To Hathaway's surprise, aerial reconnaissance did not find reinforcements from the Hulk, but found that the rout, after escaping from the Cordillera Leader's city defenses, suddenly turned and plunged from an old mining area into the Hengduan Mountains.

"My lord, what shall we do now?" Jafa. Troon, Sgart. Cansey, Connor. Pierren and the others gathered in Hathaway's tent for a meeting.

"Connor, you immediately go to the fortress of Gettysburg with your light cavalry, and take over the defense of the city as soon as possible. Jafa, the special operations team is divided into two parts, one pays attention to monitoring the enemy in the direction of the dark area; The other road monitors the Hengduan Mountains. The City Defence Army followed me back to Mandi Gaza City. ”

"Will there be an opinion on the part of the natural church?" Connor. Piellen asked worriedly.

"On what basis do they have an opinion?"

Hathaway rolled her eyes, "The lord has the responsibility to defend the territory, and if enemies wreak havoc in my territory, of course I will destroy and expel them. But the Hengduan Mountains are not my territory, and the kobolds have not retreated, so how can I have the energy to deal with the underground races in other places? ”

She is also right, as a lord, it is easy to explain how you toss in the territory, but if you want to lead troops out of the country, without the will of His Majesty the Emperor, it is a rebellion, even if it is a natural church, there is no way.

The next day, the divisions acted on Hathaway's orders. Kennett and Bishop Savico were naturally a little unwilling, but they had no choice, especially in the Hengduan Mountains, where the knights' troops could not be deployed at all, and they could not venture into it without Hathaway's assistance.

A few days later, when the troops returned to Mandi Gaza City, there were cheering crowds and streamers, and citizens kept stuffing their homes with wine, fruit, and food on the soldiers...... This enthusiasm was unprecedented, and the soldiers of the city defense army used their flesh and blood to defeat the invading underground races and finally gain the approval of the people.

Hathaway didn't care about any of this, and the first thing she did when she entered the city was to gather the main officials of the realm for a meeting...... In addition to the commander of the city defense army, Barth. Willie was still outside the fortress of Gettysburg, and most of the officials were involved in the meeting. The Duke of Eastwood returned to Heidelberg the day after the siege of Gettysburg was lifted, but the men he had brought with him were left behind. Those cadets had been baptized in battle, and had just entered the city defense corps as the lowest-ranking officer.

"My lord, there has been news from Heidelberg that His Majesty the Emperor has sent an envoy with a lot of commendation orders, and it is said that you will be asked to return to Kyoto to receive the commendation." Petro. Hughes said with a smile.

"Oh, commendation or something, I don't care, if I can allocate a batch of supplies, it's still good." Hathaway said.

"Yes, the Imperial side has allocated a batch of ordnance to defend the city, and we have received the Gettysburg Fortress this time, but we have obtained a large amount of supplies, and it is estimated that His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Cassef will be heartbroken." Petro. Hughes said.

"What is there about him to be heartbroken? We have made great sacrifices to get it...... By the way, we need to allocate some supplies to the Nature Church, and in any case, people will also contribute. Hathaway commanded.

"Yes, my lord, I will arrange it as soon as the meeting is dismissed." Petro. Hughes replied.

He paused slightly, and then said something else: "My lord, taking advantage of the Empire's envoy, we are going to organize a grand carnival ball. In recent times, there has been too much death and destruction that has deeply disturbed the people, and this is an opportunity for everyone to relax and vent. ”

"You mean...... The whole territory? Hathaway was a little stunned.

Today's Cordillera is not a farm of three or two kittens and dogs, but hundreds...... The cost is secondary, and the scale is too appalling, right?

"Yes, it's not very expensive, you just need to prepare some music and food, and each farm can do it on its own, and each farm will send a representative to Mandy Gaza City for the Victory Ball...... "Petro. Hughes went on to explain his plan.

"Wait a minute,"

Hathaway interrupted him: "First, we are far from victory, and the war is not over; Second, am I still going to show up at the prom? ”

"My lord, of course you have to show up."

Petro. Hughes rightly said: "And it's better to show up on the stage with your dragon, which is also a propaganda means to raise the morale of the people." Although the war is not over yet, the victory in these battles can greatly strengthen the trust of the people in you and the city defense army, and it is for this reason that you should also show your face. ”

"Okay, when?" Hathaway knew Petro. Hughes said it was the truth, so he had to agree.

The decision of the Lord's Mansion will soon be issued and known to all the lords...... The Victory Ball will be unveiled in three days, and there will be three days of insanity. At the same time, the Imperial envoy from Hathaway has arrived, and will announce the reward of His Majesty the great Emperor Fivinlie XVIII during the ball three days later.

What's even more exciting is that at the beginning of the ball, the lord will appear in front of the people with her dragon pet, giving everyone a chance to see the legendary dragon with their own eyes.

The nobles and commoners of the Cordillera have emerged from the shadow of the war and are reinvigorated – they are convinced that this war will bring the underground races back to the shadows, as it has done in previous battles. This is the territory of mankind, and it is absolutely not allowed to be trampled by those bloodthirsty underground races!

Three days later, the Emperor's envoy entered Mandi Gaza on time, and that evening, the Victory Ball was opened.

A huge wave of cheers came, and although Hathaway had already prepared, she was still taken aback. It wasn't like she hadn't attended a ball before, but it was the first time she had attended such a grand ball—an endless crowd of people, cheering and shouting everywhere.

Since Hathaway entered the Cordillera Territory, she has also experienced many battles, small-scale suppression of bandits and suppression of rebellions in the territory; Fierce battles in the Northwest Battlefield with the Orc Empire. However, compared to the battle with the giants, it really can't be considered thrilling. Don't look at the few battles, Hathaway and the others have to lift their weights lightly, but only those who are immersed in the scene will feel the fierceness of these battles, if it weren't for Hathaway's single-minded burning of money and the use of a lot of new weapons and magic, even if they could finally win, it would be a tragic victory.

But the lords don't know, they only know that the enemy is fierce, they only know that the lord is very powerful...... That's enough.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians were in the same place at the same time, and Hathaway stood on the high color stage, watching the countless heads below move, cheering, it felt really ...... It's hard to describe.

The scales of Yu Lan's whole body stood up, and the huge cheers made it a little angry, and even more puzzled. Looking at Hathaway beside him, Yulan relaxed slightly, it knew that the master would send him the first information about the battle when it was in danger.

"Soldiers, civilians, everyone be quiet, let me introduce to you, this is an envoy from the imperial capital, on behalf of the great Emperor Xià, bringing the Emperor's Majesty Xià's commendation order, he is the Imperial Ministry of the Interior Bestan. Lord Count Ringer. "Petro. Hughes loudly introduced tonight's guests.

His voice, with the help of a magic megaphone, could be heard more than ten miles away, and it would not spread to Cheng Dù, who could not hear clearly. The sound was not only clear, but also drowned out the cacophony of cheers.

Count Ringer looked to be in his fifties, with a burly build, and a thick beard, and looked more like a general than a weak civil official like the Ministry of the Interior.

"On behalf of His Majesty the Great Emperor, I thank you, all the Cordillera soldiers, and the soldiers of the city defense. You ...... with your own flesh and blood."

This kind of official article is actually more or less the same in any civilization, and in his speech, Count Ringer only mentions the Church of Nature slightly...... Obviously, this is what Fervin Eighteen meant, he didn't want the glory of imperial power to be too much infected by divine power, but this kind of confrontation is exactly what Hathaway likes.

"In recognition of the meritorious service of the Battle of Gettysburg, His Majesty the Emperor issued the following commendation order: Hathaway, Marquis of the Third Class of the Empire. Bell was a second-class marquis and was rewarded with 50,000 gold carats; Cordillera led the city defense commander Barthes. Baron of the Second Rank of the Willy Empire ......"

Count Ringer is not a verbose man, but this kind of scene must be said. Therefore, immediately after a series of official speeches, the commendation order began to be read. The soldiers and civilians in the audience cheered at the same time, 50,000 gold carats! One gold carat is enough for a family of five to live for half a year, and there is also a knighthood...... With Hathaway's age, this second-class marquis is already quite high, as for the territory...... Okay, let's not sprinkle salt on His Majesty's wounds.

The bounties of others are equally rich, and the same is that there are no fiefdoms, but Petro. Hughes and others were knighted, which meant that they officially entered the aristocratic class. As for the fiefdoms...... Hathaway would not give them a large amount of land, but would provide them with financial security. For example, the pension system, which has just begun to be established, and the share awards of economic entities, etc.

According to Hathaway's idea, she flashed after reading the commendation order, but she underestimated the power of custom too much, and only after saying a few words to Count Ringer, batch after batch of congratulations came.

First of all, the officials of the lord's mansion, some of them thanked each other, and some of them had familiar faces, and they all expressed their gratitude to the lord; secondly, there were miscellaneous forces such as petty nobles and merchant representatives in the territory; Finally, there are the representatives of the collective farms, who are also not to be overlooked, and who are all well-respected figures in the collective farms. It was not until the third day of the Grand Ball that she left for Heidelberg with Count Ringer and his party. R1152