Chapter 127: A ridiculous reward

“Please don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t investigating you. Sherry and I are friends—she mentioned it in a letter.”

Seeing Phield frown, Elsa immediately realized she had crossed a line and raised both hands slightly in a placating gesture.

“Forgive me for speaking so bluntly earlier. I was thinking entirely from your perspective. Do you understand? When a noble lady’s words sound unpleasant to you, that may be when she’s being sincere.”

“Oh?” Phield suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.

“You could keep your title and move away from the Northern Province. That’s something you’d want as well, isn’t it? To be honest, I wouldn’t want you staying in such a dangerous place either. A talented knight like you should serve the Empire.”

She paused slightly before adding,

“One divine artifact in exchange for a piece of land—that’s absolutely a profitable deal.”

“Serving the Empire is only natural. When I eliminate the corpses in the North, I’m serving the Empire as well.”

Phield ended the conversation rather hastily. He lightly clinked his glass against Elsa’s and turned to leave.

The Empire might appear calm on the surface, but beneath it currents were constantly colliding. Scheming with a group of seasoned nobles might offer the thrill of political maneuvering—but a single mistake could capsize everything and leave one utterly destroyed.

Compared to that, relying on territorial development, rapidly expanding his army, and building a Divine Chosen force capable of crushing everything in its path was far more appealing to Phield.

The banquet ended amid laughter and cheerful conversation.

Following the unspoken rules of noble society, Phield still sent the governor one thousand gold coins that very night.

By the afternoon of the next day, the governor had already compiled everyone’s war merits. One copy was sent directly to the imperial capital, while another was transcribed and publicly announced.

But it was obvious that his judgment had serious issues.

“Phield led the Nightfall Domain forces during the Battle of Springwater Village and assisted Sir Pate in capturing the strategically important village. During the first battle beyond the frontier, he personally killed a total of twelve enemies. In the final battle, he killed three enemies, and along the march he killed six more. His performance was commendable. He is hereby awarded the Blueheart Griffin Medal.”

Charlotte held the report and read it aloud in her soft voice, trying her best to speak loudly so the soldiers of Nightfall Domain could hear clearly.

“Wait… that doesn’t seem right.” One soldier looked completely confused.

“I killed more than that myself! What were they looking with—their damn asses?” Sam’s eyes widened with fury.

“Hey, hey! We clearly climbed the fortress walls and held them until reinforcements arrived.”

“By the way… who the hell is this Sir Pate?”

The soldiers looked baffled. Phield himself wore the exact expression of an old man staring at a phone on the subway.

“Sir Pate is probably some noble’s illegitimate son.”

As a noble himself, Phield understood them perfectly. If Felix hadn’t managed to steal the credit, another bastard would inevitably appear to claim it.

Phield chuckled.

“It doesn’t matter. This merit record was never accurate to begin with.”

“Damn it! I quit. My lord, why don’t we just charge in and—take it ba—mmph!”

Sam had barely spoken two outrageous sentences before his comrades clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t worry,” Phield said, standing up and patting the shoulders of the soldiers beside him.

“Your contributions—and the contributions of the fallen soldiers—I will never forget them. When we return to Nightfall Domain, rewards will still be distributed according to merit.”

The soldiers were so moved they were almost in tears.

Phield clapped his hands loudly.

“Alright. Pack up the supplies. We’ll depart as soon as possible.”

The governor and several great noble families had already divided up the most fertile lands and mineral resources of Itavon Province. The contractors of Divine Chosen took the better farmland and small towns.

What remained—the ruined lands—were granted to minor nobles who had bled heavily in expenses or to opportunists.

Returning to his tent, Phield carefully examined the rewards he had received. The merit record listed everything clearly.

Three years of tax revenue from Commercial Street No. 3 in Nogaisk City.

One standard Tier-1 magic power lance.

One blue-background griffin banner.

One Blueheart Medal.

“That’s it?”

Phield clicked his tongue and shook his head.

Tax revenue from an entire street sounded impressive, but rebuilding Nogaisk and restarting trade would probably take at least a year.

The total profit would only be about one thousand gold coins—and that would be three years later.

Fine. So that’s how you want to play it, huh? Next time I’ll just rob you instead.

“A total loss. I shouldn’t have sent that useless bastard any gold coins. I’ll remember this.”

He wasn’t joking. Tugging at his collar to ease his irritation, Phield had already decided to send the governor a “blessing” in return.

“Honestly, the only reason they recorded my merits at all is probably because of that thousand gold.”

Seeing Phield unhappy, Charlotte cautiously approached and patted his back. She clenched one small fist in encouragement.

“Don’t be sad! As long as we build the territory together, everything will get better!”

Charlotte crouched sweetly on the ground, her snow-white collarbones and shoulders half exposed. Tilting her head up, she smiled at Phield.

“You’re already amazing—killing so many enemies.”

This girl probably had no real concept of what killing enemies meant. Even though she looked more like a child herself, she was comforting him in the tone one would use for a child.

“You’re right. I expected this anyway, so I’m not really upset. Besides, I gained quite a bit this time—like the adorable Miss Charlotte.”

Phield smiled slightly and patted her head.

“Hehe, good that you know.”

Charlotte happily stuffed a piece of cake into her mouth.

“Let’s hurry back to the territory. I can’t wait anymore—you absolutely have to see my power.”

Aside from Charlotte, Phield had also obtained a heavy defensive ballista, a large crate of Tier-3 potions, two crates of magic cores, and about thirty warhorses.

He had already made a huge profit—not to mention what he gained from Wind Orchid City.

His original goal had been to plunder Wind Orchid City anyway. Everything else here was just a bonus.

Over the past few days, Ashina and his Black Ravens had been “paying friendly visits” to nearly every place around Wind Orchid City—except the main city itself.

“Then hurry and pack everything up. I still have somewhere to go.”

Phield grinned.

“I need to visit my dear little brother… to suppress some bandits. Haha.”

“Alright! Let me finish eating first.”

Charlotte kept stuffing cakes into her mouth.

“I eat really fast.”

“Slow down. No one’s going to steal your food.”

Phield pinched her cheek, ignoring her clawing protests.

He slung the greatsword onto his back and had just stepped out of the tent when he heard an extremely irritating voice.

“Phield, I can’t believe you actually returned from the battlefield unharmed.”

Adrian rode forward on horseback, entering Phield’s temporary camp. He let out a mocking laugh.

“Was hiding in the rear fun? Coward.”

Now that he possessed real strength, Phield’s mentality had completely changed. He remained calm as he slowly walked toward Adrian, looking at him with a teasing expression.

His little brother clearly had no idea what had happened with the territory. He probably thought Phield had already gone home long ago.

Most likely, the messenger had been intercepted—either by Ashina or by the rebels.

“Well, well… if it isn’t my dear brother.”

Phield half-lowered his eyelids, the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried to suppress his laughter.

He casually glanced at Alice—the Divine Chosen who had nearly strangled him when he had first transmigrated.

“Hello there, charming lady.”

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