The story of the black silk female knight

Commanding over a hundred Firefly-level soldiers to kill Lighthouse-level elite warriors through formation and coordination is as difficult as Valencia fighting a Star-level opponent. Those two junior officers, who are only Candlelight-level, can definitely be considered geniuses in commanding small-scale battles.

In addition to rewarding these talented officers with money, His Majesty the King also promoted them, allowing them to make fuller use of their talents.

Finally, the third category of those who received rewards were elite soldiers like Valencia.

The elite soldiers hold a special position in Fran; they do not have a traditional job title, and their actual authority is linked to the tasks they are assigned.

When there is an urgent mission, the elite soldiers can even be ranked one level higher than the officials. Even a duke must unconditionally cooperate with the elite soldiers' mission, otherwise they may be charged with treason.

When not on missions and in standby mode, the elite soldiers are essentially just a group of ordinary soldiers who are slightly stronger and better treated.

Therefore, most people who choose to become vanguards are not interested in the bureaucratic system. They prefer to continuously improve themselves rather than go to great lengths to get promoted.

Therefore, the king's rewards for his elite soldiers were similar to those for the military, consisting of monetary rewards as well as various weapons, equipment, and methods for cultivating combat skills and magic. However, as products of the royal treasury, the king's rewards were of higher quality than those from the military.

The dozen or so elite soldiers who received commendations and rewards were almost all like Valensa, having killed a large number of elite beast warriors who had forcibly broken into Fran territory within their respective areas of responsibility. However, their achievements were still quite different from Valensa's exaggerated record.

Chapter 126 Imperial Rewards (Part 2)

Only after all ordinary war meritorious individuals have received commendations and awards will it be the turn of the recipient of the Golden Iris Award, the highest honor in the annual autumn war, to receive commendations and awards.

Similarly, the awards are divided into three categories: ordinary soldiers, officers, and elite soldiers, with the highest-ranking meritorious soldier receiving the last award.

The first to appear was an ordinary soldier who won the Golden Iris Award, a simple, rustic young soldier who looked similar to Luca.

His entrance was quite eye-catching. Not to mention Valencia, who was attending the award ceremony for the first time, many ministers also looked surprised, and even His Majesty the King looked somewhat surprised.

The young soldier floated into the audience hall—he was a spirit.

Seeing that some ministers couldn't help but start whispering among themselves, the usually calm strategist smiled and spoke up, personally explaining the situation of the young soldier.

He was indeed very brave.

In the middle of this autumn war, a small fortress on the eastern side of the northern defense line was briefly breached by wild beasts.

At that time, the Wild Beasts also used a feint attack strategy—on the surface, they gathered a large number of troops to launch a strong attack on another fortress, but in reality, the troops involved in the attack were mostly ordinary Wild Beast warriors who were like cannon fodder.

Meanwhile, more than 100 elite beast warriors at the Beacon level and five powerful beast warriors at the Star Glory level took the opportunity to launch a strong attack on the small fortress where the young soldiers were located.

This wave of wild beasts was full of high-end combat power. Even though the strategist personally tried to use the spatial linking secret technique to dispatch troops to provide support, he was too late. Before the reinforcements arrived, the wild beasts had already captured the small fortress and destroyed the spatial coordinates.

Due to the vast disparity in combat strength between the enemy and ourselves, the commander of the small fortress did not order his soldiers to fight to the death, but instead chose to temporarily retreat to preserve his strength.

The young soldier who had become a spirit could have retreated, but the place he was responsible for guarding happened to be near the fortress's granary, which contained a lot of grain. If the wild beasts had taken it, it would have been enough for more than 100,000 wild beast cubs to survive the winter.

Instead of retreating as ordered by the commander, the young soldier bypassed the blockade of the beast warriors as if he had cheated, including three elite beast warriors of the Lighthouse level, while the young soldier's strength in life was less than that of a Candle.

He charged into the fortress's granary, activating the food destruction mechanism that his comrades hadn't had time to activate before being killed by wild beasts. He caused the fire to engulf the fortress's granary and himself, sacrificing his life to prevent a considerable amount of food from falling into the hands of wild beasts.

Like the other ministers, Valensa was also dumbfounded... She finally understood how others felt when they heard about her outrageous achievements. She, too, couldn't understand how this young soldier had managed to break into the granary despite being blocked by a group of ordinary beast warriors and several elite beast warriors.

But that's not all... Under normal circumstances, the Golden Iris Award is not awarded to those who have died in the line of duty. At most, a young soldier in this situation will receive a commendation from the military, and his family can receive a very generous compensation payment.

However, among the human Fang Yao-rank powerhouses who led the reinforcements to recapture this small fortress, there happened to be a Star Yao-rank necromancer who unleashed a legendary spell during the recapture battle—Heroic Spirit Resurrection.

Under the effect of this legendary spell, the young soldier's soul was reawakened and transformed into a heroic warrior, instantly gaining peak strength at the Beacon level. In the recapture battle, he killed many elite warriors of the wild beasts and once again made meritorious contributions.

Unlike ordinary undead that are resurrected and controlled by necromancy, heroic warriors not only possess a complete and clear self-awareness, but can also exist in the world for a long time.

In other words, heroic warriors are entitled to human rights, especially young soldiers who made significant contributions during their lifetime.

Therefore, after some discussion, the military decided to award the Ordinary Soldier Award in this year's Golden Iris Awards to this young soldier.

The king, representing the royal family, approved the military's decision, not only rewarding the young soldier with a large sum of money but also providing him with a set of training methods for heroic warriors and corresponding training resources.

Heroic Spirits are indeed quite rare, but they are not nonexistent. Valensa had heard from Tia that the royal family seemed to have a powerful secret guard, whose members were all top-notch guards from past royal palaces who had become heroic spirits after their deaths. It was the royal family's most elite high-end fighting force.

Judging from His Majesty the King's reward to the young soldier, it seems that he intends to recruit this young soldier into the royal secret force.

Tsk.

After the young heroic soldier finished receiving his reward and left, Valensa clicked her tongue in amazement.

The experiences of this young soldier would almost make him the protagonist in some novels from his previous life.

After awarding and bestowing honors upon the ordinary soldiers who received the Golden Iris Award, the next recipients were naturally the officers.

This officer was quite ordinary and normal, a typical nobleman, who had enjoyed a reputation for genius since childhood and had always been striving to improve himself.

Now over 40, he holds a high-ranking position in the military, serving as the commander of a major fortress and considered one of the backbone of the military.

The reason he deserves the Golden Iris Officer Award is simple—during this autumn's war, the fortress under his command had the lowest casualty rate and the highest number of enemy kills.

Nearly 200 elite beast warriors and nearly 500,000 ordinary beast cannon fodder fell forever beneath the walls of that large fortress, while the troops under this officer's command suffered fewer than 2,000 casualties throughout the entire autumn war... and the vast majority of them were wounded and could return to the battlefield after a period of recuperation.

Even with absolute terrain and equipment advantages, this casualty ratio is outrageous, and the officer's Golden Iris Award is well-deserved.

After the awards and honors for the Golden Iris Officer Award were completed, it was finally Valensa's turn.

The procedure began as before: the royal attendant loudly announced the winner's name, and Valencia stepped forward from behind the strategist, performed a knightly salute on the red carpet in the center of the audience hall, and then knelt down, waiting for His Majesty the King to speak.

The 60-year-old king, however, burst into laughter upon seeing Valensa:

"Look who this is! Isn't this our Sunflower Duchess... I said back then that you would become the Sword of Fran, and it seems I wasn't blind after all... On your very first battlefield, you've already penetrated deep into enemy territory and slain the enemy leader! Such talent... With you by my side, what do we Fran have to fear from wild beasts and natural disasters!"

"Your Majesty flatters me. It was really just a little planning and a bit of luck."

Valensa spoke in a very humble tone, but her expression betrayed her smugness—this was the way Tia had repeatedly told her to act before she came.

One must possess the arrogance of someone who has achieved early success, as well as the refinement and composure of a nobleman, so that the royal family can both appreciate and trust him.

Chapter 127 Choosing a Location

In the audience hall of the Royal Palace of France, Valencia and the King engaged in a friendly exchange of compliments.

Valencia repeatedly praised the King for his wisdom and ability to appoint people based on merit, saying that the people of Fran were able to enjoy a stable and prosperous life today entirely thanks to His Majesty the King's leadership.

The king also repeatedly praised Valencia for her youthful talent and promising future, calling her an invaluable pillar of Fran and a sword of Fran that will become even sharper in the future.

The two of them praised each other with eloquent words, and most of the ministers around them echoed their sentiments, praising the two of them together.

Even those ministers who disagreed with the strategist on political matters remained silent at this time, and some even spoke up to echo his sentiments.

Although Valensa is the future son-in-law of the strategist and therefore belongs to the Bretanian faction, she is also an Inner Templar Knight of the Church of the Sun, representing this behemoth that can be described as the planet's overlord.

Anyone with a normal IQ would not want to offend the Church of the Sun, and the same goes for the strategist's political enemies. At most, they would not offer Valencia any benefits, but they would never deliberately cause her trouble.

Valencia and His Majesty the King had a very pleasant conversation, and the ministers echoed their praise, creating a wonderful atmosphere throughout the audience hall.

When the atmosphere is good, His Majesty the King is in a good mood and is very generous with his rewards.

He told Valencia to state her needs, indicating that she could choose anything from the royal treasury except for a few extremely valuable items.

Valensa was initially very tempted, but she held back.

The royal treasury certainly contains things Valencia would envy now, but with the Church of the Sun and the Dimensional Hardware Store, she won't lack similar good things in the future.

Therefore, it's better to choose the reward that you need most right now, such as gold coins.

When Valensa asked for money, "I want money, I want lots of money," His Majesty the King paused for a moment, then laughed heartily and waved his hand, bestowing upon Valensa a full 50 gold coins.

Based on the exchange rate of 1:300 with the currency of her previous life, 50 gold coins is already a small goal, enough for the expenses of an ordinary family for several generations, and can also solve Valensa's urgent need for gold coins.

And His Majesty the King was very happy.

For the king, 50 gold coins is indeed a considerable sum, but the valuable items in the royal treasury that Valencia would be interested in are likely to be even more valuable.

The King saw Valencia's choice to ask for money as a sign of her understanding and goodwill towards the royal family.

The royal family cannot appear stingy.

So in addition to rewarding Valencia with 50 gold coins, the king also readily agreed when Valencia proposed to resolve her fiefdom issue in accordance with the "Expansion Order".

Not only did the king readily agree, but he also gave Valensa additional preferential treatment.

Although Valensa's title of Duchess remains the same as that of a Baron, her territory is larger, equivalent to that of a Viscount, and she is also allowed to have a private guard of no more than 500 men.

In short, the rewards for the meritorious service of this autumn war can be said to have been a win-win situation for everyone.

. . . . .

War Academy, in Tia's dormitory.

Valensa and Tia were both wearing only thin, light gauze nightgowns and black and white stockings. They lay face to face on the bed, their calves raised, occasionally playfully swinging their feet.

Her toes stretched the black and white stockings completely, and under the light of the magic crystal on the roof, the fair skin on her feet could be faintly seen to be slightly red, a sign that she had just taken a good bath in the bathroom.

Between the two lying down was a map of the entire territory of Fran. Tia was resting her chin on one hand and holding a pen in the other, pointing at the map and explaining it to Valensa, who would sometimes frown and sometimes shake her head.

The Expedition Order has been obtained. The next step is to select a piece of land in the territory of Fran, pretend to be developing it, and buy time for the ruins.

A viscount's territory is roughly 20 kilometers in radius, enough for Valensa to take over the ruins where Friedeja was sealed.

However, according to the land deed, she must also drive away the wild beasts currently guarding the ruins before the land deed ceremony can be officially completed.

This is no easy task, and it's unlikely to be completed in a short time. In fact, it's very likely that we'll have to face powerful beasts of the rank of Yao.

Therefore, the selection of decoy targets for smoke bombs must be made with great care.

First, the land cannot be too difficult to develop, and the location and environment cannot be too bad.

After all, noble territories are meant to be developed into human settlements, at least villages and towns, and if developed well, they could even become large cities.

Therefore, the territory to be developed must be attractive to the public.

Either the natural environment is livable, or the location is convenient, or the mineral or material resources are abundant... Otherwise, why would someone who is doing well in their own hometown settle in your new territory?

Therefore, places with treacherous terrain, harsh environments, numerous dangerous monsters, or excessively remote locations are not suitable as false targets.

Secondly, the difficulty of developing this false target area cannot be too low.

For example, some places that are otherwise quite good, but are located in remote areas or have very inconvenient transportation.

These places were often the first choice for newly emerging nobles to use the "Expansion Order" to establish fiefdoms for themselves.

However, in addition to developing the target land, they also need to spend a lot of money to build roads so that their territory can at least be directly connected to the official road.

The saying "To get rich, build roads first" holds true in this world... No matter how beautiful a place is, few people are willing to go there, let alone settle down, if transportation is inconvenient.

The real difficulty in building such territories lies in the later stages of road construction. Expansion itself is not difficult. Generally, nobles can hire some adventurers and bring their private soldiers, and it can be completed in three or four months at most, or as quickly as half a month.

The so-called pioneering mainly involves clearing out the monsters in the target location. However, there are very few Radiant-rank monster lords in the Fran territory located west of the Misty Mountains. In most of the wilderness, Lighthouse-level monsters can dominate.

Although Lighthouse-level monsters are quite powerful for the average person, nobles who can use the "Expansion Order" are either very strong themselves or have enough wealth to hire high-level adventurers, so clearing out these monsters is not a difficult task.

Given Valensa's current strength and the Britannia family's unwavering support, she will certainly not lack the military power to eliminate monsters as she expands her territory.

Therefore, this kind of territory is not acceptable; it cannot buy much time for Valensa and Tia to find a way to drive away the wild beasts near the underground ruins.

However, there are not many undeveloped, unclaimed territories that simultaneously meet the criteria of a good natural environment, relatively convenient transportation, and high difficulty in clearing out monsters.

Valensa and Tia lay on the bed for a long time before finally finding a spot that was roughly suitable.

Chapter 128 Troublesome Monsters

"This will do."

Tia's two small, white-stockinged feet tapped together twice, and then, lying on the bed, she drew another circle on the map with her pen, threw the pen away, and looked at Valensa with her hands supporting her chin:

"What do you think of the Maussmora Basin?"

"Mmmmm..."

Valensa's two legs, clad in black stockings, swayed back and forth, quite quickly, like a non-swimmer practicing freestyle in the air while holding a swimming ring.

"The other conditions here are indeed quite good... It's surrounded by mountains on three sides and has a lake. The nearest city is about 110 kilometers away, and the nearest official road is less than 30 kilometers away. Of course, the most important thing is that the nearest city is the territory of your Bretania family."

"Well, given our relationship, if you want to expand your territory, you can't possibly do so without my help. So it's perfectly reasonable to choose a place close to my territory for expansion."

Tia smiled, raised the hand she was using to rest her chin on, and stretched:

"This place not only has a nice environment, but also a great climate. It is located in the northwest of the kingdom, surrounded by mountains on three sides and water, making it much cooler than the capital in summer! With our resources, we can build a small teleportation array there that is directly connected to the capital for the nobles to use, and turn it into a resort!"

This is a perfectly reasonable development plan that will not arouse any suspicion from the royal family, and it will buy us enough time to secretly acquire the land we truly want.

"Yes, it will definitely buy us enough time... because although its conditions are quite good, it also has a difficult problem to solve: it's the territory of the cave monsters."

Valensa sighed, and as if influenced by Tia, she also stretched:

"However, we need some difficulty to buy time... Well, let's do it this way. Tomorrow we can go to the Adventurers' Guild to post a quest and recruit some adventurers to do the preliminary work. At the same time, it can also be seen as sending a signal to let others know that we are indeed going to take action against the Mawsmora Basin."

"can."