The Light of Victory Shone Over the Broomflower Kingdom
Two days later, His Your Majesty's entourage returned, weary from its journey, to his loyal capital, Plai.
Heinrich XI didn't even have time to rest. After a quick bath and change in the palace, he eagerly boarded his palanquin and, surrounded by courtiers and guards, hurried to the city gate.
At this moment, the Prye City was deserted and in an uproar.
The news had already spread: heroes from the Northern Territory, escorting hundreds of the heads of the ferocious Sauron Barbarians and numerous prisoners, were about to enter the city to present their victory!
As Heinrich XI's retinue arrived at the city gate, they happened to catch the triumphant procession from Fran City as it slowly passed through the gate.
The scene before them instantly ignited the enthusiasm of the entire city!
At the very front of the procession were dozens of Goldfinch Cavalry, their armor gleaming and their expressions solemn, carrying aloft the Rochefort Family's lion battle banner and the Broomflower Royal Standard, which fluttered in the autumn wind.
What followed was a scene that left everyone breathless, followed by thunderous cheers and gasps of amazement.
Hundreds of elite infantrymen, two in a row, carried long spear shafts on their shoulders, and on the tip of each spear was a Sauron, its face contorted and hair tangled, simply treated with lime!
These heads were deliberately posed with expressions of anger or fear, their empty eye sockets seemingly still gazing at the land they had longed to conquer in their lifetime.
The heavy stench of blood and the pungent smell of lime mingled together, filling the air and both nauseating and giving the onlookers a bloody and primal sense of triumphant ecstasy.
Following the column of fallen soldiers, a huge, tattered, blood-stained flag was hung upside down on an exceptionally long flagpole, held aloft by a burly soldier.
On the flag, the eagle emblem of the Sauron Sparrow Corps, which should have been soaring and dominating the world, was now hanging limply with its head down, bearing the pointing fingers, curses, and ridicule of countless citizens on both sides of the road.
This was the most humiliating display of war, symbolizing the enemy's utter defeat and disgrace.
Behind them was an even more pitiful line of prisoners.
Dozens of Sauron prisoners of war, their wrists bound by rough iron chains, were linked together and moved forward with faltering steps and numb expressions, like herded livestock.
They were ragged, covered in blood and wounds, their former arrogance and ferocity long gone, leaving only despair and bewilderment.
Some officers who were more seriously injured or of higher rank were locked in several makeshift prison vans, with heavy wooden shackles around their necks, huddled in cages, their eyes vacant, not daring to meet the angry and contemptuous gazes around them.
The most conspicuous of all the prisoners was undoubtedly Invag, who was imprisoned in the last and most sturdy prison van.
This former Battle Group Commander the Sparrow Corps was now almost naked from the waist up, covered with crisscrossing whip marks and charred marks left by branding irons.
Those were the marks left by Earl Rochefort's brutal interrogations in Fran City, conducted in an attempt to extract information.
He hung his head, his disheveled hair obscuring his face, but the pride and imposing presence he once possessed as Battle Group Commander had been utterly shattered, leaving only endless humiliation and the deathly silence awaiting final judgment.
"Kill them!"
"Hang these barbarians!"
"Long live Earl Rochefort!"
"Long live His Your Majesty!"
The citizens lining the road cheered wildly, cursed, and threw rotten vegetable leaves and stones at the prisoners.
The joy of victory and the long-suppressed fear and hatred towards the barbarians were completely unleashed at this moment.
Amidst deafening cheers, the victory parade slowly made its way to the massive Victory Square in the city center.
In the center of the square, a row of towering gallows had been erected in advance, casting a chilling shadow under the autumn sun.
The prisoners of war were roughly dragged off the prison wagons and taken to the gallows.
The guards put rough nooses around their necks, Invag was dragged out as well. He offered no resistance, only staring blankly at the gray sky.
At this moment, Heinrich XI, escorted by Queen Katerina, Prince Sigmund, courtiers, and the Janissaries, ascended the viewing platform that had been erected on the north side of the square.
His obese body stood out conspicuously beneath the glamorous formal attire.
The King's appearance once again drew thunderous cheers of "Long live the King!"
Heinrich XI was clearly enjoying the moment immensely. His face was flushed, and he straightened his chest, took a few steps forward, and came to the edge of the platform, pressing his hands down slightly.
After the cheers subsided slightly, he began his speech in the loudest voice he could muster:
"My loyal subjects!" His voice, repeated by several loud-voiced heralds, echoed throughout the square.
"Today, we gather here not to celebrate an ordinary victory, but to witness a great fact."
"The majesty and power of the Goldflower Kingdom will not tolerate any barbarian provocation! The greed and savagery of the Sauron sealed their fate of destruction the moment they attempted to seize my territory and harm my people!"
He waved his fat arm, pointing to the heads and prisoners in the square. "Look! This is the final fate of those fools who dared to invade the Northern Territory! Their heads will become spoils to adorn our walls! Their defeat will forge the immortal glory of our kingdom!"
"This glorious victory belongs to the brave and fearless defenders of the Northern Territory! It belongs to the strategist Earl Rochefort! And it belongs even more to you, every Broomflower citizen who is loyal to the Kingdom and believes in my leadership!"
"I hereby declare to the world that any enemy who attempts to challenge the authority of the Goldflower Kingdom will be utterly crushed, just like these Sauron Barbarians! The glory of the Kingdom will endure forever!"
"Long live the Broomflower! Long live my people!"
Although the King's speech was ornate but empty, it greatly stirred the emotions of the people in the context of the situation.
"Long live the King! Long live the Broomflower!" The square erupted in deafening cheers once again, the sound almost lifting the sky.
Heinrich XI surveyed the jubilant crowd below with satisfaction, savoring the ultimate thrill of power and victory. He took a deep breath, and with all his might, issued his final command:
"Now, in my name, in the name of all the innocent Sauron, and in the name of the Goldflower Kingdom, execute these barbaric invaders!"
At the command, the executioner beneath the gallows swung his arm violently.
Click! Click! Click!
A series of sickening screeching sounds, like ropes tightening and necks snapping, rang out.
The bodies of dozens of Sauron prisoners of war convulsed and stiffened suddenly, then fell limply to the ground.
All the prisoners, including Invag, were hanged simultaneously on the gallows in Victory Square, under the watchful eyes of countless people.
At the same time, the upside-down eagle flag of the Sparrow Corps was solemnly received by a Royal Guard officer, who then jogged over to deliver it to the cathedral next to the square.
After a brief "purification" ceremony performed by a priest, it was permanently hung upside down in the most conspicuous position on the outer wall of the church as a permanent warning to the Sauron and an eternal memorial to the kingdom's victory.
Heinrich XI stood on the high platform, looking down at the hanging corpses, the cheering crowds, and the upside-down enemy flag below. A satisfied and proud smile spread across his fat face.
At that moment, he seemed to have truly become a monarch who looked down upon the world and was invincible. The majesty of the monarchy was demonstrated and strengthened like never before through this bloody victory celebration and execution.
Subsequently, reports of victory and royal decrees, meticulously drafted by the royal scribes, began to spread rapidly throughout every corner of the kingdom via express post and public notices.
The headline of the good news read:
"[The Great Northern Victory]"
"The main force of the Sauron Barbarians suffered a crushing defeat at Carnford, inflicting heavy losses and being routed!"
The main body of the victory report details the glorious achievements of the "heroic kingdom army" in inflicting heavy Sauron in the Carnford region.
Five commanders who were "outstanding in their merits and worked together seamlessly" were specifically commended.
They are Sir Kylan, the Fran City Cavalry, who "led his troops to the rescue and launched a decisive attack"; Sir Laurent, the infantry commander who "fought steadily and coordinated his forces"; Lyon, the cavalry commander who "broke through enemy lines with his iron cavalry and was unstoppable"; Charlotte Knight, the daughter of the Earl Rochefort, who "demonstrated heroines and held the line"; and Lord Karl von Schmidt, the lord of Carnford, who "coordinated the overall situation and fought valiantly".
Karl's name appeared for the first time as a positive hero in the kingdom's victory report, and began to enter the view of more of the kingdom's upper echelons.