When the army returned to the city, Caesar IV led the civil and military officials out to welcome them. Hudson, too, received the highest standard of reception.
It was all routine. The expeditionary army's achievements this time were legendary in themselves. With the allies' disastrous example serving as contrast, the victory seemed even harder won.
Everyone was clearly satisfied. Aside from Hudson, the commander-in-chief, the expeditionary army's glorious victory had benefited all the princes, nobles, and aristocrats.
The military merits belonged to everyone. The heirs of the various families who had trained alongside the army not only gained abundant combat experience, but also earned a great deal of military merit.
Most importantly, the casualty rate among the elite heirs was low. Apart from a few unlucky souls, the direct descendants of every family had basically returned in triumph.
It was not because Hudson had deliberately looked after them. These people already had experts arranged by their families to protect them. With victory after victory, as long as they did not court death themselves, they were unlikely to die.
Still, low casualties were relative. Of the thirty-five thousand troops who had set out, only a little over twenty-six thousand five hundred returned. The casualty rate was close to a quarter.
Heavy casualties did not mean diminished combat power. Through that series of victories, the expeditionary army had forged its own Military Soul.
Just standing there, they were enough for anyone to recognize them as elite troops. Their aura was so powerful that even from hundreds of meters away, one could feel their killing intent.
Fortunately, Alpha Kingdom's upper ranks had all risen from the military. Otherwise, the expeditionary army's presence alone would have made them embarrass themselves on the spot.
Hudson clearly sensed Caesar IV's lapse in composure, though the king