Bitter Cultivation is Worse Than Plunder

These surviving serfs couldn't understand why their companions would hide money. Every time they won and lived through a battle, they could earn several dozen Sou in reward money and even get a meal of meat.

A few serfs understood the helplessness of those who hid money. Even if they survived now, receiving rewards or eating well was only temporary.

Once the war ended, they would still be serfs, continuing their miserable lives. So they wanted to hide a coin or two to exchange for some security—at least they could eat a little more grain each day.

Just then, Philip, who was commanding the New Recruit Squad, ran over covered in blood and reported, "Milord, we found some Parchment! It has things written on it we can't understand."

Glen waved his hand and said, "Load those Denars into chests and carry them out. Boman, Fas, you go supervise."

"Henry, looks like we have an unexpected gain," Glen said.

Henry originally wanted Bain to go supervise, but looking around, he saw Bain checking whether his own and Henry's horses were injured.

Henry shook his head and called a few new recruits to follow.

"Mm, bringing these Parchments back and handing them to Count Sebastian should fetch a large bounty."

Glen smiled. If these Parchments contained intelligence about the Half-Orcs, they would indeed be valuable—very valuable.

Those damaged human weapons and armor were already worth a lot of money, not to mention the direct gold and silver gains. Even if all the serfs they brought died, it would still be a huge profit.

How much were serfs worth? If buying in bulk at a low price, maybe nine silver or six silver could buy a serf's life, possibly even three silver per serf.

Of course, that was the price sold to nobles. For ordinary small landlords, freeholders, and workshop owners, naturally it would be much more expensive.

"Pack up these letters, tally the useful loot, and prepare to withdraw," Glen ordered.

The soldiers began counting the spoils and tallying casualties.

Glen's force had lost over a hundred serfs, one Heavy Cavalry, and four Light Cavalry.

Glen and Fas's serfs combined only had twenty left. Boman's crossbowmen lost three, all killed by Kobolds biting their necks.

One of Fas's Retainers also died, unluckily taken out by a Gnoll's javelin.

Henry had the fewest losses: one Heavy Cavalry who fell from his horse, eleven serfs dead, six lost from the New Recruit Squad, and over forty wounded.

Henry's New Recruit Squad earned Glen's endless praise. In the frontal infantry formation, it was all thanks to these new recruits holding their shields forward; otherwise, the serfs would have been scattered by the Gnolls and Kobolds long ago.

One crossbowman died, while the Skirmishers and Spearmen all survived, though wounded. One Spearman lost an arm—even if healed, he could only retire. One Heavy Cavalry died, two were wounded.

The weapons of these fallen soldiers belonged to their original nobles.

The rest of the loot was also tallied: two thousand three hundred sixty-seven Denars—a huge sum.

The Half-Orcs' armor and iron weapons were numerous and would need to be taken back for the Armor Smith and Weapon Smith to melt down and reforge before their value could be calculated.

Seventy-seven repairable human iron armors, over three hundred Leather Armors and Cotton Armors, over a hundred swords, knives, and spears.

There were also many human silver tableware sets, women's jewelry and Jewels, thirteen bags of salt, various animal furs, and some gold and iron ingots.

As for food, aside from dried meat and a little grain, nothing more was found.

These items were the assets of the Lesser Nobles who died this time. The Barons and Knights attacked numbered in the hundreds; no one knew how much the Half-Orcs had plundered from the Empire.

Perhaps the surviving Half-Orcs had taken a lot when they fled, or the haul would have been even greater.

But now, these things belonged to Henry and his three companions.

"What a fine haul!" Glen said with satisfaction, looking at the mountain of wealth before him.

"This time, especially your New Recruit Squad gave me a great surprise."

Henry nodded and said, "You had more serfs, Glen."

Glen then arranged, "Let's follow the original plan. You and I take sixty percent, Boman and Fas take forty percent. How about it?"

"Agreed."

The soldiers began moving, packing the wealth into chests and carefully loading them onto carts. On the return journey, Glen pondered the next step.

"Glen, what are you thinking about?"

"Henry, I was thinking... never mind. We don't have enough men now. Over two hundred serfs are dead. If we push deeper, we'll all die here."

Henry stared at Glen in shock, never expecting the kid would actually dare to think that. Even he, with his cheats, hadn't considered fighting two battles in a row.

"Glen, we've already achieved our goal this time. That's enough. Don't take risks. The Dean taught us that during the enfeoffment ceremony."

"Of course, I always keep it in mind."

This minor hunting operation, with a round trip of about a month and a half, would net Henry at least six to seven thousand Denars—a very considerable income. At the very least, it would revive Henry's depleted finances.

At the very least, Boman was buzzing in Henry's ear every day, saying he'd hit the jackpot this time, that he could buy nearly a thousand serfs, build two more villages, and cultivate seven or eight thousand mu of land.

Wouldn't that improve their quality of life?

Normally, the wealth of Henry and his three companions would be the envy of many. Under normal circumstances, a Knight with a manor and a village of forty or fifty households was considered a big shot.

But Henry and his group? Their wealth far exceeded that of a wealthy Baron with a Fortified Manor.

There was no helping it. Henry was a Fief of the Dean, while the others were Fiefs of the King—a big difference.

But for Henry, his greatest gain might be the... bug in his Overlord personal panel and Total War panel?

Not only was there no new statistics, but it had also become garbled and couldn't be opened.

If Henry hadn't tested the skill by slamming Boman with a shoulder throw, he would have thought his system panel was broken.

On the way back, Glen and Henry also noticed a serious problem—there were many other Downfallen Nobles, Exiled Nobles, and Mercenary Groups along the road.

These people all looked exhausted, carrying wounds on their bodies, as if they had been through fierce battles.

This was abnormal. Count Sebastian had only given three Joint Force hunting and reconnaissance slots—why were so many people showing up?

Glen furrowed his brow, a sense of unease rising in his heart.

He asked Henry, "Looks like we came back just in time. Something might have changed in Autongard."

Henry nodded in agreement. They had been away from the empire's border for over a month. During that time, no one knew what had actually happened in Autongard.

Most importantly, Henry's "reckless" and insane fighting style had earned Glen's respect, making him reluctant to give direct orders.