was definitely not a joke!

Some of the people started to look at each other in dismay because they felt bewildered. Some of the serfs standing at the corners started to glance around because they didn’t feel that this matter was related to them.

But they saw a few of the individuals being ‘escorted’ by the soldiers, and they walked to the platform and stood behind Gawain.

“This piece of land isn’t just my territory. It is also your home. The people that defended this piece of land aren’t just the lord and the lord’s army. All this is also because of your contributions,” Gawain spoke seriously and was saying things that would be considered unorthodox and bizarre in this era.

“Each and every one of you has put in effort for the defense battle… You smelted those ‘furnace slags’. You filtered out the crystals. You produced the wooden boxes. You carved the runes. You harvested the herbs. You washed and starched the soldiers’ clothes. You cut holes on the Dark Range’s cliff. You dug traps in the mountain path. All those things are the things that protected your homeland and your lives!”

The crowd raised an even bigger uproar. At least half of the people didn’t understand the logic and significance of Gawain’s words, while the other half didn’t believe what they were hearing. Mixed in the crowd was Amber, who was responsible for yelling out ‘awesome’ every so often, but she had also forgotten what she was supposed to be doing. She looked at Gawain and muttered, “Is this fellow sick in the brain… Isn’t he admitting that the commoners and nobles have the same value and purpose…”

After Gawain spoke, he didn’t bother about the reaction from below and gestured to those behind him to come up to the platform.

Apart from this territory’s soldiers, the others were the commoner laborers that had thick limbs and were wearing coarse and tattered clothes. These people had nervous expressions while they walked to the front of the platform and looked at a loss. They already knew what their lord was going to do, but they didn’t know how they should react. They were like rusty puppets that were moving stiffly as they were afraid they might miss out on an instruction.

Stonemason Gordon accidentally took half a step more than others and ended up in a position that was almost the same as Gawain. In the beginning, Gordon didn’t notice this point as he only saw the densely packed crowd below. This was the first time he stood in front of so many people, and it was on a platform. This had made the old stonemason who had a body of firm muscles tremble. Subsequently, he noticed that he had ‘exceeded’ his position, and that caused his face to change greatly.

But Gawain merely laughed and said to the others in a soft voice, “Stand along with the stonemason. This position is meant for all of you.”

At this moment, the people below had already recognized the one standing above… This camp had a mere eight hundred individuals, and most of them were survivors of the disaster at the Cecil territory. Most of them were already very familiar with one another, and they were even able to call out the names of the serfs.

“That’s the stonemason — old man Gordon!”

“Isn’t that Hunter by his side? The one who hunts?”

“Who is that skinny and small person?”

“Isn’t he a serf of the territory? Holme was it? He’s the one smelting ‘slags’ at the furnace…”

“I recognize the soldier. It’s Krim. I heard that he killed two of those monsters yesterday… None of his brothers and sisters were able to escape from the territory unfortunately…”

Right at this moment, Gawain’s voice echoed and interrupted the soft discussions from below. “These people are the ones that made the greatest contribution during the defense of the camp. They are the most outstanding individuals at their jobs, and they are the most hardworking craftsman and the bravest residents. Towards them, I will honor my promise in advance.”

“Holme, Terry, and Wacker, all of you are originally serfs and slave workers. Right now, you’re free citizens! From now on, you can possess your own property and use your hands to strive for your own land and house. But remember, the freedom to work and live is also the freedom to starve and degrade. From today onwards, your lives are in your own hands. Do not let down this freedom you’ve received.”

“Stonemason Gordon, Huntsman Hunter, Soldier Krim, all of you are already free citizens. Hence, you shall obtain a piece of newly plowed land and will also be the first batch of people to receive your residences after the construction of the houses. In addition, Krim, due to your outstanding bravery, Sir Byron has the intention to give you guidance. If you’re willing, you can start as a knight’s retainer.”

The names of the people that were mentioned had puffed out their chests. Gawain then took the copper crests prepared in advance from Heidi and pinned them onto their clothes.

The crest was truly simple and crude; it was actually a flattened piece of copper that was carved with the insignia of the Cecil Clan. On the back of the crest, it had the words “New Cecil Clan’s First Defensive Battle Commemoration”. Heidi, Rebecca, and the others didn’t understand the significance of making these things… because these ‘copper pieces’ weren’t currency, and Gawain had also stated clearly that they must not be used for transactions. In other words, these were worthless things unless they were smelted and sold as copper.

But Gawain insisted on making these things.

After pinning these things on their clothes, Gawain whispered to them, “This is the symbol of glory.”

The symbols were indeed simple and crude. Due to the sudden request, he didn’t have time to create the various ‘brave combat awards’, ‘production excellence awards’, or ‘outstanding contribution awards’ (though the people of the territory might not be able to understand them). But no matter what, such a merit system had to be established.

This wasn’t just an encouragement; it was also a symbol for others.

The people below the stage might not be able to see those crests clearly, but they could obviously feel the honor of standing on the platform, causing them to look forward to standing on the platform as they looked on with envy.

Immediately after, Gawain announced the third thing, “Thirdly, it is regarding the territory’s army.”

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