Taking Stock of the Spoils, Striking It Rich

"Reporting to Senior Brother Lin, we have finished clearing the battlefield."

"Of our more than eight thousand men, none were killed, while over two hundred were wounded. We captured over three hundred Mountain Bandits. There were five bandit leaders in total; four died, leaving only one who called himself the HunYuan PiLi Great King."

"According to our interrogation, things were just as you previously guessed. The other side was an ignorant petty thief who, through a series of coincidences, obtained a low-grade martial art widely circulated in the martial world, the Tiger Might Saber."

"After achieving some success in it, he and his brothers became bandits, drifting from place to place, fleeing, plundering, and growing until now."

"Because his martial skills were weak and his knowledge shallow, he dared to establish a Mountain Stronghold nearby and plunder the common people."

Holding a recorded ledger, Xia Da reported the casualty figures and some interrogation results to Lin Lin.

Lin Lin was not surprised by the results.

Through his earlier intelligence analysis and observations over the past period, Lin Lin had already seen through the background of this band of bandits.

What Xia Da reported now merely served as confirmation.

As for the battle losses, the previous fight had been a crushing matchup where they outnumbered the enemy.

Lin Lin had acted as a firefighter. Wherever the Mountain Bandits proved too ferocious, they were ruthlessly suppressed by him, never given the chance to run wild.

Honestly, Lin Lin had already found it surprising that more than two hundred people had been wounded under such circumstances.

After discussing the casualties and battle-related matters, they moved on to the seized spoils.

"We obtained fifteen hundred sets of Armor and Weapons. However, they suffered minor damage during the battle and need repairs. We also found five hundred intact sets of Armor and Weapons in the storehouse, as well as one chest of gold, silver, and jewels worth roughly more than twenty-seven hundred taels of silver."

"Besides that, there are meat, grain, liquor, and livestock, totaling more than thirty-two hundred taels of silver at current market prices."

"We have discussed this before. Today's gains were entirely thanks to Senior Brother Lin's peerless divine skills and your leadership in sweeping away the enemy bandits. Please accept these possessions with a smile, Young Master. Once we return home, we will offer you another generous gift as a token of our gratitude."

When Xia Da said that all these spoils should be handed over to Lin Lin, the clan chiefs and Clan Elders of the other families voiced no objections and repeatedly expressed their agreement.

"Young Master Lin eliminated a scourge for the people. You deserve these gains."

"After today, we shall certainly write books and erect monuments locally to record Young Master Lin's achievements."

"Everyone is deeply grateful to Young Master Lin. If they were not afraid of disturbing your rest, they would already have come to thank you in person."

At once, flattery surged like a tide.

To them, eliminating this band of Mountain Bandits and no longer having to live under their threat was already the greatest gain from this operation.

If they built a good relationship with Lin Lin, this young hero of exceptional martial prowess and strategy, it would be like having a powerful patron for the future.

Naturally, everyone knew exactly how they ought to act.

Listening to their praise, Lin Lin found it somewhat gratifying.

Compared to the false flattery from those Fellow disciples after his Sudden Enlightenment during Morning Martial Arts Practice, the compliments and praise from these clan chiefs and Clan Elders were far more sincere.

After all, they had just benefited from Lin Lin's help.

Though being called a handsome young man over and over felt quite pleasant, Lin Lin was not so inflated with pride that he lost all sense of himself.

He took the ledger and checked the listed valuables against it, finding that the figures roughly matched.

"Though these Armor and Weapons are of average quality and most are damaged, the two thousand sets together are still worth twenty-two thousand taels of silver. Adding the gold, silver, and supplies, the total value of all the spoils comes to twenty-eight thousand taels of silver."

"However, in this Era of Upheaval, Armor and Weapons and food are all hard currency. These supplies could easily sell for a premium price of thirty thousand taels of silver."

"I've struck it rich this time. All my hard work lately was not in vain."

Lin Lin opened the ledger and calculated his gains in his heart, feeling rather pleased.

According to the normal process of the Elite Disciple Promotion Mission, he had already completed the mission the moment he discovered the location of this Mountain Stronghold.

He could have returned to the sect to submit the completed mission, after which the sect would naturally send experts to deal with this Mountain Stronghold.

The reason he had not simply run back to the sect and asked the senior experts of the sect to come wipe out these Mountain Bandits—

Instead, he had painstakingly gathered manpower himself, taken the lead, and captured this Mountain Stronghold. Was it not all for the gains before him now?

With this money, he could further pave his path of martial cultivation and purchase quite a few cultivation resources.

"Then let us slaughter sheep and cook meat to reward all the Soldiers."

"Consider this portion of the supplies my gift to you all."

Lin Lin closed the ledger and spoke with a smile.

While cleaning the battlefield and collecting spoils earlier, the Local Militia had found some loose valuables on the Mountain Bandits. Those were spoils belonging to the participating Local Militia, so Lin Lin did not need to spend additional money to reward those who had fought so bravely.

Still, after making so much money, it was only right to treat everyone to a meal.

"Young Master Lin is generous, unmatched in martial skill, and has eliminated evil for the people. You truly are a Godlike Person."

Immediately, another wave of overwhelming flattery poured in.

Soon, the entire Mountain Stronghold became lively. Large quantities of grain, dried meat, and liquor were carried out, while some livestock were slaughtered on the spot.

A crowd began cooking with great enthusiasm, and the fragrance quickly spread through the air above the entire Mountain Stronghold.

While waiting for the feast to begin, Xia Da raised another question. "Senior Brother Lin, how should those bandits and thieves be dealt with?"

In the hearts of the residents around Hui Ping Town, it would naturally be best to kill every one of these Mountain Bandits outright.

However, Lin Lin had contributed the most to pacifying this Mountain Stronghold. He was the one with the authority to decide, so naturally no one dared handle the prisoners as they pleased.

"Kill the bandit leader. Starve the rest for now. Once they've been starved into obedience, brand them and sell them as slaves."

"I recall that many nearby mines are desperately short of labor. Sell all these Mountain Bandits there. They are all young and strong, so they should fetch a good price. That will be another source of income."

"Mining is grueling work, and with experts guarding them, they can only spend the rest of their lives there."

"Many people suffered losses from this bandit disaster, did they not? I do not want the money from selling these Mountain Bandits. Use it to help them settle down again, rebuild their livelihoods, and live properly."

Lin Lin drank boiled goat's milk, replenishing the water and nutrients his body had lost during the earlier high-intensity battle.

With a casual remark, he decided the fate of these Mountain Bandits.

These people had committed every evil imaginable, burning, killing, plundering, and pillaging. They were the sort who wasted air alive and land dead. It was better to squeeze out their remaining value first, which could count as a slight atonement for their sins.

Upon hearing this, the clan chiefs and Clan Elders beside Lin Lin all brightened.

Indeed, compared to simply killing these bandits, selling them to the mines was more beneficial. The silver earned could even provide some compensation to the families that had suffered losses in this man-made disaster.

It truly was a solution that benefited both sides!