Looting, Dividing the Spoils, and the Seven-Colored Life Flower

In the afternoon of September 20th, a group of Mountain Dwarves, escorting thirty sheep carts, moved slowly through the wilderness.

The Mountain Dwarf leading the group rode a Horsehead Mountain Goat, holding an iron hammer. He scanned his surroundings vigilantly, ensuring the safety of the convoy.

They were now in the border region of the human territories, and the cargo they were escorting necessitated extreme caution.

Suddenly, hundreds of Knights, who had been lying in wait in the surrounding wilderness, rose to their feet. They hurled their long spears and immediately launched their attack.

The entire process was swift and decisive. Over thirty Mountain Dwarves, caught completely off guard, were impaled on the ground.

"Enemy attack! Everyone defend, protect the ore!"

The leading Mountain Dwarf waved his iron hammer and shouted the order.

Looking at the humans emerging from all sides, even the densest mind would realize that information about their escort had been leaked. They had been ambushed by these greedy humans.

Olcott identified his target and charged directly at the leading Mountain Dwarf.

Soon, the iron hammer and longsword clashed, and the outward bursts of Battle Qi intertwined. Both humans and Mountain Dwarves kept a wide berth from the area.

Before long, other Silver Knights found their targets and engaged the Silver-ranked Mountain Dwarves.

Velin watched the situation on the battlefield and immediately felt at ease.

With multiple attackers facing single opponents or two against one, they held an overwhelming numerical advantage, both in terms of high-end combat power and the lower ranks.

"Damn humans, you're seeking death!" The leading Mountain Dwarf, seeing his subordinates dwindling, unleashed his potential and began to overpower Olcott, making it difficult for the Silver High-ranked Knight, who was over fifty years old, to cope.

"Edgar, Brian, come help me."

Upon hearing this, the two Silver Intermediate Knights, who had finished dealing with their opponents, immediately went to support Olcott.

Facing the combined assault of three opponents, the Mountain Dwarf leader gradually fell into a disadvantage. Olcott seized an opportunity and severed both of the leader's arms.

"Ah—"

"Damn it."

The Mountain Dwarf leader looked around, only a handful of his subordinates remaining. Most had fallen to the humans.

"Humans, you will pay the price! Marquis Dalag will find you."

"Heh, only if he can find us first."

The next moment, the Mountain Dwarf leader was killed, and the remaining Mountain Dwarves, without exception, all perished under the swords and blades.

Afterward, everyone began to secure the battlefield, collecting the heads of the Mountain Dwarves and tending to the bodies of their fallen comrades.

To avoid any unexpected complications, the group did not linger. They prepared to return to the Lake of Star Prayer before dividing the spoils.

After the main force had departed, Velin discarded the Centaur identification tag, which had been cleaned with a scent-removing potion, in a hidden patch of grass, intending it as a misdirection.

On the way back, Olcott, to be safe, chose to take a detour around the border of the Sepro Province, feeding false information to the enemy.

At the Lake of Star Prayer, inside a wooden cabin, Velin placed the casualty and supplies statistics on the table, officially commencing the spoils division meeting.

Olcott, as the temporary commander, unhesitatingly took on the role of host for the spoils distribution conference.

"The captured spoils will be divided into two parts. One part consists of the Mountain Dwarves' heads, and the other part consists of the Mountain Copper, Nubian Black Goats, Horsehead Goats, and weapons and equipment. I propose we divide them according to different ratios."

"The Mountain Dwarves' heads will be divided based on the number we personally killed. Other materials will be divided according to contribution."

The other three nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Olcott continued, "In this battle, my contingent suffered seventeen Bronze Knight casualties and twenty-three Bronze Knights were injured. Edgar had eleven Bronze Knight casualties and nine Bronze Knights were injured. Brian had six Bronze Knight casualties and thirteen Bronze Knights were injured. Velin had three Bronze Knights injured."

"In this battle, we captured a total of two hundred and thirty-seven Mountain Dwarf heads: eighty-three were of low-grade, one hundred and forty-eight were Bronze-ranked, and six were Silver-ranked."

"Therefore..."

Half an hour later, the meeting concluded, and everyone received their share of the spoils.

From this battle, Velin obtained six carts of Mountain Copper ore, totaling about twelve tons, twelve Nubian Black Goats, six Horsehead Goats, thirty sets of Dwarf weapons and equipment, one Silver-ranked Mountain Dwarf head, sixteen Bronze-ranked Mountain Dwarf heads, and twenty-six low-grade Mountain Dwarf heads.

Currently, these Mountain Dwarf heads had little practical use, but they would be very valuable when he advanced to Baron and then Viscount.

In the Ilia Kingdom, below the Duke rank, titles could be obtained through military merit.

Of course, there were time limitations for each rank.

For example, the Ex Family, as a Count family, had the strength and military merit to qualify as a Marquis, but their family history was only seven hundred years old. They were still a hundred years away from the eight-hundred-year inheritance requirement.

The day after the spoils were divided, the three of them led their respective troops away from the Lake of Star Prayer one after another.

With everyone gone, Velin entered his farming mode, continuing to develop his territory, overseeing the construction of the castle, and organizing troop training.

To prepare for the Gnolls that would arrive in two months, Velin even began organizing civilian militias and serfs for training, so that troop replacements could be made quickly in case of casualties.

"My Lord, you summoned me," Belder said, bowing respectfully with a hand on his chest as he entered Velin's study.

Velin stopped writing and gave Belder his instructions. "I have a task for you next."

"Please command me, my Lord."

"For the next two months, I need you to lead the army and organize foraging teams to gather everything usable within a ten-kilometer radius."

"Remember, destroy anything that cannot be gathered. Absolutely nothing should be left behind."

"Yes, my Lord."

Belder left the study after receiving the order.

Velin walked to the window, gazing at the calm lake surface, and muttered to himself, "Two months. Scorched earth. No food whatsoever in the surrounding area. Let's see how this pack of attacking gnolls plans to solve their problem."

With just over two months left until the monster attack, he had to speed up and increase his strength.

Soon, it was the evening of October 1st. The Guidance of Fate once again brought valuable information to Velin.

[At the bottom of the Lake of Star Prayer, there is a cave where the Seven-Colored Life Flower grows.]

"Seven-Colored Life Flower."

Velin got out of bed and went to his desk. He opened a drawer and took out a book that recorded many magical plants.

Soon, he found the information he was looking for.

"The Seven-Colored Life Flower is a rare magical plant, rumored to be favored by the Goddess of Life. It can rapidly heal injuries, repair hidden bodily damage, restore bodily functions, and extend one's lifespan. It is an extremely rare magical plant."

"Furthermore, the Seven-Colored Life Flower can enhance the user's magical talent."

"It has immense value. The discoverer suggests submitting it to the Holy Temple of Life to gain the favor of the Goddess of Life."

Seeing the last sentence, Velin knew without a doubt that the church must have added it. Who in their right mind would hand over such a valuable magical plant to the church for a fleeting, ethereal honor? No sane person would believe that.