A huge battle had ended, bringing with it the honor of victory, the joy of a bountiful harvest, and the sorrow of sacrifice.

No matter what, it has all ended, the deceased are gone, the living must continue forward, and the territory must keep looking ahead.

After the soldiers had cleaned up the battlefield, Su Li personally placed his Rune Sword on a pile of kindling and dried leaves. With a push of his bloodline, the Eternal Flame Sword ignited the battlefield.

Countless monster remnants and heinous crimes were reduced to ashes in the towering flames, the fire burned fiercely, setting vast grasslands and nearby forests ablaze. Without several days of pouring rain, it would be difficult to extinguish this fire.

Then Su Li ordered the entire army to triumphantly return to the territory.

On the way back, Hilude gently rode beside Su Li, comforting him: "Lord, to die heroically in battle, wrapped in a horse's hide, is the honorable fate of the Knights, a virtue admired by the Divine Spirits. They, along with many Knights of our territory, have already been blessed by the Divine Spirits for their brave deeds."

Received the blessing of the Divine Spirits?

Su Li's spirit was lifted, perhaps this was also a form of honor for the Imperial Knights.

He no longer dwelled on those sorrowful matters, shifting his focus to the aspects that could bring comfort.

"Have the Knights of our territory experienced any breakthroughs?"

"Yes, firstly it's the Beast Slayer Jerald, whose chest is filled with Yurik's fierce will to slaughter, and he timely slayed an Anaric Giant Spider, the remaining Yurik's will transformed into Divine Grace, and he has advanced to Champion Knight."

This news truly brought Su Li great comfort. Although the territory lost an Elite Knight, it gained a Champion Knight.

The strength of a Champion Knight is beyond doubt!

It is not an exaggeration to say that even in a chaotic battle, 12 Elite Knights might not be a match for one Champion Knight.

Unless these 12 Elite Knights belong to the same squad, coordinating skillfully and responding with military formations, only then might they withstand a Champion Knight.

If the territory had 12 powerful Champion Knights, the battle against the Green Dragon would not be so desperate.

With the cost of half the Champion Knights, the territory might even repel the Green Dragon.

But this goal is still quite distant, as the territory currently only has barely two Champion Knights, only a fraction of twelve.

Then Su Li asked with concern: "Besides Jerald, has anyone else advanced?"

"Yes, today's valiant performance by the Knights and the glorious victory allowed twenty-one Knights to receive Divine Grace, enhancing their strength. Among them, five have advanced significantly, with three Apprentice Knights advancing to Official Knights, and two Official Knights advancing to Elite Knights."

Su Li's eyes lit up, gazing intently at Hilude, he asked: "Are you one of them?"

Hilude's cheeks revealed a gentle smile, she nodded softly and said: "Yes, Lord, during the pursuit, I successfully severed the head of an Anaric Demon. The protection of Divine Grace allowed me to successfully advance to Initial Tier Elite Knight."

Su Li finally laughed with joy, if not for the inconvenience on horseback, he would have immediately held Hilude's face and kissed her heavily. But he still said excitedly: "Hilude, with your strength as an Official Knight, to have beheaded a Champion-Level Demon's head, it is inevitable to receive the Sun Goddess's Divine Grace. You will become one of the youngest Legendary Knights in our Empire's history."

Besides Divine Grace, there is no way to explain Hilude's rapid progress.

Bear in mind, just last night, with Su Li's full assistance, she broke through to High Tier Official Knight in a life-and-death experience.

Relying solely on one's own practice, it would be impossible to stabilize at the High Tier Official Knight level, let alone advance to Elite Knight.

In this world, the Divine Grace of the Divine Spirits truly exists.

Su Li asked with concern: "What kind of Divine Magic ability did you gain?"

"I received Divine Magic: Master of Battle Techniques. The effect is I can instill the martial arts of Her Majesty Violet into other allies, allowing them to wield their weapons with greater skill."

This is a more tactically inclined ability, even a strategically inclined one.

Especially since Hilude is the High-level Attendant Chief of the territory, the martial arts she trains Su Li's Directly Affiliated Attendants and Knights in will be particularly powerful. They will be elite among elites, Knights directly blessed by the Goddess.

Hilude's successful breakthrough made Su Li feel a bit envious, after all, he is not far from becoming an Official Knight himself.

As long as he can break through to Official Knight, he might also gain a Divine Magic ability.

Today, two official Knights advanced to Elite Knights, and moreover, twenty-one knights received the Divine Grace.

Su Li immediately focused on gripping the reins of his warhorse, then sensed himself to see if he had been blessed by the Divine Grace.

After a long while, he opened his eyes in anger: "Why didn't I receive the Divine Grace? Clearly, I also fought bravely."

Hearing this, Hilude's face reddened a bit. Was the Lord's bravery referring to him leading a team of fully armed, sun-glinting powerful Knights, charging at a group of weak goblins?

Compared to the Lord's usual lackadaisical and lazy demeanor, this indeed was a display of bravery.

But obviously, the Divine Grace of the Sun Goddess wouldn't descend upon such trivial feats.

However, even though Hilude roughly knew what was going on, she still comforted warmly: "Perhaps the Divine Grace of the Sun Goddess has blessed you in another way. You are a noble Lord; the way you might receive Divine Grace could be different from us ordinary Knights."

"Really?" Su Li was somewhat skeptical.

"Yes!" Hilude immediately nodded emphatically, firmly saying: "I'm certain it's like that."

So Su Li expectantly called for the Leader of the Battle Pilgrimage Group, Rong'en. In this battle, the group also lost six members, but Rong'en wasn't overly saddened; members of their pilgrimage group were mentally prepared for such an outcome.

Especially for the cause of the Sun Goddess, they were willing to sacrifice and dedicate themselves.

Su Li also wanted to discuss this matter with him; as Rong'en approached, he asked: "Lord Rong'en, this battle was initiated in the name of the Goddess. We shouted the name of the Sun Goddess, recited prayers of the Goddess's wrath, and cut down more than five thousand green skins, along with three powerful Anaric demons. This surely counts as a glorious victory, doesn't it?"

Rong'en said without hesitation: "Of course, the enemy forces were much larger than ours, and their combat strength was stronger. Yet, at a minimal cost, we completely destroyed this massive Green Tide. If this can't be called a glorious victory, I don't know what kind of battle deserves to be celebrated. In the near future, priests and followers of the Goddess will know about the Battle of Brionne River you commanded and sing about your deeds of defeating the green skins."

Su Li nodded with a smile and then asked: "In that case, will the Goddess bestow us with Divine Grace?"

"Are you talking about the Holy Relic of Glory?" Rong'en looked at Su Li and asked.

"Exactly." Su Li remembered that a great victory on the battlefield could possibly win a Holy Relic of Glory.

Those smaller scale battles before were just that; even Su Li himself didn't dare expect.

But this time was different. The beastmen, in terms of scale and combat power, were overwhelmingly superior to the territory, starting from the most powerful Divine Chosen Level combat power, the green skins had three Anaric Giant Spiders, thrice that of the Hesse Territory. They also had twenty to thirty Elite-level Giants, far more than the human Elite Knights, and as for the Armed Attendants and slaves below, the difference in troop numbers and combat power was more than 1:5.

In this battle, our side only paid the price of over 200 people to rout a 5,000-strong force. The number killed exceeded a thousand, which certainly was a bountiful result.

Using the merit system of twelve rotations, this is considered as prevailing in battle with fewer against many and killing the enemy far more than the losses, which is enough to seal a marquis or appoint a general at the first rank.

The only relatively imperfect part was that the untrained slaves suffered heavy casualties, slightly reducing the appraisal.

But not saying it's an epic victory, at least it counts as a glorious triumph.

Rong'en laughed heartily and replied: "The Sun Goddess is a very fair Deity. If she believes that your victory and glory deserve reward, she will surely grant Divine Grace. We only need to return to the Monastery, proclaim the great victory, and naturally, there will be a result."

Su Li realized immediately that his country in his previous life was a typical utilitarian one, not too firm in faith matters, praying to all gods when necessary. But once things succeeded, they stood hands on hips, smugly marveling at their prowess.

But this world is different. When setting out in the morning, the whole army knelt and prayed before the Goddess's monastery. During the war, the Divine Spirit truly responded to the devotees' prayers, granting abilities like [Strong Heart] and [Celestial Punishment Fire]; the Knights called on the name of the Goddess and used various Sun Goddess divine magics.

It can be said that eighty percent of this victory relied on manpower, and the remaining twenty percent was indeed due to Divine Power.

No matter what, they should return to the monastery to fulfill their vows after the war!

The grand affairs of a nation, only sacrifice and war cannot be entrusted to others; this matter should be handled personally by Su Li, going to the monastery to offer sacrifices, proclaiming the great victory.

This is just like after a great Eastern victory; when the army returns triumphant, they must offer captives at the arch, proclaiming the Grand Ancestral Temple.

So Su Li solemnly said: "Lord Rong'en, you are very correct. I will prepare the sacrifices for the Sun Goddess, pray devoutly to the Goddess, praise the Goddess's protection, and proclaim our great victory."

"What do you think would be a suitable offering for the sacrifice this time as we celebrate our triumphant return?"

Rong'en, satisfied, stroked the mustache at the corner of his mouth, laughing, said: "The Goddess teaches us to learn to find the enemy's weakness and attack it with relentless force. And we should promote this in all areas, whether in love, politics, or war, to defeat the enemy and achieve goals, what we need is a sharp eye, a clever mind, and devotion to the Goddess."

"As long as you possess these qualities and offer sacrifices with a devout heart, the Goddess will appreciate your actions. If you're asking what might be a suitable offering, I think Flowers and Swords would be quite fitting."

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