He announced loudly, his voice clear to all: "Karl El, your achievements today will go down in history."
"Ordinary gold, silver, and land are no longer enough to repay your merits and loyalty."
"Perhaps only the honor and status commensurate with it are worthy of your performance today!"
He paused and, under everyone's astonished gaze, spoke word by word: "I, Foltest, declare... in the name of the King of Temeria!"
"From this moment forward, your fiefdom of 'Terra' is hereby elevated to a duchy!"
"You, Karl El, are the first Grand Duke of the Duchy of Terra, enjoying the same status and autonomy as Ellander!"
"What? A duchy?!"
"Directly elevated to Grand Duke?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like throwing a boulder into a calm lake.
Everyone around—whether nobles, knights, or ordinary soldiers—widened their eyes in shock.
The crowd looked at Foltest in disbelief, then at Karl with his calm expression.
Directly from a barony to a duchy?! This was almost unheard of in Temerian history.
It meant that the other party had instantly leaped from a minor noble to a high noble on par with Seward, second only to the king.
Seward's face instantly became extremely grim. He stepped forward, frowned, and his voice was clearly dissatisfied and unhappy.
"Your Majesty! The establishment of a duchy is related to the kingdom's system and its laws; it is not trivial!"
"How can... how can such a decision be made so lightly? This... this is too hasty!"
Foltest looked intently at Seward, his eyes sharp.
This duke seemed to respect him less and less as king.
Before the war, the White Rose knights under his command had repeatedly clashed with the royal knights.
After the battle began, he had repeatedly ignored his orders, leading to coordination errors during the initial cavalry charge, causing significant losses.
He could turn a blind eye to minor matters.
But at this moment, on this battlefield that had just ended and decided the fate of the kingdom,
in front of all the heroes and soldiers, how dare he openly question his decision?
In contrast, although Karl was extremely strong, he always maintained a respectful and humble posture before him.
It seemed that it didn't matter whether he was rewarded or even not rewarded at all, and the relationship between them was assessed accordingly.
Seward noticed the meaningful, silent but hinting anger in Foltest's gaze.
He immediately realized that he had spoken out of turn in his haste, due to his concern about another powerful rival.
In the face of royal authority, especially before a king who had just won a great victory and was in full swing, his behavior was tantamount to provocation.
He hastily lowered his head, suppressing all the displeasure on his face, bowed and saluted, his tone becoming submissive: "Your Majesty, I was wrong."
"I was just momentarily... I was too surprised and never doubted your decision. Please forgive my offense."
Foltest looked at him expressionlessly and was silent for a few seconds.
This brief silence made Seward feel intense pressure, and a thin cold sweat broke out from the corner of his forehead.
Finally, Foltest spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but with a clear warning: "Seward, pay attention to your status and your words. I will not take this as an example."
Foltest ignored him, and Seward's extremely ugly face was unbearable.
He turned his head again with a determined smile and said to Karl: "So be it."
"After the battlefield is cleared and the main finishing work is completed, Karl, you will come back to Vizima with me."
"At that time, an official awards ceremony will be held in the public square to announce to the entire kingdom the birth of you, the Grand Duke of Terra!"
Karl understood that there was no need to be modest at this moment; excessive refusal would seem hypocritical.
He bowed slightly at the right moment, with the right amount of excitement and glory on his face, and answered clearly and decisively: "Yes! Thank you for Your Majesty's grace!"
"Karl El will live up to Your Majesty's high expectations and swear to defend the glory and territory of Temeria to the death!"
Duke Seward, on the side, had a face so dark it could drip water.
At this moment, he clearly understood that he was powerless to change the king's decision.
He looked at Karl with a complex gaze, then glanced at the silent Holy Blood Angel knights behind him, his heart full of shock and fear.
"This tournament champion... he's so deceptive!" Seward cursed inwardly.
"These Holy Blood Angel knights are more numerous than the knights I brought this time."
"If you add the inevitable troops left behind on his territory..."
"I'm afraid that in terms of military strength, his duchy is almost equal to my Ellander."
And what made him feel powerless and even more frightened was Karl's inhuman personal strength.
He had no doubt that if Karl wanted to, he could crush him like an ant and sweep through the entire Duchy of Ellander alone.
The most... does he really think he can control such a dragon, which could devour its lord at any moment, and allow it to serve him forever? Seward was deeply skeptical.
Foltest naturally noticed that Seward's expression was unreadable, full of reluctance and anxiety.
The corners of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, but soon disappeared, returning to his majestic posture.
The reason for his determination to elevate Karl's territory to a duchy,
besides rewarding his outstanding merits, was the idea of using it to contain and balance Seward.
The power of the Duke of Ellander had expanded in recent years, showing a weak tendency to disobey orders, and he simply needed a new force to counterbalance it.
And as for whether Karl was absolutely loyal? He didn't dwell on it too much.
Today, whether it was Karl's personal strength or the knights under his command, they had become a huge force that even he, the king, could not ignore.
He needed to protect the vast territories of Temeria and fight against threats from the Northern kingdoms and even the Southern Nilfgaard.
As long as Karl did not clearly show intentions and actions of rebellion,
he could not and would not want to ignore or suppress such a powerful force with such great military achievements.
And, at least on the surface, Karl seemed to be a loyalist who didn't seek to interfere in the kingdom's central power.
The subsequent cleanup work on the battlefield was carried out in an orderly manner.
All captured ordinary Kaedweni soldiers, after being disarmed, were directly deported back to Kaedwen.
This was the practice of warfare in this era; massacring surrendered soldiers was not only cruel but also easily incurred mortal enmity. It was better to send them back to consume the enemy's food and resources.
The captured Kaedweni nobles, including the fat King Henselt, numbered dozens.
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