Spoils of War

Li Ang had no intention of occupying this camp.

In fact, after receiving the map from Ralph, Li Ang knew that this land north of the Tongtian River was not suitable as an initial territory for expansion.

Foucher could mess around here; after all, he was the son of a duke with a powerful family capable of negotiating with the Gatu warlords.

But with his own meager strength, he couldn't withstand the Gatu cavalry.

Besides, if he got caught up in a dispute between figures like Duke Alma and Count Oden, even the slightest ripple could be a disaster for him.

And both sides were incredibly cunning...

During the final match in Mistveil City, after Foucher was eliminated, Duke Alma demanded the final be changed to Armored Combat, a format notorious for its fatalities.

Li Ang's opponent in that final was Ryman, and for Duke Alma, the death of either Li Ang or Ryman in the arena would likely be good news...

Ryman was Count Oden's son-in-law and probably Oden's most capable subordinate.

As the renowned Furious Lion Knight, Duke Alma wouldn't openly confront Ryman; he would even maintain a facade of 'good relations,' but covert sabotage was almost certain.

Ryman's swift concession then seemed to indicate he understood this clearly. He would rather end his undefeated streak than fight Li Ang to the death—though, in that situation, he might not have won anyway.

As for Count Oden, he ordered Li Ang to 'eliminate the bandits' but failed to mention that this was Foucher's camp. It was as if he feared Li Ang wouldn't clash directly with Duke Alma...

Li Ang agreed to Oden's request out of necessity—to expand his territory in the Long River Forest area, it was essential to maintain good relations with Count Oden, who possessed the strongest military force.

Furthermore, the Count had sponsored... no, 'lent' him a sum of startup capital.

However, after completing the task, Li Ang was reluctant to get further entangled in the political struggles of these two great nobles.

He needed to grow stronger quickly, otherwise, he would only be a pawn in someone else's game.

Growing stronger required a large number of personnel and equipment, and that, in turn, required a substantial amount of Dinar...

Damn it!

After thinking it over, it all came down to money...

Returning to the camp, the battle was already over.

Kloze was leading the mercenaries in collecting spoils.

There seemed to be a considerable amount of loot, and a good number of captured enemies, though incapacitated, were still alive.

But Li Ang's mood was far from cheerful—despite capturing so many prisoners, he couldn't engage in the most profitable traditional Pande business: selling captives!

Since the strongmen had used infantry warhammers and generally avoided striking the enemies' heads, most of the foes were injured but alive. Except for the archers and riders killed by the crossbowmen, most other enemies were still breathing.

The vast majority of these enemies had limbs broken by the hammers, and they lay on the ground writhing in agony. Most of them were incessantly cursing the maternal female relatives of the Meitengheim people with rather uncouth language.

And yes, some were cursing Li Ang too.

Listening to the continuous stream of obscenities, and then remembering they were members of the Crimson Brotherhood and couldn't be sold, Li Ang regretted not having asked Kloze to use their preferred greatswords...

What was the point of taking these prisoners? They would just consume extra rations.

Kloze, however, seemed unfazed, directing the mercenaries as they stripped the prisoners of their gear and roughly bound them.

This newly appointed assault captain was very diligent, keeping a close eye on the mercenary crossbowmen to prevent them from pocketing any spoils.

The Meitengheim Infantry, on the other hand, had already started eating—the enemy had been preparing to eat when they launched their surprise attack, and now the Meitengheim soldiers were benefiting from it.

Assault teams generally did not participate in cleaning up the battlefield; it was a battlefield convention.

This was because they had already undertaken the most dangerous tasks and shouldn't be burdened with manual labor; also, during the cleanup, assault team members might come into conflict with prisoners due to personal grudges that had just arisen.

After all, the highly offensive language from the prisoners was directed at them.

Of course, these voices gradually diminished with the rough binding actions of the mercenaries, until the entire camp returned to silence.

Ansen was tending to the wounded.

Although he had made no contribution on the battlefield, Ansen was very proactive and reliable when it came to treating the injured and sick.

At least he didn't resort to bloodletting, unlike many doctors of this era...

Several assault team members had sustained injuries of varying severity, but this did not affect their hearty feasting. Ansen was bandaging a man whose arm was cut so deeply that bone was visible, while the man's other hand was still clutching a pork knuckle and gnawing on it.

It projected an air of calm heroism.

However, the bulging veins on his forehead and the sweat constantly dripping down his face revealed the truth—he was merely using the pork knuckle to stuff his mouth, preventing himself from crying out in pain.

This was typical of the Meitengheim people; they believed true men shouldn't fear pain, and groaning in agony was considered cowardice. Moreover, they never retreated on the battlefield; in Meitengheim, those struck in the back would not receive treatment.

This was also the primary reason why Meitengheim, despite being a barren and narrow mountainous peninsula, could defeat the Barkley colonial army and achieve independence.

Everything seemed to be going relatively smoothly, but Li Ang was still uncertain about the exact amount of spoils.

Li Ang looked at the messy camp with some trepidation.

"My Lord..."

Kloze, who was overseeing the battlefield cleanup, suddenly ran up to Li Ang.

Li Ang noticed that Kloze was now holding a full-face helmet—the kind that covered the entire head and face, leaving only a slit for the eyes.

That guy... he wouldn't let the mercenaries hide spoils, yet he was the first to acquire a piece of equipment himself...

But Li Ang didn't mind—the fact that Kloze came to see him directly, holding the helmet, actually showed that the guy wasn't hiding anything else.

Moreover, as soon as Kloze stood before Li Ang, he raised the helmet as a gesture.

"Do you like this helmet? It looks very suitable for you, keep it for yourself."

Li Ang, not in a good mood, didn't wait for Kloze to speak and directly bestowed the spoils of war.

There was no other way, even though he was poor, he still had to be generous to his top fighter...

"Thank you, my lord... But my lord, this helmet was originally mine—I thought it was strange how it ended up here..."

Kloze flipped the helmet in his hand. On the inner edge of the helmet, Kloze's name, 'Klose,' was engraved.

He then put on the helmet.

Li Ang noticed that this helmet was indeed a set with the Meitengheim plate armor Kloze was wearing.

It was exactly the same as the Meitengheim Great Swordsman in games from his past life.

Li Ang immediately realized that Kloze had been unconscious from a shipwreck at sea and captured by pirates. The helmet must have been sold by the pirates—unlike their cloaks and plate armor, the heads of Meitengheim people weren't much larger than those of the Pande.

A helmet sold on the west coast over a month ago now appearing in the most remote mountainous region of the eastern continent, and falling into Kloze's own hands—was this a coincidence?

"Whose head was it on before?"

Li Ang found the coincidence almost unbelievable, the probability of it was like winning the lottery.