"That's the power of hunger. Loria looked at the soldiers who were slowly walking out of the fortress by their arms, and said triumphantly, "Hunger is enough to erase fear, enough to make people stand up against fear...... Of course, they succeed because fear itself has no special provisions, and fear is not as hungry as fear itself. ”

On the ninth day of the siege, it was a gloomy and sunny day, and although the morning artillery test fire did not break the heavy walls, it crushed the last bit of the enemy's will to resist, and a revolt that was not fierce broke out suddenly and ended quickly, and the most difficult part for the defenders of the revolt was to open their own gates...... They threw away their weapons, willingly shackled, and fell asleep after a full meal, and the first prisoners who had been investigated and tried were freed and placed in the care of those who came after them, to some consolation.

The messenger had already set out with the news of the victory, and Loria, surrounded by officers, had entered the fortress that had guarded the Valley of the Hearth, and the last prosecutor who dared to resist had been killed, much to everyone's relief, that it would be enough to use the law to kill one person in a trial and make all of them a virgin, and that in war the scourge would be eliminated without guilt.

From managing the captives, screening the available ones, and restoring the function of the fortress to pacifying the minds and rearranging the defenses, there was a lot to do, but Loria's officers were all too familiar with it, and it was a little more work, but it was the same as what they had done in the monastery.

As for the aftermath of the annexation of Fireplace Valley, and the new factions of interest that will eventually be formed, that is something to worry about later. At this moment, Loria, blessed with the light of brilliant victory, walked into the hall of the castle with her chest held out triumphantly, surrounded by her officers.

Flamon brought a chair for her to sit on, but it was still too short, and put two more books under the chair.

Clement had already completed the list of merits before the end of the battle, but fortunately, his side did not make any moves in the final siege battle, and this list could be used in time.

As the people whose names were called entered the castle hall one by one, Loria sat up straight against the back of her chair, and it was a good time to raise her majesty, and the brave soldiers stepped forward in turn to receive their rewards from the quartermaster—fresh gold from the castle treasury in the Hearthvale Valley, and then patted on the shoulder and encouraged by their chief, and finally came to Loria and bowed to her.

The generous bonuses were enough to make most people happy, and there were some who had more credit for the frenzy in their eyes - they wanted more, but they could only wait until the officers rose one liter, and they would naturally have new opportunities.

The gold collected from the castle was quickly distributed, and Loria felt no distress, believing that a generous reward for her subordinates would bring her more rewards—and the last soldier also saluted her and left, and the list of officers was in Loria's hands.

"I thank you for your bravery and loyalty, and I have decided to pay you the right reward. Loria stood up from her chair, "Now is the time to regain the glory of the past, and you are the first to enjoy it...... I decided to reinstate the ancient system of military ranks. ”

Everyone was a little unhappy when they heard that they had no money, and they could only hope that their positions would move up.

"Captain Flamon, please come forward. Loria picked out a pair of small rectangular pieces of cloth from the small box handed by the quartermaster, "You have done your job perfectly, not a single one of your patrols in charge of sweeping has slipped through the net, and a total of one hundred and sixty enemy soldiers have been killed and captured. ”

Flamen trotted around Loria's side, standing up straight, but there was an eerie silence on the scene, and it was a long time before he heard a whispered alert...... Get down...... He looked down, and saw Loria on tiptoe staring at him unkindly, so he could only quickly kneel down on one knee.

Loria pursed her lips and squeezed out a not-so-successful smile, she managed to resist not replacing the epaulettes in her hand with a smaller rank, and muttered, "For your merits and loyalty, I hereby award you the rank of captain." ”

She pressed the makeshift slightly rough epaulettes towards Flamon's shoulder, neither buttons nor pins could penetrate the steel shoulders, and simply shoved the epaulettes into the latter's hand.

The latecomers learned their lesson and fell down on one knee without saying a word, and no matter what they thought of Loria before, they would not disobey a leader who brought them victory...... Loria's face looked much better, and she repeated simple lines over and over again, shoving epaulettes from ensign to captain into everyone's hands.

At last it was Clement's turn, and it was noticed that the epaulettes that Loria had taken out of the box were fundamentally different from those in her own hands—delicate, ornate, and intricately decorated with silk threads that distinguished them from everyone else.

"Tessa, Rivendell, you should tell us about your fiancé. Loria laughed and called out Clement's real name, and everyone laughed as they could, "I officially appoint you as the commander of the Scarlet Crusaders and the temporary garrison of Hearthvale, and you are free to transfer the positions of your officers. ”

The laughter suddenly stopped, and everyone understood the reason why Loria was not promoted to anyone's military rank, and their thoughts began for a while.

"How can this be...... It's your power...... Please allow me to excuse myself......"

"This is an order, take it, thank you for your dedication to this battle, I did it with my own hands. Loria shoved the unusual pair of epaulettes into Clement's hand, "Get up...... Brigadier. ”

"Hand-made...... Personally...... ...... pro"

With tears and blood flowing with them, the new military commander fell to the hard castle floor, and the people scrambled to help her to the doctor, forgetting that there was another man who had not been rewarded.

Miss Loria decides not to use a public weapon, but to reward Elie from a personal point of view.

Well, a private perspective.

That night was stormy, and when it was dawn, the **, the sin, and the blood stains on the stone slab were temporarily washed away.

……

"I hereby decree that any people under the protection of the Scarlet Crusaders may freely move to this island of Light, the promised land of honey and milk. ”

Before the news of the victory came, Anne stood in front of the chapel and announced to everyone that the decree had been born after many compromises and negotiations...... According to Loria's principles, it is really difficult to get everyone to benefit from it.

Well, she did. (To be continued.) )