"Yo, Sir Knight!" Gaul laughed as he thumped Simon on the shoulder. "Once you get your own territory, don't forget us old comrades!"
"N-no!" Simon waved his hands frantically, not knowing how to respond. "Brother Gaul, stop making fun of me."
There was a hint of sourness in Gaul's voice. "How am I making fun of you? Look at that plate armor of yours. Who would believe you if you said you weren't a knight lord?"
Simon bashfully scratched his cheek, only for the gap in his gauntlet to catch his hair. He grimaced in pain. "Ow..."
"Hahaha, you idiot, don't move!" Seeing this, much of the displeasure in Gaul's heart faded. He stepped forward and helped untangle the hair caught between the fingers of the gauntlet.
He was truly envious!
He had clearly started serving at the castle first, yet Simon had been the first to put on plate armor.
The smooth armor gleamed like a mirror. Shoulder guards, gauntlets, a groin guard, leg armor, and war boots—everything was fully equipped. Once the visor was lowered, the only opening from head to toe was the narrow slit in the helmet for observing the outside world. It was practically flawless protection. Wearing such a suit into battle, one's chances of surviving were at least three or four times higher than anyone else's!
But no matter how envious he was, or even a little jealous, he was not particularly surprised that Simon had received such an honor.
That boy's progress was simply too fast.
He had clearly been born a serf who did not even recognize the alphabet, yet his ability to accept and understand new things was even greater than his and Link's. His performance in the previous battle against the bandits had been especially outstanding.
His feet had been planted firmly on the ground, and he had not budged no matter how close the enemy charged. If he had not stood at the front like a nail driven into the ground, the formation might have fallen apart long ago.
Besides, Lord Raven was generous. Simon could be outfitted with plate armor today, but that did not mean Gaul himself would not get the chance someday!
"What are you two doing here? I'm so busy I'm going out of my mind!" Link approached wearing Chainmail, carrying a large chest in his arms. "Come on, give me a hand. Help me carry this!"
Simon hurried over and took the chest into his arms. "It's so heavy. What is it?"
Link said nothing. He simply opened the chest. Under the sunlight, it reflected a dazzling white radiance.
Silver coins! A whole chest full of silver coins!
"Whoa—" Gaul's eyes widened as he reached out and touched the coins. He exclaimed, "Did you rob the lord's treasury and plan to persuade the two of us to run away with you?"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Link smacked his hand away with a helpless laugh. "These are our bonuses, as well as the compensation for our fallen brothers."
"Five silver coins for every living man, twenty for the crippled, and fifty silver coins for each dead man's family!"
"Then these are mine." Gaul reached in, pulled out five silver coins, and gripped them in his hand. He sighed admiringly, "Lord Raven really is generous. I've been a soldier for so many years, and this is the first time I've heard of someone getting paid for winning a battle. Don't you think so, Simon?"
He smiled at Simon, only to discover that the man's eyes had turned red at some point. His lips trembled, and tears pattered down his cheeks.
He was crying.
At that moment, he thought of his dead grandfather.
If Lord Raven had inherited the territory sooner, and he had been able to receive these five silver coins sooner, his grandfather would not have had to starve himself to death just to save a few mouthfuls of grain!
In fact, during the previous battle against the bandits, his heart had been filled with fear and tension. He had even been plagued by wild thoughts.
If I died, how would the three women left in my family survive?
But now, all he felt was deep guilt and gratitude.
Every fallen soldier's family could receive fifty silver coins.
Fifty coins!
Even if the man of the house died, they could use the money as capital to raise chickens and sheep.
A ewe cost fifteen silver coins, and a hen cost one. They could raise two sheep and a few hens.
A kilogram of sheep's milk cost six Copper Coins, and an egg cost two. The Black Bread and Coarse Wheat Flour they could buy would be enough for a family of three to live well!
How dare I doubt Lord Raven? I'm truly beyond redemption!
"Lord Raven must be an angel. He's simply too merciful!" Simon sniffed. "I'll go distribute the silver coins to them now. I know where all the families of the dead live!"
"We know as well." Link smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Wipe your tears. Since you're going to distribute the compensation on Lord Raven's behalf, you can't show up looking so miserable!"
Several hours later.
Old Gordon knocked on Raven's door. Raven was staring blankly at the Demon Cores on the table. Hearing the knock, he said, "Come in."
The door opened, and Raven turned around. He immediately laughed aloud. "Mr. Gordon, what brings you here to deliver my meal today?"
"It isn't lunch, my lord." Gordon took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his head. "It's a gift from the territory's people."
"A gift for me?" Raven asked in surprise. He took the basket and placed it on the table. When he lifted the cloth covering it, he froze.
It was a basket of fresh, glistening Four-Leaf Clovers.
The Four-Leaf Clover was a variation of the three-leaf clover. Normally, only one could be found among several hundred three-leaf clovers. There were more than fifty Four-Leaf Clovers in this basket, enough to show how much effort the collector had invested.
It represented the heartfelt gratitude of the people of Eagle Town.
"One leaf brings honor.
"One leaf brings wealth.
"One leaf brings love.
"One leaf brings health."
Old Gordon chanted in an elegant tone, "Lord Baron, I once thought you were being too wasteful, spending meaningless money on commoners. But now it seems that your wisdom and foresight far exceed that of this old man."
"With only an expenditure of a few hundred silver coins, your achievements have already surpassed those of every ancestor of Eagle Territory. Before you, no one had ever received such wholehearted support from the territory's people."
A faint smile curved Raven's lips. He had indeed expected to earn some goodwill, but he had not imagined the effect would be this remarkable.
A lord's authority could force people to go to their deaths, while heartfelt gratitude could make them willingly offer up their lives.
Both involved death, yet the results could be completely different.
The former meant being forced to die against one's will. The latter meant that even in the final moment of life, one would still tear a chunk of flesh from the enemy.
Old Gordon left with an expression of admiration, and Raven shifted his attention back to the Demon Cores before him.
They were three diamond-shaped objects the size of red dates, resembling black crystals. They had been taken from the backs of the Blood-Eyed Warhorses' heads and were the source of their Transcendent power.
Raven activated the Eye of Truth. Under this vision, he could clearly see a dark-red radiance coiled within the Demon Cores.
When he held a Demon Core in his hand, a tingling sensation, like an electric shock, spread through it. No matter how Raven rotated his wrist, the dark-red radiance clung to the spot nearest his palm like a tiny worm.
"Is this Transcendent power...?" Raven murmured. "If I ate it, would I become a First-tier Transcendent too?"
That was, of course, a joke.
A First-tier Demon Core had a market price of only one Gold Coin, but a First-tier God-Given Potion cost as much as Three Hundred Gold Coins.
If eating two Demon Cores could turn someone into a Transcendent, who would buy potions?
Raven tossed the Demon Cores onto the table, then lifted a belt into his hands. His eyes shone with anticipation.
This belt was the most valuable spoils of war from the extermination of the bandits!
Before you continue