Chapter 106: Memorial to the Heroic Spirits
Although the White Frost Cult's siege war was over, the residents of Hekou Town became busier and frequently ran in and out of the town.

A lot of problems need to be solved, such as battlefield cleaning, wounded treatment, body claiming, city wall cleaning, etc.

It was not until noon of the fourth day that the turmoil that affected all the residents of the town came to an end.

The battlefield outside was covered with a layer of dirt to cover the blood-soaked mud.

The trade route through the gate resumed transportation, with horse-drawn carriages coming and going in an endless stream.

If it weren't for the collapsed and mottled traces of battle damage on many sections of the city walls, it would be hard to imagine that this place had just experienced a fierce war involving thousands of people.

Castle meeting room.

Rhodes was sitting in the main seat, listening to Holmes and Mullen's report on the post-war situation.

Secretary Mullen tugged at his blue hat and said in fear:

"Master, because of the attacks of those monsters, a total of 224 people died in this war, and 420 people were injured in this town."

"In addition to casualties, cargo loss, reconstruction expenses, and material consumption, the wealth lost is about 200 gold coins."

Rhodes took the list he handed over, which was compiled by Owen, the town's statistician.

It's not rigorous, but it's enough to simply summarize the current situation.

The loss of gold coins is nothing.

After Rhodes broke into the enemy camp and killed the archbishop, almost all the main forces of the White Frost Order died in the infighting.

This has minimized the losses in Hekou Town.

But even so, more than 200 residents of the town died on the city wall.

The total population of his three territories was only over 5,000, and one twenty-fifth of them died.

Not to mention that these people are precious young labor force!
His good mood disappeared, and Rhodes looked at the names on the list and couldn't help feeling distressed.

Damn the White Frost Cult, Rhodes cursed in his heart.

Instead of attacking the sand dune fort in front of him, he had to travel all the way to Hekou Town to find trouble with him.

You really think he's a soft persimmon, don't you?

It would be fine if you just looked down on him.

But this group of White Frost Cult not only ate the civilians of the kingdom, but also turned other civilians into half-human, half-ghost appearances. Rhodes was unable to recruit any prisoners.

If the archbishop's body had not been frozen by the sword energy, it would have turned into ice chips and dissipated.

Rhodes was determined to hang the old man on the city gate and leave him alone for a few days to vent his hatred.

The bad losses are over, but fortunately there is still a lot of good news left.

Rhodes looked at the bottom of the list, which showed the rough value estimated by the townspeople after counting the enemy's equipment.

Excluding the damage caused by arrows and other objects, the total value of weapons, armor, gold and silver jewelry collected from the White Frost soldiers was around 2100 gold coins.

The equipment of the more than one hundred orcs was worth more than 1000 gold coins, and now all of them belonged to Rhodes.

The territory has been stabilized and now there is money for development.

Next, whether it is the army or production and construction, we will need more population.

Rhodes put down the list, knowing clearly that what limited the development of his territory was not gold and materials, but population!

The five thousand men in the three territories were far from enough for him to deal with the ensuing unrest.

Rhodes already has an idea in this regard.

Now the Northern Frost Principality is experiencing a food disaster due to a cold wave, and there are a large number of displaced refugees in the southern territories who need rescue.

Of course, although they are called refugees, in fact these people have already been reserved by nobles from all sides.

After the White Frost Cult in the north was wiped out, they were accepted by the nobles of the duchy here and became important subjects in their territorial development.

Originally, Rhodes had no right to interfere in refugee affairs.

This is the private business of the nobles in the southern part of the principality and has nothing to do with him.

But now that the nobles of the duchy of Dune Castle had made such a big mistake, the situation was different. Rhode wrote a letter and had someone send it to Governor Elena in Pinnacle City.

After finishing the report in the conference room, he stood up and walked out, and Holmes hurriedly followed him.

Unlike Maren who was scared.

As an army knight, Holmes was extremely excited about this unprecedented victory, and looked at Rhodes with deep admiration.

It's not only because of strength, but more importantly, it's because of their lord's sincere attitude of valuing every soldier.

Arriving at an open space inside the town, Rhodes slowly stopped.

Here, a new tall stone tablet rises from the ground, with tiny names engraved on the tablet surface, which is more than ten meters high.

Next to the stone tablet, there is a display stand as tall as a person.

"In the first defense of Hekou Town, 224 people died."

The booth clearly introduced the situation of the enemy White Frost Order and the reasons why the war started.

Tell all visitors about the heroic figures of the fallen soldiers.

Looking at the newly erected monument to the heroes.

With the help of the Soul Anchor, Rhodes could feel the 224 souls sleeping in it.

The summoned soldiers and residents continued to arrive, standing behind Rhodes, and looking at the stone tablet in an orderly manner.

Among the soldiers.

Mod followed the team of shield and spear soldiers, staring blankly at the stone tablet in front of him.

He remembered the tombstone of the heroes on Pingdingshan Mountain that his captain had always talked about.

The stone tablet on Pingdingshan was built during the first attack of the Wolf Chief tribe, when Hekou Town was still under the rule of Mansaru.

Unlike the captain from Jianling, Mod was a soldier who joined later from Hekou Town.

Although he was grateful for the new life given by the lord, he could not understand what was the meaning of carving his name on a stone after his death?
Why do our captain and other team leaders always mention it and can't forget it?
But now he seemed to understand something.

Once upon a time, what would happen to the civilians of Hekou Town after they died?
Maude recalled that in the past, some lucky people would wrap their bodies in long cloth and bury them in the ground, while others with less luck might have been thrown directly into the river to feed the fish.

But one thing will not change: after you die, no one will care about you and your name will disappear along with your body.

Who cares about the life or death of a civilian?
But it was different here. Maude looked at the excitement in his fellow soldiers' eyes and the grateful and respectful eyes of the other residents around him.

He felt his heart pounding, as if a flame was burning in his heart, rising continuously.

Death is not the end here, the lord cares, the legion cares, and all the residents care.

His name and his achievements will be remembered forever!
Not only him, many soldiers in the army raised their heads excitedly, looking at the lord in front of them with almost fanatical eyes.

At the same time, under the gaze of everyone, Rhodes drew his sword.

Hold the hilt of the sword with your right hand, with the tip of the sword pointing upwards, and raise your arm flat in front of your chest.

"Everyone, salute!"

The soldiers instantly straightened their bodies, raised their arms, and raised their weapons.

Spears and crossbows pointed straight to the sky.

The residents stood in place with their fists clenched and held flat in front of their left chests.

"Death is not the end. Your glory will remain here forever." Rhodes chanted, making a contract between himself and the soldiers.

After finishing the salute in front of the stone tablet, Rhodes sheathed his sword and turned to look at the soldiers and civilians behind him.

Compared with the incident in Pingdingshan, this time most residents participated in the defense of the town and had close relations with the soldiers and mutual understanding.

This made the memorial service for the heroes especially effective.

Rhodes could clearly feel that the people of the town were coming together as one.

The most direct impact will be to double the efficiency of subsequent military training and production construction.

(End of this chapter)