Chapter Seventy-Three: News of Victory and Military Achievements

  "Hmm, in about three years, Your Majesty will be abdicating, and those few useless young masters from our families really don't have the qualifications to compete with Gaea and Cain for the throne." Old Huang Jin said indifferently.

  "The four elders were humble, and I think Eri is quite good. He's just a few years younger than Gajeel and Kain, so his cultivation is slightly behind and can't keep up with the times. The young ones in our two families are really not making an effort." One of the four elders looked somewhat disheartened, and a certain Earthland elder hurriedly comforted him.

  "Heh heh, those few young masters in our Di La family, I'm still very clear about their abilities. They either lack military achievements or are not cultivated enough, and they're not qualified to contend for the throne, so they can only blame themselves and not others." Old Huang Jin said with a somewhat bitter smile when mentioning his own family's younger generation.

  "After this battle, Gaiya's reputation is naturally unmatched, but he has yet to become a Dou Zun. At that time, compared to Kain's martial power, he will inevitably lose. Even if we support him, it may not have any effect, and it might even affect the balance between several families."

  "This..."

  "Alright, you two can be the masters of your own families, but I still cannot. Let's discuss this matter with the Second Elder after we return. For now, let's go and meet up with the main army." The Fourth Elder did not give the two old men another chance to speak, and led the way by turning around and walking down the mountain.

  Three days later at noon, the Golden Beast King Hall in the main hall of the Beast King City's Fire Fortress was quite lively, with a large number of beastmen gathered inside.

  The normally stern King Krow was not sitting in his own main seat, but instead sat next to an old man with a full set of golden formal attire, half of whose golden hair had turned white, and whose eyelids drooped slightly, at the front row of seats on one side of the grand hall.

  The two old men had a few smiles on their faces, but although they seemed to be sitting casually in their chairs, the aura of power and prestige that came with their high status was not diminished in the slightest.

  In the great hall, on other chairs, sat an old Huang Jin Bimon in golden formal attire and several old Bimons in black clothes.

  Apart from them, there were several elderly wolf tribe members wearing crimson robes, as well as a few elderly centaurs with high heads and tall stature. At the far end of the great hall were the elders of the fox tribe, rabbit tribe, ant tribe, and mouse tribe, these vassal tribes sitting at the far end of the great hall.

  The atmosphere inside the grand hall was quite relaxed, with many beastmen chatting and whispering to each other. King Kroe didn't seem to mind this behavior from his subjects, occasionally glancing at the main entrance of the grand hall which faced east, as if waiting for something.

  The king's guard commander, Louis, rushed into the great hall, holding a golden scroll in his hand.

  "Have you calculated it?" King Krow asked with a faint smile as soon as Louis arrived in front of him.

  "No, not Your Majesty, it's a swift report just arrived from the Northern Hawk." Louis' face showed a hint of strangeness as he carefully retreated.

  "Oh, Beifang! Nian." King Kuo's face muscles twitched slightly in surprise when he heard the good news from the North, but quickly returned to normal.

  "Your Majesty, I, Kayen Sober, report that in the past few days, several cavalry regiments of the Rhine Province's Fano De Garrison have been mobilized, repeatedly harassing our border with back-and-forth movements, seemingly with the intention of attacking."

  "Your Majesty, I have obtained the opportunity to attack with General Sani Wadden, and we have annihilated one of Farnese's cavalry legions, killing over 13,000 enemies. I personally killed a legion commander. I report this victory to Your Majesty." Louis read out the contents of the battle report in a slightly subdued tone, without the joy that should be present in a victorious report.

  "Good, Kayn is indeed capable of leading troops. With just a small force in hand, he can still win a great victory. Your Majesty, I, your old minister, request that you highly reward the temporary Grand Commander of the North, Kayn, and the entire Northern Army under his leadership!"

  The entire hall fell silent as Louis read the war report. When he finished, King Cro didn't have time to say anything before a man in black, Lord Dumont, stood up and bowed to request an audience with the king.

  "Yes, the Seventh Elder is right, Your Majesty. I, your old minister, also agree." Another black-robed, golden-brocaded elder stood up and made the same request to King Krow.

  "Your Majesty has not said anything, why are you two in such a hurry! The kingdom has laws and regulations, those who should be rewarded will be rewarded, those who should be praised will be praised, everything is based on established rules." And the old Huang Jinbi, sitting next to King Kelo, immediately turned gloomy upon hearing the words of these two elders.

  He not only spoke in a stern tone, but his eyes also flashed like lightning, scanning the two elders harshly. This shocked the two elders, who had been smiling with joy, and they didn't expect the first person to oppose them would be this old man. The smile on their faces instantly disappeared, and they stood there in stunned silence.

  "Haha, don't be angry, Great Elder. The Seventh and Tenth Elders are also worried about the country. What they said is also correct, Kayn's forces are indeed very few, but he has achieved such great military achievements and should be heavily rewarded." King Kero smiled and intervened on behalf of the two elders, who were being scolded by Mikhail Sobel, the Great Elder of the Beastman Kingdom's Council of Elders.

  "Summon the heralds, and have them spread my orders to prepare a grand ceremony for the triumphant return of General Kayn Sorb, Supreme Commander of the North. Order the messengers to rush to all corners of the land, proclaiming the great victory of the Northern Army to the entire nation, that all may rejoice together." King Krow waved his hand and an old foxman standing by, holding a wooden pen and paper, quickly ran over to record the king's orders.

  "Ah, absolutely not, Your Majesty." Elder Mikhail's face showed a few shades of anxiety as soon as he heard King Krow's command. He straightened up and grasped the armrests of his chair, addressing the king.

  "Oh, Great Elder, why not? Cain's military achievements are indeed outstanding and this is what he deserves. Don't think too much, Great Elder. Although you are Cain's uncle, don't be afraid of others' gossip. After all, the merits of the Northern Army are there for everyone to see, and no one can deny them." King Kroe said with a seemingly understanding tone to the Great Elder.

  "Hold on, Your Majesty. The military achievements of the Southern Army are still being tallied up, let's wait for their results to come out before we speak. There's no need to rush to reward the Northern Army either." The Great Elder said with some embarrassment to King Kuro, while sending a pleading gaze to the other elderly figure in golden formal attire, Huang Jin Bimeng, inside the grand hall.

  "Haha, Your Majesty, this matter indeed doesn't need to be rushed at the moment. Let's take our time, as the Great Elder said." The old Huang Jinbi, who was originally calm and composed, burst into loud laughter after seeing the Great Elder's gaze, and spoke on his behalf.

  "This, alright. Since both of you elders have said so, let's put it off for now." King Koro reluctantly agreed to the two elder's request.

  "Your Majesty is wise." The Grand Elder let out a gentle breath, praising King Krow with one sentence before glaring at the two Elders who proposed to heavily reward Kayn and gesturing for those somewhat disoriented old men to sit down.

  "Your Majesty, the military achievements of the Southern Army have been compiled from the battle reports sent by each department." Just as King Koro and several elders finished speaking, a Mongolian officer holding a golden scroll walked into the grand hall and bowed to King Koro.

  "Alright, read it." King Kero ordered with a faint smile.

  "Yes, within the kingdom, twenty battalions of the Mongol army and sixteen legions of the Wolf Tribe, under the temporary commander-in-chief Gaia Wulun in the southern region, launched an attack on the Sas Province of the Fano Empire. The southern army fought for nearly twenty days, killing over 200,000 soldiers from the Fano Empire's direct military units, as well as forty-eight deputy generals, twelve generals, and three marshals."

  Another beheading...

  The Tenth Regiment Commander Tuolemi and the Wolf Tribe Chieftain Ailida led their troops to capture over 20 million dan of grain, over 200,000 taels of gold, and countless war horses, iron tools, and cloth from the Sas Province.

  Then, the numerous elders of the army took action and killed the Farnod Empire's accompanying fighters, including six 9th-stage Divine Kings from the Wind and Cloud Dueling Guilds, Fire Bath Dueling Guild, and Nine Stages Dueling Hall, as well as seventeen 8th-stage Dueling Emperors, among whom were two deputy guild leaders.

  "After this battle, the province of Fanordas was traversed, and the main force of the three legions directly under it was basically destroyed. The southern mountains were also taken into our hands, which is the military achievement of the Southern Army."

  The officer read out loud in the great hall the contents of the golden scroll in his hand.

  "Alright, you may go." After hearing the report, King Krow waved his hand casually, and the officer bowed again before exiting the grand hall.

  "Your Majesty, I, your humble minister, suggest that a triumph be held for General Gaius and the entire Southern Army at both Lizard's Spire and Ember Castle. A national proclamation should be issued to commend the Southern Army's achievements, and inform the Empire of Elves, the Kingdom of Dwarves, and our own Beastmen Kingdom of our great victory." Thus spoke Elder Michael, rising first to bow respectfully before King Krow.

  "I, Koro, with the authority of the beast god, grant you the right to rule over the kingdom's people. I permit what the great elder has requested." King Koro rose up straight, his face restored to its usual dignity, and in a very formal tone approved the great elder's request.

  "We, your subjects, offer our congratulations to Your Majesty on this great victory. May the military prowess of our tribe be passed down forever." Upon hearing King Krow's command, all the beastmen in the grand hall, regardless of whether they were elders, officers, servants, or representatives of vassal tribes, stood up and bowed their heads to say to King Krow.

  And those two elders who initially requested a reward for Cain, though unwilling, could only say so according to the etiquette between monarch and subject.