Imperial Crown.

Chapter 149 Division of Power
The war was over, and the nobles in several counties surrounding the city of Mon'en were either killed or fled, leaving behind large tracts of land. These were all fertile lands close to the city of Mon'en, so who wouldn't be jealous?

Next, it took the temporary legion two days just to count the military achievements, and Raven also participated in it.

Anyway, no matter how they performed on the battlefield, every noble claimed that they were the backbone of the war, so the number of enemies killed would be reported as high as possible, rather than less.

For example, Judra alone reported killing 5,371 cannon fodder skeletons, 293 first-level skeletons, 172 rotten soul corpses, 58 second-level skeleton cavalry, and 11 second-level plague colossi.

You know, Judra only led a team of 100 people.

In one legion alone, there are more than sixty centuries!
Moreover, the number reported by Judra was not too outrageous. After all, he still had an emblem of the Order of the Hand of Death in his hand.

Those who don't even have a badge reported much more exaggerated results than him.

In the end, after two days, the Fourth Legion alone killed more than three million skeleton soldiers, including more than four hundred Plague Colossi.

The other three legions were not much behind. The last four legions together killed more than 14 million skeleton soldiers.

The four legion commanders initially wanted to make it more reasonable, but after exchanging information with each other, they found that the degree of outrageousness was almost the same, so they all felt relieved.

Let Earl Tyrone take care of the headache!

As for Raven himself, he also had quite a few military achievements. As for the exact number, he took a quick look and it wasn't too far off.

There are 33,921 cannon fodder skeletons, over 2,000 first-level skeletons, 900 first-level rotten soul corpses, 500 second-level skeleton cavalry, and 77 plague colossi.

Raven didn't want to report it this way either.

But when he dumped the twenty or so emblems in his bag onto the table, all the nobles began to victoriously add military merits to his collection.

After all, Raven has so many badges in his hand. If the number is not high, wouldn’t it seem that the performance of others is too inflated?

Finally, the battle reports of the four temporary legions were delivered to Earl Tyrone's desk by Hyde.

Before Earl Tyrone could say anything, Hyde couldn't help but say, "Father, I suggest you don't look at this thing. Just burn it and let them count it again!"

"That's outrageous!"

"The four legions combined have killed more than 14 million cannon fodder skeletons alone. Our Nord Province has about 20 million people, right? They might as well round up!"

"Here are the numbers." At this moment, Minsk also walked in: "This is the report from the Fox family. I took a rough look and the cannon fodder skeletons probably killed more than 8 million."

Hyde's eyes went dark. He didn't expect that the Count of Montreal would play such a trick. This was too much of a joke!

What do they think of war?

"The number is indeed wrong." Tai Long nodded slowly: "Let the temporary legion report again!"

Hyde was relieved, at least his father was reasonable.

However, Tyrone's next words stunned him: "Since the Fox family already has more than 8 million, they should at least give more. 14 million is too little. Let them find a way to add another 8 million, so that it can reach 22 million, and add it to the Fox family's, to make up 30 million."

"Huh?" Hyde opened his mouth wide.

Minsk was not surprised at all and nodded, "Then, father, shall I go and inform them?"

"Go ahead." Tyrone nodded.

Minsk left, and looking at Hyde who was still stunned, Tyrone said, "Why, you can't figure it out?"

"Yes." Hyde swallowed his saliva and said, "Father, 30 million skeletons are more than the population of our Nord Province. Where did the Death Hand Cult get so many undead creatures?"

"What's more, this battle report will eventually be sent to His Majesty Keynes XVI. How can such an exaggerated number be trusted by others?"

"This is simply a false report of military achievements. You should be sent to the guillotine!"

Tyrone couldn't help laughing: "My child, that's a harsh remark. It's too much."

"Let me ask you, is it true that the Death Hand Cult is causing trouble?"

"Yes."

"So did we win?"

"……yes!"

Tai Long spread his hands and said, "Since the Death Hand Cult did cause trouble and we won the battle, how can this be considered a false report of military achievement?"

Hyde was speechless and blinked in confusion: "But, but..."

"No buts." Tai Long said, "Do you believe it or not? If Raven were here, he would never ask such a question."

"I believe it." Hyde nodded: "After all, I have also seen his military exploits. They are quite outrageous among a group of people."

"Alas!" Tyrone sighed, "You are not born to be a politician."

"War is an extension of politics. The distribution of military merits this time is actually the distribution of war results and the distribution of political resources."

"No matter what purpose the nobles of the four temporary legions came for, they are all supporting our Slater family after all, so their military achievements cannot be small, and must be much greater than those of the Fox family who came here to pick peaches."

"Otherwise, which family will support us?"

At this point, Tyrone paused, giving Hyde some time to digest and understand. "As for the specific numbers of casualties, you can see that they are false. His Majesty the King can certainly see that, and the nobles also knew it when they reported their military exploits."

"There are only so many fiefs that can be divided, and the merits are so little. Let alone 10 million or 30 million, even if it is 100 million, the merits will not be much. It is better to make the numbers bigger and better, so that everyone can save face."

"You don't think that the Insa Empire's boast five years ago that it wiped out more than five million rebellious dwarves in one battle was a real number, right?"

Hyde was stunned and speechless: "This, this..."

Five years ago, the Insa Empire launched an expedition against the Dwarf Kingdom. The end result was that the Dwarves, who had intended to return to the ground, retreated back into the Million Mountains.

Dwarves have a long lifespan and a very long reproduction cycle. Five million dwarves is almost the total number of dwarves on the entire continent. If this were true, the Dwarf Kingdom would probably have been destroyed!

Seeing Hyde's look, Tyrone shook his head helplessly: "Forget it, I will try to get you a viscount title this time, and from now on you will stay in your fiefdom honestly!"

Hyde was delighted at first, but then hesitated: "But father, I failed to destroy the bone spire..."

At this moment, the butler pushed the door open and walked in: "Your Excellency, the Earl of Montreal and Archbishop Thomas are visiting together."

"Got it. I'll go right away." Looking at his disappointing little son, Tai Long put down the documents on the table and stood up: "Look at these documents yourself. If you can figure out anything, write it down. If you can't figure it out..."

Tyrone didn't say much, but Hyde knew very well what his father meant. If he couldn't figure it out, he would just be a viscount and stop dreaming about any political achievements.

Even though a war had just ended, the Slater family's castle was still very clean and tidy.

The carpets, exquisite vases, tables and chairs with a historic atmosphere, and the fruits on them that shouldn't be in this season, all looked vivid and fragrant under the illumination of the magic lamps. Compared with the current chaos in Mon'en City, this place is simply a paradise. Count Montreal stepped into the gate. He had taken off his military uniform and put on a luxurious dress.

Archbishop Thomas walked side by side with Montreal, still wearing the same priest robe, but in order to express his condolences to the dead in the city, he had a black scarf sewn on his left shoulder.

"Hahaha, my old friend, you are finally here!" Earl Tyrone smiled and walked out quickly, giving Montreal a big hug.

The two nobles hugged each other tightly, and the passion in their eyes seemed real.

"Archbishop Thomas, long time no see!" After they separated, Tyrone turned to Thomas again: "I can't wait to listen to your insights on the scriptures!"

Thomas shook hands with Tyrone and said, "I am also very fortunate to see you safe and sound after such a disaster. This must be the blessing of the Lord of Light!"

Even though Earl Tyrone was mentally strong enough, his pupils trembled twice before he resisted the urge to curse.

The three of them sat down in the hall, just like an ordinary meeting, talking about daily trivialities, drinking some wine, eating some snacks and fruits, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Nearly half an hour had passed before Count Montreal was the first to speak up: "By the way, has Count Tyrone seen my battle report?"

"I took a quick look," Talon said. "Basically, there are no problems. But as for Gul'dan's military exploits..."

Montreal asked, "What's the problem?"

Tai Long smiled and said, "It said that Gul'dan led a team to kill a fourth-level necromancer. This... I think it needs to be discussed."

"Why do I remember that this necromancer was killed by Hyde and his men?"

Montreal's pupils suddenly shrank.

Indeed, it was not Gul'dan who killed the fourth-level necromancer, but it was not Hyde who did it either.

This time, the unrest of the Death Hand Cult destroyed half of the Nordic province and the nobles suffered heavy casualties, but even so, the credit was limited.

Based on the empire's cautious attitude towards the granting and promotion of titles over the past hundreds of years, Montreal judged that this war would only give birth to one viscount at most.

The purpose of attributing the merit of killing a fourth-level necromancer to his son was to gain a new viscount title for the Fox family and expand their influence.

Tyrone said this, undoubtedly wanting to give the title of Viscount to Hyde.

Montreal asked in a questioning tone: "Oh, speaking of which, where is Minsk?"

Tai Long said, "I just went to your military camp. I think we missed each other on the way."

"Oh, this is your negligence, Earl Tyrone." Montreal stared at Tyrone: "Morn City is in deep danger this time. Everyone can understand that you temporarily transferred the Iron Legion here, but Minsk should never show up in public!"

"If he appeared in Mon'en City in such a high-profile manner and was seen by someone with ulterior motives and reported to His Majesty, it would not be a good thing for the Slater family!"

It seemed like they were caring, but in reality Montreal was threatening Tyrone.

It can be said that the unauthorized mobilization of the imperial legion was forced by the situation.

But if Montreal, as the governor, holds on to this point, the Slater family will most likely be reprimanded or even punished by the royal family. Not to mention any merit, it would be good enough if the merits could offset the demerits.

But Earl Tyrone did not retreat: "Haha, it turns out that my old friend cares about me the most. But please don't worry, Governor. I am not directly dispatching troops without royal orders."

As he spoke, he gently rubbed his ring, and a roll of documents appeared in his hand.

The wax seal on the document has been cut, but the words "H&M&K" engraved in gold paint can still be seen.

Habsburg-Mann-Keynes, King of the Keynesian Empire, the mark of Keynes XVI!

Montreal's cheeks began to twitch, and Thomas, who had been watching the show, showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Only Tai Long himself remained calm: "Governor, do you want to take a look?"

Standing up, he touched the document with both hands and opened it. Montreal glanced at the contents of the document and was shocked.

It was indeed an imperial decree issued by the royal family, and it was stamped with a seal representing the king's identity. The content was very simple, indicating that His Majesty the King was aware of the chaos in the Nord Province and allowed Talon to mobilize the Iron Legion!

There was nothing wrong with the document itself, but what concerned Montrell was that this imperial decree bypassed him, the governor, and was sent directly to Tyrone!

He didn't even know the existence of this imperial decree!

This was enough to scare him, because it meant that His Majesty the King was very dissatisfied with his cooperation with the Church of Light, the Fox family had lost the trust of the royal family, and his title of governor was likely to be lost!

Thomas showed a hint of appreciation in his eyes.

The Slater family has taken root in the Nordic province and maintained a considerable degree of independence. They have always wanted to turn the Nordic province into their own country and have always been alienated from the royal family.

But this time, Tyrone was able to ask for the king's order.

There is no doubt that the Slater family must have offered enough sincerity to show their loyalty.

Although it seemed to deviate from the path that the family had always adhered to, it resolved the biggest crisis invisibly and obtained strong support from the royal family. Not only did it not suffer much loss, it was even able to gain enough benefits.

What a clever move!

But the more skillful Tyrone's tactics were, the worse Montreal felt.

I came here to pick peaches, but when I took the first bite, I tasted a bitter fruit!

Tyrone whispered, "Don't worry, Lord Montreal. In my opinion, you have always been the best candidate for the governor, and the Slater family does not want to take your position. I will make this clear to His Majesty the King later."

"So, Gul'dan's military achievement..."

Montreal knew that Talon was using his title of Governor as a threat to force him to choose between Gul'dan's title and the title of Governor.

Montreal was in a state of confusion and could only retreat to delay time:

“…This may indeed be a problem.”

"I will go back and check the military achievements first. When I have a definite conclusion, I will come and discuss it with Earl Tyrone."

Tai Long said: "Then I will wait for your conclusion."

When Tyrone sent the man out, Montreal's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

At the same time, Raven arrived at the Fox family's temporary residence.

……

(End of this chapter)