Imperial Crown.

Chapter 156 Honorable Return
Mantheni was depressed for three days, but Raven had already put the matter behind him.

He still has a lot of things to do.

On the second day after the ball ended, Raven issued a conscription order through the Chamber of Commerce - all men between the ages of eighteen and thirty could sign up to join the army, the salary would be the same as that of the Eagle Army, and of course, they would also be included in the Eagle Army's sequence.

Originally, Raven did not have high expectations for this, after all, Eagle Territory was a remote place on the border of the province.

In a big city like Mon'en, even the residents of the lower city live better than most serfs, and few people are willing to leave here and go to remote areas.

If the war had not just ended, Raven would not have made such an attempt.

The result was somewhat beyond Raven's expectations.

Perhaps it was because the Death Hand Cult had caused too much damage to the economy, or perhaps it was because the riot had made young people realize the importance of force, and the number of people signing up was so high that Raven had to open three additional recruitment points in addition to the original two.

At the same time, as the riots in Mon'en City subsided, Dean Nightingale was unwilling to stay in the Silver Hand Brotherhood, even though it has now become the base of the Legion of the Hand of Protection.

Unlike when they came here, the children had to walk carrying their own luggage. The former members of the Silver Hand Brotherhood, now the Legion of the Hand of Protection, called a carriage for them, and soon the narrow alley was bustling with people.

Nightingale stood at the entrance of the alley, looking at the scene in front of her, sighing in her heart.

Less than a year after leaving Mon'en City, Raven returned and had already taken control of the entire downtown area. Even the city's chronic disease - the gangs - were properly dealt with by him.

If Raven was a negative role model in the orphanage before, he has now become an idol for all the children.

"Dean, when are we leaving?" a little girl asked crisply.

"No hurry, wait for Sister Lux to come out!" Nightingale said with a smile.

Upon hearing Lux's name, the girl, who was originally a little anxious, immediately calmed down: "Okay!"

Although they did not spend much time together, Lux left a very deep impression on Nightingale and the children.

She is gentle and kind. She never gets tired of answering every question from the children in the orphanage. She listens to everyone's troubles and pains and gives sincere praise to every child.

In the children's minds, if an angel has an image, it must be Lux's face.

"Sister is here!" The little girl pointed to the entrance of the alley, and Lux ​​had already walked out.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting for so long." Lux said softly.

"No, I just packed my things." Nightingale smiled, then felt a little strange, because in her opinion, Lux was not a person who liked to dress up and procrastinate: "What did you do just now?"

"Wash your feet." Lux said.

"Wash your feet?" Dean Nightingale was stunned for a moment: "Why wash your feet at this time?"

Lux thought for a moment and said seriously, "It will be useful later."

Nightingale: “……?”

The convoy first drove to the Moon of Mercy Orphanage. Most of the vehicles stopped for a while, but Lux's carriage continued to move forward and arrived at the Chamber of Commerce headquarters.

Lux's arrival brought a gleam of light to Raven's eyes, and he felt much more relaxed.

Today, Lux was wearing a gauze dress, the main body of which was plain white, with the lapels as soft green as spring grass. Combined with her golden waterfall-like hair, she exuded a youthful aura, just like the legendary girl in the lake.

Raven smiled and said, "Sit down first. I have something to take care of."

Lux sat obediently on the chair and picked up a book to read.

After lowering his head to handle official business for a while, Raven looked up and fixed his gaze on Lux with a hint of surprise on his face.

What Lux was holding in her hand was actually a Chronology of Important Events.

They are called big events, but most of them are just boring trivial matters, such as the opening date of a store, the birth of a child by a noble or wealthy businessman, or the time and place of a murder.

All the content was glossed over in passing, which was quite boring. It was hard for Lux to read it and immerse herself in it.

Under the sunlight, her sapphire eyes showed a crystal-clear texture, and her eyelashes trembled as her eyes moved.

The girl's slender fingers brushed across the pages of the book, her brows gradually furrowed, her lips opened and closed slightly, and she let out a slightly annoyed sigh.

Raven asked, "What's the problem?"

"Hmm..." Lux's nose wrinkled slightly, and her finger fell on a line on the page: "You are twenty-one years old this year, so you should be born in 1172, but why is it not listed here?"

"You forgot that I was not born a noble, so there is no record of me." Raven blinked: "Why did you suddenly think of this?"

Lux said seriously, "I asked Dean Nightingale, but she didn't know your birthday either, so I wanted to see if I could find it out."

"I want to give you a birthday present, too."

Hearing this, Raven's heart warmed: "You can give me gifts anytime you want, and you have already given me the best gift."

Lux was a little confused: "What gift?"

"After we rescued Viscount John." Raven said with a smile, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to deal with so many second-level bone cavalry."

"That's different." Lux said stubbornly: "It's different!"

As he said this, he lowered his head again, trying to find some details between the lines.

Seeing her persistence, Raven smiled gently, stopped worrying about it, and lowered his head to continue processing the paperwork.

Time passed little by little, and soon it was noon.

"Ah—" Raven shook his aching shoulders, put down his quill, and smiled apologetically at Lux: "Sorry for the wait."

"Not long." Lux put down the book in her hand and suddenly asked, "Raven, how did you do it?"

Raven was startled: "What?"

"That is, to quell the riot in the downtown area." Lux said, "I thought about it for a long time, but I don't understand why you were able to do it."

"This is the ancient wisdom," Raven said.

"What ancient wisdom?" Lux blinked.

"The classic two peaches kill three warriors."

Raven smiled and said, "Don't think about it. Come on, I'll take you to eat the best food in the city!"

Lux's eyes shone with anticipation.

In the next few days, apart from handling official business, Raven took Lux for a stroll through the streets and alleys of the downtown area, which broadened Lux's horizons. Raven also had to answer many questions that he had never thought about.

For example, why do people call the city defense army "black-skinned bamboo shoots", why the prices in Mon'en City are lower than those in Shemlington, and why Raven doesn't let her help the poor girl begging on the street.

Fortunately, Lux sometimes just asks questions out of interest and doesn't get to the bottom of things.

At the same time, the conscription work was in full swing. The Chamber of Commerce followed Raven's arrangements and began to prepare food and fodder for these soldiers on the road.

It took five days in total, and Raven recruited more than 2,300 people, all of whom were the youngest and strongest men in their twenties. It could be said that they were the best of the best.

It's not that there are no more people signing up, but Raven still has to give the Slater family some face. After all, Mon'en City is still the territory of the Slater family. If too many people are taken away, Earl Tyrone will not tolerate it any longer.

More than two thousand people were just stuck at Earl Tyrone's bottom line.

The conscription was over, and Raven had completed all the things he needed to do in the lower city, and announced his departure.

When they came, Baron Raven only brought about thirty people and a hundred horses, and they were transporting food, fodder and tents.

Now they were setting out on their return journey, with more than two thousand people and hundreds of carriages loaded with treasures that would make most nobles envious.

The team left the city of Meng'en in a mighty manner.

It is worth mentioning that even after such a long delay, Raven was one of the first groups to leave Muen City. Most of the nobles are still lingering in the upper city area of ​​Muen City.

The marching speed of two thousand untrained troops was not fast, and some would occasionally fall behind, but fortunately the weather was gradually getting warmer, and the journey was easier than in winter. Even if they fell behind, they could catch up after a short rest, and there was no need to worry about freezing to death.

Therefore, the return journey was no slower than the journey here, and it took about twenty days.

Raven's team was quite large, with more than 2,300 people, almost half a legion, which caused a lot of jokes and misunderstandings along the way. More than one noble family thought they were the remnants of the Death Hand Cult, or the defeated army who wanted to play thieves, and they were so scared that they stayed indoors. Some even sent a "protection fee" in the hope that Raven would not attack them.

Raven was quite amused by this, but it also indirectly confirmed the bad influence brought by the Cult of the Hand of Death, which simply scared the nobles into frightened birds.

If the gift he received was gold coins or something like that, Raven would return it as he still wanted to maintain his reputation. But if it was food, wine, meat or something like that, he would accept it with a smile.

After all, the Death Hand Cult not only destroyed half of the Nord province, but also caused these areas to miss the opportunity for spring ploughing. Barren land can be seen everywhere. It is conceivable that food prices will continue to soar this year.

On the way, Raven encountered several small groups of undead, but they posed no threat under the iron hoofs of his personal soldiers.

When we returned to Xuefeng County, the traces of the undead had basically disappeared, but the overall atmosphere did not get much better.

When going to the war, more than a dozen nobles of Snow Maple County, big and small, split into two factions due to Viscount Fisher's radical attitude. Most of them chose to follow Fisher, and only Kate, Romney and Judra chose to follow Viscount John.

Viscount Fisher's team consisted of twelve nobles, including himself. Now only three of them are confirmed alive, and even Fisher himself died from the dragon's breath of the bone dragon.

As a result, most families in Xuefeng County were filled with a sad atmosphere, and whether they were sincere or not, black silk and cloth were hung all over the castle.

Raven passed by Baron Romney's territory. Out of friendship as they had fought side by side, he chose to go there in person to pay his respects. He was then held by Baron Romney's widow, Ms. Doreen, and cried on her shoulder.

There was no further in-depth communication afterwards, but Ms. Doreen brought her two-year-old son to Raven and recognized Raven as her godfather.

Raven readily agreed to this.

For the Griffith family, this is the first step to expand their influence; and for Ms. Doreen, it is to find a support for the orphans and widows. After all, the Nord Province is not safe now, and Raven is already the most powerful force in Snow Maple County.

Two more days passed after leaving Romney's territory.

Finally, on the morning of June 2nd, Raven returned to Eagle Territory.

After several months' absence, the winter scene has faded, and large tracts of new farmland have been opened up on both sides of the Jinsha River. Unlike the abandoned fields seen along the way, the people are working between the ridges, and green wheat seedlings have sprouted on the fertile black soil.

Farther away, on the land that had long been cultivated, the wheat had turned golden.

Goldshire was turned into a large construction site, and the refugees were organized to build new city walls.

The renovation plan for Eagle Town has also been launched, with construction sites filled with dust and vibrant scenes everywhere.

"My Lord Baron, you really did it!" Eric said with emotion outside the town of Shingold.

"What did you do?" Raven asked with a smile.

"It was here that we received the serfs sent by the Fox family." Eric said, "At that time I said that you would become a viscount sooner or later."

"But I didn't expect that this day would come so soon!"

Recalling the scene at that time, Raven felt relieved: "I'm not a viscount yet."

"It has already been done, sir!" Eric's eyes swept across the Snow Maple Territory adjacent to the Shining Gold Town: "Such a vast territory can only be controlled by a viscount."

"If any noble refuses to admit it, it only shows that they are stupid!"

“Haha——” Raven smiled happily:
"Remember, Eric, this is just the beginning!"

"drive!"

The news that Raven was about to return had already been sent back and spread by Simon, and the more than 2,000 people he brought back did not cause panic.

Passing through Eagle Town and returning to Eagle Castle, you can see the completed monument from afar.

This sculpture is ten meters high, only slightly shorter than the Eagle Fort. It fully implements Raven's design concept and uses swords as the outline. When viewed from different angles, one can see the heroic figures of warriors holding swords and shields, spears and crossbows. It can be said to be one and the same, fully demonstrating the heroic posture of the Eagle Army.

Raven stood in silence in front of the statue for a while, and his bodyguards also stopped to look. Although the new recruits did not know the origin and meaning of the statue, they also remained quiet.

Unlike the last time when they returned from the expedition, Eagle Castle did not have a grand welcome this time. This was also because Raven had sent Simon back in advance to notify and arrange this.

After all, there are more than 2,000 people following us, so it is important to be pragmatic.

Eric took his men to settle the two thousand new recruits first, and assigned some people to deal with the goods brought back. Lux said goodbye to Raven, but Raven insisted on sending her back personally.

After taking Lux's luggage into the church and drinking a sip of the water Lux brought, Raven asked, "Would you like to come to Eagle Castle tonight? I'll treat you to dinner."

"No."

"Then...I'll come and keep you company tonight?"

"……don't want……"

Raven chuckled, turned around and left, riding back to Eagle Castle alone.

Everything in Eagle Castle was so familiar: the playground and targets in the yard, the fat horses raising their hooves in the stables, and the admiration in the eyes of the servants passing by.

Almost as soon as he walked through the door, Raven felt much more relaxed. This was the feeling of being home.

"My Lord Baron!" Fiona was the first to come forward.

She was wearing a sky blue dress with a contrasting black waistcoat on her upper body, and her silver hair was casually scattered, like a paper doll hanging under the eaves, the first to welcome her owner's return.

Raven smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you not to greet me?"

"Mr. Simon said you brought back a lot of things this time." Fiona said, "My grandfather is feeling a little unwell, so he asked me to come and take care of the inventory."

Raven was a little concerned: "What happened to Mr. Gordon?"

"It's nothing, just a relapse of an old illness. The doctor said it's nothing serious and I just need to lie in bed for a few days and recuperate." Fiona explained.

"That's good." Raven breathed a sigh of relief: "I'll leave the inventory of the goods to you."

Nodding, Fiona was about to salute and leave when she heard Raven say, "The monument is well built!"

Fiona stood there in a daze, then a happy smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She clenched her fists and shook her arms vigorously.

As soon as Raven walked into the hall, Petty brought a tray with towels: "Baron, you are finally back!"

Raven gently pinched her fair chin: "Missed me?"

Patty lowered her head, her eyes moving.

Back in the bedroom, Raven took off his armor and washed up with the help of Patty.

Before he could even put on new clothes, Patty's fingers were already touching Raven's chest.

The work of a personal maid was not heavy, making her hands as delicate as milk. Her chin rested on Raven's shoulder, almost melting into Raven's chest like water.

"Where did you hide my maid?" Raven whispered. "I remember that Patty was a very reserved girl."

"My Lord Baron..." Petty bit her teeth lightly: "It's all your fault...!"

"Okay, let's talk about it tonight." Raven pecked him lightly on the forehead and said, "Go and call Weston and Link to the study for me."

Reluctantly leaving Raven's arms, Patty tidied her clothes and quietly walked out of the room.

Pouring himself a glass of Angel's Tears, Raven walked to the window and took in the clear and bright sky with a smile.

One year, a whole year.

A year ago, he was a newly crowned baron whose territory consisted of only a small town called Eagle Town. Everywhere he looked, he saw troubles waiting for him to solve them one by one.

Now, he not only took back Shanjin Town, but also took Xuefeng Territory into his pocket.

Raven has become a powerful force in the Nord Province.

Not to mention that he is of great importance, but after Viscount John leaves, the nobles of the entire Xuefeng County will be headed by him!

The window was opened, and a fresh breeze blew in. Raven raised his glass happily to the wind and drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

"My Lord Baron, Master Weisdong and Captain Link are waiting for you in the study."

……

(End of this chapter)