King
Chapter 62 - 62 61 Clan's Hope_1

62: Chapter 61, Clan’s Hope_1 62: Chapter 61, Clan’s Hope_1 The battle of Dardiel City came to an end, and the remnants of the Skeleton Society scattered and retreated into hiding.

The lands of the Leyton and Wharton counties could no longer resist the Allied Forces.

With the order from Earl Piers, the battle to recover the lost territories began systematically, and the overall situation was overwhelmingly in favor.

As the war reached its conclusion, the topic of splitting the spoils gradually became the main focus.

Ordinary war spoils were relatively easy to deal with, simply divided by region, with the amount obtained reliant on luck.

However, when it came to “territories,” the situation became complicated.

Unlike the barren lands on the edges of the kingdom, the Southeastern Province is prime fertile land that no one was willing to abandon.

With more monks than porridge, inevitably, some people would not receive their share.

The ensuing struggle involved not only the war contributions but also a major contest of family power and social networks.

The nobles who survived in the Fifth Army were considered lucky.

Involving the politically correct “anti-Church tactics,” no one dared to deduct their military accomplishments.

The quickest assessment of their contributions was completed.

Although the results were not announced, even the least fortunate among them were expected to receive a knight’s territory, with several featuring for promotion to baron.

Having slain the most Church Cavaliers, Hudson was naturally ranked among the top contributors, only second to the accomplishment of killing the Avatar of the Evil God.

While the final outcome was unclear, according to whispers, being granted a baron’s territory was highly likely.

This result was even better than Hudson had expected.

Initially, he thought that insufficient military achievements would force him to rely on social relationships to inherit the territory of some unlucky deceased relative, but his own strength did not let him take this shortcut.

A territory conquered by himself was undoubtedly better, free from messy inheritance disputes and guaranteed 100% legitimacy, making him more confident in social interactions.

Once the dust settled, Hudson’s plea for help also reached Baron Redman.

But now, instead of asking for reinforcements, he asked the Baron to mobilize family connections to help secure a prosperous territory.

After repeated inquiries with the soldier who sent the message and confirmed the accuracy of the information, Baron Redman still found it hard to believe it was true.

Although he believed Hudson had military talent, his talents appeared too extraordinary.

Could he be unaware of the quality of the Koslow Family’s Private Army that others didn’t know about?

Letting Hudson lead the troops was mainly to preserve the family’s strength while giving his son some military command experience.

He never expected Hudson to draw a winning hand with the initial poor deck of cards.

Perhaps noticing that Baron Redman was too engrossed, even using the wrong cutlery at dinner, the Lady Baron, sensing something amiss, asked anxiously, “Dear, has there been an accident on the front lines?”

In her heart, she had begun praying for Hudson to meet the Lord of the Dawn.

It couldn’t be helped; as a mother, she lacked tolerance.

Her eldest son had been ruined by Hudson, and she didn’t have the courage to retaliate according to Laisol’s plan under Baron Redman’s watch.

So she could only pray in secret for Hudson to meet the Lord of the Dawn as soon as possible.

“There’s nothing wrong!”

“On the contrary, it’s good news, substantial good news for the entire Koslow clan.

I’m going to be out on a trip, which is expected to drag on for some days.

You’ll need to take care of things at home,” said Baron Redman cheerfully.

Obviously, Baron Redman was keeping his cards close to his chest.

Knowing about the clash between his wife and Hudson due to Laisol’s issue, he did not disclose the details.

As a qualified noble, he knew that nobody should boast before the outcome was settled.

Even though Hudson’s military achievements were undeniable, the specific location of the territory had not yet been confirmed!

Just like all baron’s territories come in various levels.

Better location and richer soils mean higher future income.

The higher the financial gain of the territory, the more money can be put into military operations, resulting in stronger military power.

With strong military power not only comes the safety of the family, but it also lays the foundation for further progress.

Although the Koslow Family has been around for thousands of years and accumulated little wealth, they’ve gathered numbers thanks to their strong fertility rate.

Other clans may falter under pressure when trying to climb the social ladder, but the Koslow clan was different.

With their extended family and friends, they possessed the power equivalent to an intermediate aristocracy, strong enough to endure their initial weaknesses.

Perhaps all the clan’s luck was expended in childbearing, as the standard of the Koslow clan’s offspring has been somewhat average for hundreds of years.

Even the addition of a single Knight’s territory by any branch of the family was cause for a grand celebration.

If it were not for the lack of extraordinary individuals to progress further, the Koslow clan, having completed their original accumulation of wealth, would have already ranked among the intermediate aristocracy.

Hudson’s astonishing military achievements gave Baron Redman confidence.

If he was this impressive when first starting out, wouldn’t he become a renowned general in the kingdom after ten to twenty years of experience?

The Continent of Aslante was never short of wars.

Given Hudson’s current age, he could wait for the arrival of a great war.

Accumulating enough military achievements on the battlefield, acquiring a larger territory, and gaining support from his family branches would very likely elevate the Koslow clan to the level of intermediate aristocracy.

The aspirations a father has for his son are incomprehensible to others.

Under the Lady Baron’s loving gaze, Baron Redman opened the family treasury, took out the family’s accumulated wealth, and took the first step of offering gifts.

…

Unaware of his father’s significant investment, Hudson was reluctantly returning the serf soldiers to their respective homes.

He originally wanted to spend money to buy these soldiers, but unfortunately, everyone was wise to the scheme.

Although they were serf soldiers, they had undergone considerable transformation after a series of battles.

They had changed from cannon fodder to veteran soldiers.

To the nobles whose family private armies suffered significant losses, these serf soldiers were an excellent supplement.

Several nobles who were really short of manpower even directly incorporated these veteran soldiers into their guards.

Even the families of deceased nobles came to plead for help, depleting Hudson’s forces considerably to four thousand, three thousand, two thousand, one thousand, eight hundred…

Except for a few nobles with no heirs who did not come to claim people, all remaining serf soldiers were returned to their original owners.

He thought he had gained an advantage but found out in the end he was just helping others train soldiers.

No wonder everyone avoided the topic of returning serf soldiers; they merely wanted to exploit his reputation and have him help train soldiers for free.

He couldn’t refuse.

If he wanted to mingle in noble circles, he had to abide by the rules of the game.

Not only did he have to return them, but he also had to do so decisively.

While he couldn’t keep the people, he must retain their goodwill.

As he sent off each guest with a friendly smile and watched the remaining six hundred serf soldiers, Hudson was bleeding inside.

Left with no choice, as the counties of Layton and Wharton were destroyed.

It was not an exaggeration to say that there was only one in ten able-bodied men remaining.

No matter where his territory was located, for the foreseeable future, he would face the predicament of a labor shortage.

Without people, expanding military preparations would be a joke.

In desperation, he could only choose to exploit his father.

His father’s territory had over ten thousand residents.

Borrowing a few hundred able-bodied men for a decade or two should not be a problem.

Looking at the mountain of supplies, Hudson immediately began tallying his spoils.

Undoubtedly the most valuable was the hidden Blood Moon Horn, but unfortunately, Hudson was not ready to make the church’s blacklist.

So, he couldn’t sell it.

Two boxes of gold coins, sixteen boxes of silver coins, thirty-three boxes of copper coins; the total value of which was no less than four thousand gold coins.

Ten carts of cloth, two carts of tea leaves, five carts of salt, one cart of spices, two hundred thousand pounds of grain, two boxes of jewelry, one hundred eighty-five horses, seventy-eight cattle, and four hundred thirty sheep…

Twenty-three war horses, ninety-three sets of armor, two hundred twelve broadswords, one hundred thirty-six giant axes, forty-three bows and arrows, twenty-six iron hammers…

Sixteen first-order Magic Cores, five second-order Magic Cores, one third-order Magic Core, ninety-six magic crystals, one magic wand, three sets of damaged magical equipment…

Add all these together, the value of these materials should not be less than ten thousand gold coins.

Such is the allure of the spoils of war.