The surviving serfs couldn't understand why their comrades had tried to hide money. Every survivor of a victorious battle received a reward of several dozen Su and even got a meal with meat.
However, a few of the serfs understood the desperation of those who had hidden their money. Even if they survived for now, received a reward, or ate a good meal, it was only temporary.
Once the war was over, they would still be serfs, returning to their miserable lives. So, they tried to hide a coin or two to buy themselves some security—at the very least, they could eat a little more grain each day.
Just then, Philip, who was in charge of the New Recruit Team, ran over covered in blood. "Sir," he reported, "we found some sheepskin scrolls! There's something written on them, but we can't read it."
Glen waved his hand and said, "Pack all those Dinars into a chest and bring it out. Boman, Fass, you two go and supervise."
"Henry, looks like we have an unexpected bonus," Glen said.
Henry had intended to send Bain to supervise, but when he looked around, he saw Bain checking to see if their horses were injured.
Henry shook his head and gestured for a few new recruits to go along instead.
"Hmm. If we take these scrolls back to Count Sebastian, we should be able to get a hefty bounty for them."
Glen smiled. If those scrolls contained intelligence on the Half-Beastmen, they would indeed be valuable—extremely valuable.
The damaged human weapons and armor were already worth a lot of money, to say nothing of the gold and silver they had recovered directly. Even if all the serfs they'd brought with them died, it would still be a massive profit.
How much was a serf worth, anyway? If you bought in bulk and haggled, you could probably buy a serf's life for nine or even six silver pieces. It might even be possible to get them for three silver each.
Of course, that was the price for nobles. For commoner landlords, self-employed farmers, and Workshop owners, the price was naturally much higher.
"Gather these documents, take inventory of the useful loot, and prepare to pull out," Glen commanded.
The soldiers began to take inventory of the loot and tally the casualties.
Glen's force lost over a hundred serfs, one Heavy Cavalryman, and four Light Cavalrymen.
Between them, Glen and Fass were down to only twenty serfs. Boman lost three Crossbowmen, all of whom had their necks bitten through by Kobolds.
Fass also lost an Attendant, who had the misfortune of being taken out by a Gnoll's Javelin.
Henry had the fewest losses: one Heavy Cavalryman who fell from his horse, eleven dead serfs, six men from the New Recruit Team, and over forty wounded.
Glen was full of praise for Henry's New Recruit Team. The main infantry battle line had been held entirely by these new recruits, who stood firm with their shields. If not for them, the serfs would have been routed by the Gnolls and Kobolds long ago.
He lost one Crossbowman, and while none of the Scouts or spearmen died, they were all wounded. One spearman lost an arm; even after he healed, he would have to be discharged. One Heavy Cavalryman was killed, and two were injured.
The weapons and equipment of the dead and wounded soldiers reverted to their respective lords.
The rest of the loot was also tallied: 2,367 Dinars, a veritable fortune.
There was a great deal of armor and iron weapons from the Half-Beastmen, which would need to be taken back to armorers and Weapon Smiths to be melted down and reforged before their value could be calculated.
There were seventy-seven suits of human iron armor that were salvageable with repairs, over three hundred pieces of leather armor and Cotton Armor, and more than a hundred swords and spears.
They also found a large amount of human silverware, women's jewelry, thirteen bags of salt, various animal pelts, and a number of gold and iron ingots.
As for provisions, they found nothing more than some dried meat and a small amount of grain.
All these things were the family treasures of the lesser nobles who had been killed. Hundreds of Barons and Knights had been attacked, and there was no telling just how much the Half-Beastmen had plundered from the Empire.
The fleeing remnants of the Half-Beastmen had probably carried off a great deal more; otherwise, the haul would have been even greater.
But now, all of it belonged to Henry and the other three.
"An excellent haul!" Glen said, looking with satisfaction at the mountain of valuables before them.
"Your New Recruit Team was especially impressive this time. A very pleasant surprise."
Henry nodded. "You brought more serfs, Glen."
Glen continued with the arrangements. "Then let's stick to the original plan. You and I split sixty percent, and Boman and Fass split forty percent. How does that sound?"
"That works."
The soldiers sprang into action, packing the treasures into crates and carefully loading them onto the wagons. On the road back, Glen contemplated their next move.
"What's on your mind, Glen?"
"Henry, I was thinking... never mind. We're short on manpower now that we've lost over two hundred serfs. If we were to push deeper, we would all die here."
Henry stared at Glen in shock. 'This guy is really something else,' he thought. 'Even with my system, I wouldn't think of fighting two battles in a row.'
"Glen, we've already accomplished our goal. This is enough. Don't take unnecessary risks. Remember what the Dean taught us during our investiture."
"Of course. I've always taken his words to heart."
This "small-scale" hunting expedition, which would take about a month and a half round trip, would earn Henry at least six to seven thousand Dinars. It was a very handsome income, enough to breathe some life back into his depleted treasury.
Boman, for his part, was constantly buzzing in Henry's ear, crowing about how he'd struck it rich this time. He said he could buy nearly a thousand serfs, build two more villages, and clear over a thousand acres of new farmland.
Now wouldn't that just be a major upgrade to his quality of life?
Objectively speaking, the wealth of Henry and his three companions was enough to make anyone green with envy. Normally, a Knight with a manor and a village of forty to fifty households would be considered quite prosperous.
But Henry and his companions? Their wealth far surpassed that of even a rich Baron with his own fortress.
It couldn't be helped. Henry was a Vassal to the Dean, while the others were Vassals to the King—a major distinction.
But for Henry, his greatest reward should have been his Overlord Personal Panel and the Total War panel... or rather, the bug affecting them.
Not only did it fail to display any new statistics, but it was also showing garbled text and couldn't be opened.
If he hadn't tested a skill trigger by shoulder-throwing Boman, Henry might have thought his system panel was completely broken.
On the journey back, Glen and Henry noticed a serious problem: the roads were filled with other down-on-their-luck nobles, exiled lords, and bands of Mercenaries.
These people all looked exhausted and bore fresh wounds, as if they had just been through intense combat.
'This isn't right,' he thought. 'Count Sebastian only authorized three joint forces for this hunting and scouting mission. Where did all these other people come from?'
Glen frowned, a sense of unease rising within him.
He turned to Henry and said, "Looks like we're returning at just the right moment. The situation in Autongard may have changed."
Henry nodded in agreement. They had been away from the imperial border for over a month, and during that time, there was no telling what might have happened in Autongrad.
Most importantly, Henry's reckless, death-defying fighting style had earned Glen's respect, making him hesitant to try and force his hand with orders.