This young master truly has the ambition of a hero.

Or to be more precise, it's time to move on to the next stage.

Both sides were severely weakened after this major battle. It is said that the Third Prince's army suffered more than 100,000 casualties, while Prince Heinz's troops fought more cautiously but also suffered considerable losses and had to slow down their offensive to allow their officers and soldiers to catch their breath.

It is worth mentioning that the Third Prince recently sent a personal letter praising Reinhardt highly, commending his genius tactical arrangements.

Reinhardt was genuinely pleased after reading it, but Dick glanced at it and felt it was insincere.

Furthermore, this guy still has the bad habit of wanting to micromanage remotely by airdropping orders, requiring the Imperial army in Firewing Fortress to take the initiative to create trouble in the enemy's heartland, thereby tying down the Kingdom's forces.

That's really easy for someone who's not in the same boat. The 50,000 prisoners of war at Firewing Fortress were all equipped with weapons that were seized from the guards. They couldn't even provide each of them with a knife. Do you expect them to go out and attack empty-handed?

Therefore, both Dick and Reinhardt, who had learned his lesson, wisely chose to ignore the Third Prince's disorderly orders.

Another letter, sent from the capital, surprised them both; it was from Duke Rune.

In his letter, the Duke said that he had arranged for a fleet of ships to sail south and pick up people at any time.

At that very moment, envoys from the Maple Dew royal family arrived at Firewing Fortress, requesting to negotiate with them.

Interestingly, the envoy was a religious figure, a bishop of the Radiant Church within the Maple Dew Kingdom, entrusted by the Maple Dew Queen to be fully responsible for all matters related to the negotiations.

Regarding Dick's earlier request for passage, the bishop stated that the Queen had agreed, but the captured former Firewing Fortress garrison must be released first, and the guerrilla operations must cease. Prince Agassiz, on the other hand, did not mention him at all.

This, to some extent, does indeed demonstrate the Queen's sincerity.

Dick, who negotiated on Reinhard's behalf, agreed to some of the demands: the dispatched commando team could be recalled, and most of the prisoners could be released, but the officers with noble titles could not. In addition, the kingdom had to provide them with a batch of carriages so that they could move the wounded who were unable to move and the remains of the dead.

To bolster morale, Dick shouted the slogan "Never abandon, never give up" inside the fortress, promising to bring every single one of them home, dead or alive.

Reinhardt was also quite surprised by the slogans Dick shouted, but looking at the prisoners of war who were excited and whose eyes had been rekindled with hope, he put himself in their shoes and couldn't help but be moved.

From his own perspective, Reinhardt didn't actually think the war was wrong, but the decisions made by the old men at the top were costing millions of ordinary soldiers their lives. He couldn't help but recall the words his fifth brother had said when he took him to the field hospital.

"The glory of the nobility should not be forged with the blood of commoners."

Therefore, on the matter of bringing the prisoners of war home, Reinhardt completely sided with his fifth brother, as he did not want to betray their trust in him.

After the negotiations were reached, Dick immediately ordered the release of half of the prisoners.

When the bishop returned to the capital to report to the queen, he sincerely praised the imperial people for their chivalry, because he saw many new graves next to the destroyed prisoner-of-war camp. He learned that they were all soldiers of the kingdom's army who had died in the previous riot.

After capturing the fortress, the Imperials did not leave the dead to rot in the wilderness. The Kingdoms buried them on their own land, while the Imperials cremated them and prepared to take their ashes back to their homeland for burial.

“Even their enemies displayed admirable virtues.”

The old bishop's words quickly appeared in the kingdom's newspapers.

The kingdom's propaganda apparatus is indeed staffed with capable individuals. They understand that in the current situation, they cannot focus on humiliation as they did when reporting on the Third Prince. This Reinhardt has genuinely prevented the kingdom's army from gaining any advantage; he even managed to sneak into the heart of the kingdom and capture a fortress.

Calling such an enemy trash is tantamount to calling the Kingdom Army even worse than trash!

And so, a very strange scene unfolded: while the Imperial media was busy portraying Reinhard as a glittering "war hero," the Maple Dew people on the other side were also highly praising his bravery and chivalry. Both sides were praising him in unison.

As for Dick, although he was occasionally mentioned in the newspapers on both sides, he was far less dazzling than his elder brother, the nominal legion commander.

Dick was quite pleased with this, since from the beginning, Dick's goal was to benefit himself and the Northern forces from this war, and he did not want to stand out. Therefore, he deliberately pushed Reinhard to take the lead, while he himself hid in the shadows and made a fortune in silence.

Chapter 286: The Great Victory Retreat

Several days after the negotiations were completed, the Kingdom Army, as agreed, sent some wagons for transporting goods to Firewing Fort. However, the pack animals pulling the wagons were not horses, but old donkeys that were too old to run fast.

Clearly, the kingdom was also wary of the empire's trickery, fearing that if they were given the carriages, the empire would abandon them, mount horses, and form a cavalry force on the spot.

However, when it came to going home, all the prisoners of war were eager to return.

Everyone really didn't want to continue fighting.

Go home! You were tricked by the Empire into fighting in a foreign land, and you didn't see any gold, silver, or fragrant maple-dried women. All you got was whipping and digging for stones!

The several assault teams that had been sent out to fight guerrilla warfare also withdrew, and Black Gun, who had gone the furthest, made some unexpected discoveries.

About seventy kilometers southwest of Firewing Fortress, she discovered a railway under construction, but the project had been halted and only a small number of people were on duty near the site.

Clearly, the Kingdom is also involved in railway construction. While their technological development may be slightly behind the Empire's, their overall planning and ambitions are much greater, and they are truly preparing to build a nationwide railway network.

However, their construction progress has been forced to a halt due to the imperial invasion, and most of the workers have been sent to the front lines to fight.

This reminded Dick of his own territory. The northern railway network centered on Lagug had not been brought to a standstill by the war; on the contrary, it had been greatly accelerated by the wealth brought by the arms trade and the influx of a large number of people from the south.

Originally, Line 1 was expected to be completed by winter, but it was successfully opened to traffic at the end of August. Subsequently, Lines 2, 3, and 4 started construction simultaneously.

Once all four lines are open to traffic, the entire northeastern region will benefit immensely!

"Tsk! I'm tempted to steal the kingdom's railway tracks."

"Master, have some decency!"

Preparations for the evacuation took another two days, during which they contacted their rear and instructed the receiving fleet to proceed to the designated location. Dick dispatched all the ship girls around him to escort the evacuation, fearing any mishaps in the operation.

On the day of the evacuation, the gates of Firewing Fortress were wide open. The cavalry of the assault team led the way, with Reinhardt riding at the very front of the procession. Behind him were a group of Saint-level experts, and Prince Agasso, who was surrounded and "protected" by the many Saint-level experts in the middle.

This old man is now their most important talisman, and everyone cherishes him.

Following closely behind the cavalry were the prisoners of war marching in neat rows, in four columns. The outermost flanks were the former guards, to whom the captured weapons and equipment were distributed as a precaution. In the middle of the column were donkey carts carrying the wounded who were unable to move and the ashes of the dead.

As soon as the group left the city, a small group of people quickly ran up from a short distance away. It was the bishop who had previously represented the Maple Dew royal family in negotiations with Dick, and he also brought an imperial clergyman with him.

The Kingdom's Church of Radiance and the Empire's Church of Sanctuary are essentially of the same origin and worship the same gods. Although they belong to different countries, the priests on both sides have always had exchanges.

Their task was to act as guides, leading the prisoners of war to Bluewater Harbor.

The journey to the port went relatively smoothly. The Kingdom's army had planned the route and cleared the area in advance, so they encountered no obstacles as they passed through several territories.

In fact, the local Maple Dew nobles did not have the ability or the courage to intercept these more than 50,000 people. They were terrified when they saw them crossing the border. Only after they passed through and found that these imperial people had not committed any offenses did they breathe a sigh of relief and their hearts were finally at ease.

Once they realized there was no danger, some of the bolder individuals even came out to watch.

After all, Reinhardt was now famous, and both sides praised him as an unparalleled hero and a model of benevolent and upright knight. In addition, he was indeed tall, handsome and dashing, which made many young masters and ladies of noble families fall in love with him.

As for Dick... he was too short and was blocked.

After three days of travel, 50,000 people finally arrived at Bluewater Harbor, a small port. The fleet that came to meet them had already reached the open sea and had not docked until they received a signal.

The kingdom has temporarily relocated local civilians and arranged for personnel to assist in the relocation.

After the troops arrived, some medium-sized ships docked directly in the port, while the large ships anchored outside the port launched small boats to land on the beach on the north side of the port, in order to get everyone onto the ships as soon as possible.

“All ships with a displacement of over 500 tons in the entire port of Mouth have arrived, and some unpowered sailboats are on their way. There is more than enough capacity to take away these 50,000 people.”

On the pier by the dock, Dick saw the group of ship girls escorting the fleet. Belfast, who had paddled over, leaped aboard with ease, her flowing maid skirt graceful and elegant, showcasing the perfect maid's charm.

"Thank you for your hard work, Belfast."

"It is our honor to be able to share our master's burdens."

For ship girls, praise from their commander is the highest honor, and besides, this escort mission seems very simple to them. The main force of the Maple Dew Navy is at most equivalent to the steam-powered ironclad ships of the mid-to-late 19th century on Earth, with perhaps an extra magical shield. The ship girls are not afraid to engage in a firefight with these slow iron turtles.

The two sides had clashed twice before, with the ship girls defeating the Kingdom's navy so badly that they would simply turn tail and run whenever they saw these beautiful girls who could glide across the sea at high speed like ice skaters.

The only thing that bothered these girls was that they learned from the enemy sailors they had rescued that the Maple Dew Navy, having been terrified, actually called them "sirens."

You're the siren, your whole family are sirens!

Based on the current efficiency of the personnel transfer, Dick estimates that it will take at least two to three days for all 50,000 people to board the ships.

At this moment, the rear guard reported that a royal army had appeared on the hillside west of the port, numbering in the tens of thousands, but had not yet made any attack.

When Dick found out, he said not to worry about it. They were just fellow countrymen from Maple Dew who had come to "see them off" as they left the country.

The Kingdom's army opposite was indeed there to supervise the Imperial army's withdrawal. Their 10,000 men were a hastily assembled mixed force. Before setting off, the commander had been given strict orders: unless absolutely necessary, do not engage in any conflict with the Imperials and let them leave on their own.

This order left the commander of Maple Dew feeling frustrated, but he also knew that the kingdom's current situation was far from optimistic; Maple Dew was truly running out of soldiers. His own fiefdom had suffered from a labor shortage, resulting in the first season's wheat being left unattended and unharvested, with large quantities of millet rotting in the fields. The second season, due to a lack of planting, saw about 40% of the land abandoned.

The kingdom's total annual grain production is likely to plummet to a terrifying level.

War must indeed be stopped at the right time!

Chapter 287: Awake

Over two days, 50,000 people were evacuated from Bluewater Harbor. Reinhardt boarded the ship with the last batch of soldiers. At this time, the only ones left on the shore were Dick, White Gunner, and Belfast, who were standing behind him.

He kept his promise and raised his hand to remove the magical restraints from Prince Agassiz and the captured Maple Dew officers.

"The transaction is complete. You are now free, Your Highness."

Upon hearing Dick's words, Prince Agassiz's expression became somewhat complicated.

These past few days, they had been held hostage by these imperial people. Although they hadn't been mistreated, they were constantly filled with anxiety. This wasn't just because of the humiliation of being defeated and captured, but also because they feared that these imperial people would break their promise and take them to the empire as well.

As it turned out, the facts proved that they had worried too much. Although these imperialists used very despicable tactics in battle, they were quite upright gentlemen in other aspects.

After a moment of contemplation, Prince Agassiz solemnly addressed Dick.

"It's a pleasure to see that the Empire also has a worthy adversary. Until we meet again, Master Dick Best."

"Until we meet again, I hope there will be no more war when we meet next time."

Dick smiled and gave a mage's salute to the group of Maple Dew people, then took off with his two sisters and flew towards the fleet that was about to set sail north.

On the way back, the Maple Dew Navy only followed and "escorted" them for a short distance before turning back. The Imperial fleet stopped briefly when passing the outer sea of ​​the Linzao Basin, because Reinhard did not intend to return home so soon, and the main force of the Second Eastern Army Corps was still at the Nameless Horn Fortress.

Most of the commando members and some of the prisoners of war brought from the Maple Dew Kingdom were also willing to return to the battlefield with Reinhardt.

Dick, however, didn't come along. He said he had some business to attend to back up north. If things went well back home and this damned war wasn't over yet, he would come back.

Dick reassured Reinhardt that he was only going back for a short time, and that the Union Army's observation group and field hospital would continue to stay and help. He also said that the third batch of medical volunteers was on its way and was expected to arrive in three days.

Dick certainly didn't want the Second Eastern Army Corps to collapse immediately after he left. He was using this place to give his men experience. Especially for medical personnel, there was never a shortage of "material" to practice on here, making it perfect for quickly training military doctors.

Reinhardt was quite reluctant to see his fifth brother leave for a while.

Reinhardt knew very well that he and the Second Eastern Army Corps had survived to this day largely thanks to Dick's help.

After all, Dick was just using Reinhardt and didn't really intend to harm him.

Having witnessed firsthand Dick's true abilities without holding back, Reinhardt now admires him immensely and has even developed a degree of dependence on him.

Many times, when Reinhard encountered problems he couldn't solve, as long as he was willing to humbly ask for advice and cried out "Fifth brother, save me!" his invincible fifth brother could always quickly come up with a solution for him.

Without lingering at Nameless Cape, Dick didn't even take a boat, instead using flight magic to travel directly, leaving the other Saint-level main combatants behind at Nameless Cape to oversee the situation.

His hasty return to the north was purely due to some unexpected reasons.

Ajax, the winter god who sleeps deep beneath Ragug, seems to be awakening suddenly.

Dick received this bombshell news just a day earlier on his way home. He learned that the Winter God was showing signs of waking up, which kept him awake all night.

Although the Winter God is not an evil god, and he is actually quite easy to talk to after regaining his sanity, his sudden awakening means that something must have happened, and it is definitely not a small matter!

That's why Dick was in such a hurry to get back; he met up with Lucoa after arriving at Mousse Harbor.

Lucoa is a god-level being in other worlds. Although her main body is rejected by this world and she can only send a clone with compressed strength to the Saint level here, her knowledge is not diminished. When dealing with issues related to gods, she is the only expert Dick can rely on.

Lucoa knew the situation was urgent, so she transformed into her feathered serpent form and carried Dick on his way.

Thanks to Lucoa's amazing flying speed, Dick arrived in Lagug in less than half a day and went straight to the pine forest where the Winter God was sleeping. As soon as he arrived, he saw his master Behemoth there as well.

Ever since Dick told him the truth about the world—that the demigods were actually set up by the gods and had changed from their original power levels to a system with a quota limit, requiring other demigods to give up their positions before new ones could fill them—Behemoth suddenly felt relieved.

Because this means that Behemoth has reached his limit, and whether he can break through to the next level has nothing to do with his personal efforts. So why is he still squatting there and practicing so hard?

So he left a letter for Dick, saying that the world was big and he wanted to go out and see it.

Dick assumed he just wanted to go out for a walk to clear his head and calm his disappointment, so he didn't ask any further questions.

So Dick was quite surprised to see the other person so suddenly.

"Uncle-Master, you're back from your trip?"

"Yes, I left something here, and just then I sensed some movement from downstairs, so I ran back to check. I had the little girl from the castle send you the message, and she came back quite quickly."

Although Dick was Grandor's personal disciple, Behemoth also admired his talent and treated him as a half-disciple. So when he realized there was a situation in Lagug, he immediately rushed over from elsewhere.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two immediately focused their attention on the white tree in the center of the woods.

This white tree is a manifestation of the Winter God's power leaking out. It had disappeared after he was perfecting his seal and fell into a deep slumber, but now it has reappeared.

It's unclear whether the Winter God is waking up or if he's having another nightmare.

After discussing it, Behemoth decided that they should follow the old practice and use the old method to have Dick, who was blessed by the god of winter, communicate with the other party.

However, Lucoa pointed out that such a simplistic and crude approach was risky. Although Dick had the blessing of the Winter God as a link, and Ajax was not an evil god, there was a difference between humans and gods. If a soul rashly entered the consciousness of a true god with a divine position, it could easily be corrupted by the powerful divinity.