Generous Rewards

Because you successfully defended the Swadian Stronghold, your name spread throughout the Kingdom of Swadia.

You gained +1 Legendary Reputation in the 'Kingdom of Swadia.' (An additional +1 Legendary Reputation in the Kingdom of Swadia robber circle.)

Twenty Swadian Footmen who had retreated from the Sargoth front heard of your deeds and intended to join you. Due to your Legendary Reputation in the Kingdom of Swadia, an additional ten Swadian Footmen followed them to join your stronghold. (+30 Swadian Footmen)

Thirty 'Swadian refugees' fleeing the Sargoth region heard of your deeds and intended to join you. Due to your Legendary Reputation in the Kingdom of Swadia, an additional twenty Swadian refugees were also willing to come and join your stronghold. (+50 Swadian Peasants)

The invading Nords were as ferocious as dragons, and the fall of the capital, Sargoth, had become inevitable. The Kingdom of Swadia had descended into chaos. A group of robbers living in Sargoth happened to acquire five trailers loaded with military provisions and were willing to escort them to join your stronghold. (+25 robbers)

You obtained one mu of Wheat Field from the plains outside Sargoth. The soil was fertile, and the wheat growing there was exceptionally healthy, ready for harvest at any time.

You obtained 1,000 Denar. Robbers also took advantage of the chaos in Sargoth and acquired an additional 1,000 Denar. (+2,000 Denar)

You have soldiers eligible for promotion...

Before Shen Mu's eyes, Dialogue Boxes began appearing in dense succession.

One after another.

That was why Shen Mu sat in his chair, staring blankly.

"Thirty Swadian Footmen, fifty Swadian Peasants, and twenty-five robbers, plus one mu of Wheat Field and 2,000 Denar..."

Even Shen Mu could not help swallowing when he saw that.

The rewards this time were far too generous!

So generous that even he had not expected it!

Moreover, Shen Mu paid particular attention to the notification for +1 Legendary Reputation in the Kingdom of Swadia.

"When I spared the robber Narot before, it showed that I gained +1 Legendary Reputation in the robber circle. That was also why I obtained the Robber Contact Point and why Narot returned."

Shen Mu raised his brow slightly as he looked at the dialogue box visible only to him on his retina, as though he had discovered something.

"Now, not only did I gain +1 Legendary Reputation in the Kingdom of Swadia, but it also stacked with my Legendary Reputation in the robber circle, reaching +2."

The dialogue box displayed it clearly.

Even the original rewards for completing the quest, Invasion of Demon Troops, had doubled because of Legendary Reputation!

One of the original rewards, twenty deserters, had directly been enhanced into thirty Swadian Footmen.

Thirty refugees had directly become fifty Swadian refugees.

Five military provisions trailers had become twenty-five robbers plus five military provisions trailers.

The 1,000 Denar he was supposed to receive had also doubled into 2,000 Denar.

Perhaps the only thing that had not changed was the one mu of Wheat Field, this type of agricultural building.

Ding! Deserters, refugees, and robbers from the Sargoth region, formerly the capital of the Kingdom of Swadia, have gathered together and intend to join you.

With the utmost reverence for you, they happened to turn past a forest before the savage Nord Army could catch them, arriving in the corridor of the Seventh Floor Apartment where you were located.

Now, please welcome their arrival.

The dialogue box refreshed before Shen Mu's eyes once more.

And on the seventh floor of the Stronghold Main House, outside Room 7040, where the turmoil had already subsided but countless shadows and gray mist remained condensed—

One phantom after another began to appear.

Whoosh!

At the same time, firelight flickered through the air.

They were numerous torches.

As nearly a hundred people materialized, the flames became solid, driving away the surrounding darkness and gray mist.

They also made those illusory figures more tangible in the corridor until they fully materialized.

At the front were Swadian Footmen clad in Chainmail, Fan Shields on their backs, dragging long spears and holding torches. They looked utterly bedraggled, exhausted, and terrified as they hurried into the corridor, curiously and delightedly looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

Behind those Swadian Footmen, many refugees in hoods and robes appeared as well, dusty and looking as though they had endured a long, difficult journey.

Then came five trailers at the rear of the corridor, tilted sideways just to fit into the 1.5-meter-wide passage.

Along with twenty-five robbers, their faces full of helplessness.

Seeing the tilted trailers, with even the bundles that had been tied down by ropes scattered throughout the corridor and blocking it completely, they could only sigh in discomfort, unable to say a word.

These military provisions and trailers were all spoils they had painstakingly picked up in the Sargoth region, packed full of food.

All kinds of precious butter, honey, olives, Salted Fish, and cured sausages, as well as cabbages, wheat, bread, and more.

There was even precious salt inside.

Now, it was all piled up here.

They could not deliver it to Lord Shen Mu, the man they admired and sincerely acknowledged from the bottom of their hearts. Of course they felt miserable.

They all knew they were nothing more than disreputable robbers.

If the constables and patrol team spotted them—

They would be easy accomplishments.

They could not compare to those Swadian Footmen who had once been Regular Army soldiers and could be incorporated at any time, nor to the refugees who had been civilians to begin with.

That was why these robbers truly wanted to use something to prove their worth, such as these five carts of military provisions they had stumbled upon by chance.

"Who's over there?!"

Just as these Footmen, refugees, and robbers had finished materializing and arrived in this world, before they could even react, firelight and several figures appeared around the bend in the corridor ahead.

A stern warning immediately rang out: "Stay where you are! Don't move!"

"Wait! We... we're soldiers and refugees from the Kingdom of Swadia! We came to join Lord Shen Mu!"

The Swadian Footmen at the front immediately obediently stopped where they were.

The foremost Footman raised his torch while handing his spear and Germanic Sword to a comrade beside him. He let the firelight illuminate his empty hands, then took two steps forward to show his goodwill.

"That's right, we came to join Lord Shen Mu!" The other Swadian Footmen and the refugees all spoke up in agreement.

Their expressions became excited as well.

Because the figures on the other side of the corridor also held up torches, using the firelight to reveal their faces.

They wore Chainmail.

They carried Fan Shields.

Germanic Swords hung at their waists, and they held long spears in their hands.

Beneath the Chainmail coifs connected to their armor were high noses and golden-brown eyes, their faces still stern.

That attire, that equipment, that bearing.

Made these soldiers, refugees, and robbers who had come from the Kingdom of Swadia understand clearly.

These people—

Were their compatriots!

And considering these strange yet orderly buildings, the monster corpses covering the ground, and the spear and sword wounds on them—

How could they not understand...

That they had truly arrived by chance in the otherworld belonging to Lord Shen Mu, the place they had always longed to join!?

"Refugees from the Kingdom of Swadia?" The five Swadian Footmen who had come to patrol at the front frowned slightly.

Their gazes swept across the soldiers and refugees who were indeed dressed as Swadians.

The hands that had tightly gripped their weapons relaxed a little.

But when the five Swadian Footmen glanced toward the pitch-black space inside Room 7040, where there was still no movement despite the noise from this side, their expressions changed again.

They immediately called out to these newly arrived compatriots:

"Then get away from that area and come with us to see Lord Shen Mu! Now that he knows you're Swadians, Lord Shen Mu will definitely be happy as well."