Happy Stick and his remaining brothers were naturally welcomed like heroes when they returned to Blackflame Pass.
Even Lord Heather came out to greet them in person. Of course, welcoming the victorious soldiers was just an excuse; her real purpose was to greet Grand Duchess Triss, who had come to Blackflame Pass to "inspect the work."
When Heather became a dwarf vampire, Triss had already been down on her luck and presumed dead for decades. But the dwarf lord had heard of the Scarlet Witch, and now that she finally had a chance to meet her, of course she wanted to build a connection.
Naturally, ordinary foot soldiers didn't need to know the little secrets of such important figures.
This did nothing to diminish Stick Brother and his last hundred brothers' status as heroes of Blackflame Pass. They had only managed to hold out for the full five days through a combination of luck and Grand Duchess Triss's power, but they were undeniably the first battle group to complete its defensive mission.
That gave them an advantage in the first round of the Death Tournament, but it was a slim one—not enough to secure victory.
Only eight and a half days remained of the twenty-day time limit. If either Meow Brother's First Battle Group or Lord Qin's Second Battle Group overperformed and held out for five days, that would bring the total to the eight days required for an "absolute victory." The Third Battle Group would lose without even getting a chance to enter the second round.
But Happy Stick had personally experienced the ferocity of the gnolls' attacks at this stage. He didn't believe either of the other battle groups could pull off the five-day miracle.
While Happy Stick and his brothers enjoyed their heroes' welcome at Blackflame Pass,