CHAPTER 326: CHAPTER 222: REJECTION

When leaving White Mountain, Roland’s Moonlit Silver Armor was already stuffed with spoils of war.

To save space, some low-value spoils were even directly discarded.

Almost intact wolf and bear pelts were the biggest haul.

The fur of demonized beasts is far more resilient than ordinary animals.

The pelts of giant wolves and bears can at least be split into more than ten complete leather armors, and the leftover scraps can be sewn into a batch of leather vests.

These leather armors are lightweight and durable, and can be used as bulletproof vests.

In this era, firearms have very weak penetration and cannot pierce the fur of demonized beasts.

The best furs will naturally be reserved for making inner leather armor for Sif, Lisa, and others, while slightly lesser parts will be used to make various bulletproof leather armor to be distributed to key commanders.

While commanders like Christine are crucial, mid to high-level officers like Jes, Dailong, and Bridges are also key.

Besides fur, the teeth and bones of magical beasts are excellent magic materials and can be used to make magical weapons.

The organs like bear gall and wolf heart can also be used as medicinal ingredients. Bear paws are also a rare and high-quality delicacy.

In short, all high-value materials are to be taken.

After sorting the spoils, Sif found a smaller ginkgo tree to act as the Flower Sea’s giant tree.

The reason is simple, the strength of the Flower Sea mainly depends on the Elf owner; the giant tree is merely a vessel.

At Tier Seven, even the smallest ginkgo tree is more than enough.

She had another thing she didn’t say.

If Sofia cannot be overcome, there’s no point in thinking about the future.

With pragmatism, she converted all resources into combat power for the day of return.

Future problems can be worried about in the future; right now, she just wants to win.

Roland fully agreed with Sif’s decision.

People of the civilized era habitually believe living is a given, yet even in this era, even super powerful individuals may die at any moment.

Did Givaudan and the giant bear think they were about to die when they fought over the ginkgo tree sap?

Did the Old Commander consider he wouldn’t see the next day’s sun when he drank himself drunk at night?

Sofia is the highest mountain of this era, leading by a large gap.

She heavily weighs on Roland and Sif’s hearts, making it difficult even to breathe.

Roland and Sif took a shortcut into White Mountain, dealt with matters, and left without alerting anyone.

No one even knew a giant bear and a giant wolf had died in White Mountain, and a tree was infused with the Flower Sea Tree Spirit, beginning a different life as a tree.

Everyone is busy with their goals, pursuing what they desire.

The officials of the Rodinia Governor’s Territory are no different.

Recently, they were hoping for two things.

Some people with their rank in place but whose positions weren’t ideal were wide-eyed, staring intently at the numerous vacant positions in Suyige Province.

Especially the three deputy governors, who were restless.

They feared being left out and feared equally that their fellow deputy governor would be the lucky one.

While the three deputy governors worried about the fourth governor position passing them by, the higher-ranking officials were yearning for the ennoblements reported to the Noble House.

Amid everyone’s expectations, Roland and Sif returned to Hansa City and held a high-level meeting.

The theme of this meeting was to summarize the defense of Hansa.

Simply put, it was an award ceremony.

Dozens of senior officials and carefully selected battlefield hero representatives sat in order in the small conference room, eagerly awaiting.

With name tags on each desk, there was no concern about sitting in the wrong place.

Hansa Province Governor Ados paused briefly at the conference hall door, noticing Bordeaux and Aramis had already entered and were seated, then walked briskly into the meeting hall.

He waited for them to enter first.

Though all are governors, there are differences among governors.

Hansa Province is not only the largest, most populous, and wealthiest of the Three Overseas Provinces but also where the Empress’s Palace and Governor’s Mansion are located.

He has the most opportunities to appear before the Empress and Governor, and this time he was ranked second after Roland in the reported ennoblements.

Governor Roland is a confidant of the Empress, and this time directly made Count, so it’s reasonable for him to be ranked first.

The subsequent baron rankings are very particular.

Ados first, but second is the relatively weaker Governor of Selin, Bordeaux.

In earlier meetings, Bordeaux was indirectly criticized by Roland for being boastful, so everyone thought he had no chance. Who would have thought he would rank second among all officials?

After entering, Ados sat between Bordeaux and Aramis, smiling as he greeted his old friends, who are both longtime collaborators and competitors.

Exchanging glances with Bordeaux, Ados was somewhat surprised.

After a few months of not seeing him, this old friend’s spirit and energy were completely different.

Bordeaux initially had low performance scores, and no one expected this guy quietly made significant gains, later rising to second place.

Ados was far ahead, but his lead over those behind was also very clear.

"Bordeaux, Aramis, my good mates, how long has it been since we had a drink together? Don’t leave after the meeting today, let’s go to my place and have a great drink."

Bordeaux chuckled, nodding in agreement.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Ados was even more surprised and jokingly said:

"Brother Bordeaux, you’re really different from before. Honestly, I never imagined you’d rank so high."

He was joking, but didn’t expect Bordeaux to lower his voice and seriously explain:

"Old buddy, it’s normal for you not to expect it, I didn’t expect it myself."

He laughed at himself, saying softly, "You know, earlier the Lord Governor made us pay up and admit our mistakes, I paid the most because I took the most."

"Because of this, my initial performance was much lower than yours, I thought I would never have another chance and would be replaced by newcomers sooner or later, so I didn’t dare to risk the governor’s wrath and simply hid away in Selin."

"I didn’t dare to pocket money, but I couldn’t sit still either, so I thought I’d do something before stepping down, and simply responded to the governor’s call to build factories, and unexpectedly, I was appreciated for it."

Ados and Aramis suddenly understood, no wonder Bordeaux’s governance score was extremely high, it turned out the governor liked subordinates who sincerely ran factories.

Aramis and Ados were thoughtful, just as they were considering whether to also increase industrial investment and promotion, Bordeaux smiled and said:

"The situation varies between provinces, Selin Province has open-pit coal mines and high-quality iron mines, laying a solid foundation for developing heavy industry. Your provinces are more suitable for trade."

Ados and Aramis were slightly taken aback, pondering whether Bordeaux’s words were sincere or a ruse, when a loud voice echoed in the conference hall.

"Well said!"

As the voice rang out, everyone in the conference hall immediately stood up to greet the master of ceremonies.

Roland and Sif walked in front, paving the way for the stern-faced Mirror Empress.

Most people present were used to it, but several first-timers at the meeting were excited to witness the Empress’s presence up close for the first time.

Tom, attending a high-level meeting for the first time, secretly admired the Empress’s stunning beauty out of the corner of his eye, momentarily dazed.

He quickly snapped out of it, hurriedly lowering his head.

Her Majesty the Empress was truly beautiful, only vaguely feeling that the Empress’s demeanor and spirit didn’t quite match up to Count Sif.

If only the Empress and the Count could swap roles.

Tom broke into a cold sweat, cautiously looking around, thankfully no one noticed him.

Damn, this thought must be discarded immediately.

The Empress, the Governor, and the Count are far on the mountaintop; their matters should never be questioned!

Tom’s heart raced, trying hard to calm his breathing, gradually regaining his composure.

He is a battlefield hero representative and will soon speak on stage.

His achievements include, but are not limited to, holding Fort Helentz and sniping the enemy’s main general.

He knew very well there were several others qualified to become battlefield hero representatives, such as Jacobs, who was more qualified than him.

If he hadn’t discovered the underground ruins.

The ruins he accidentally discovered were taken over by the Governor, with professional staff assigned to excavate and explore.

Truly, Lord Governor knows how to make good use of talented people.

Tom silently gave a thumbs up to Governor Roland.

Exploration of ruins requires very high professional skills, and the Governor didn’t explore the ruins himself like some reckless and greedy adventurer but entrusted a professional team to assist with the excavation.

Although the commission was expensive, the results were outstanding.

There were over a hundred firearms wrapped in oiled paper, and that was just the appetizer.

The truly valuable finds were the various books and strange treasures.

The archaeological team discovered something called a "cassette tape," involving two small circular wheels that moved the tape strip inside a square little box.

It’s said that this thing stores more knowledge than dozens of books.

He didn’t understand it, but was greatly amazed.

As a reward, he received a knighthood as an Imperial Knight and a town of over a thousand people as his territory.

More than these rewards, what comforted Tom was seeing hope for avenging his parents and uncles.

As Tom’s thoughts wandered, the Empress, Governor, and Count took their seats, and the meeting began.

According to procedure, Roland sought the Empress’s permission to start the meeting.

The Empress nodded and then sat there like a statue, saying nothing, handing over control of the meeting to Roland and Count Sif.

Some knew the Count was the Empress, and the so-called Empress was just a stand-in, hence the silence.

But most were unaware; some sensed something amiss, but couldn’t pinpoint what.

The first agenda item was Roland’s summary of the Hansa Defense Battle.

Roland loudly read the contents of the Hosenburg Treaty.

With each item he read, cheers erupted below.

When he announced all mature oak trees were to be used as compensation, the navy cheered.

When he declared the amount of war reparations and territorial concessions, and announced the Suyige Region officially becoming the Empire’s thirty-fifth province, the hall burst into prolonged applause.

To be fair, the Hosenburg Treaty was a classic unequal treaty, but the beneficiaries had no objections.

For the victors, the more unequal, the better.

The meeting proceeded in a lively atmosphere, following the planned agenda in an orderly manner.

Tom’s first time speaking on stage made him excitedly inarticulate, leading the crowd to laugh heartily.

It wasn’t mockery, but teasing for the young man.

The meeting soon reached the final agenda item.

Roland opened the sealed feudal ennoblement report from the Noble House.

The provincial governors and generals in the first row were so tense they couldn’t breathe.

Baron is not high, and the fief isn’t large, but it’s their ticket to high society.

Roland opened the envelope and read with an authentic Imperial Capital accent.

"...The ennoblement of the above personnel fails to meet the provisions of the Heraldic Law and is therefore rejected."