News of Blood River City's great victory—slaughtering 1.3 million Strongarm Bull Devil warriors and ten Martial Saints—spread rapidly among the Human Race.
Although Ian Song deliberately had Raymond Lei erase his achievements, word still got out that he single-handedly laid the formation and killed over two hundred thousand Strongarm Bull Devils and ten Bull Devil Martial Saints. For a time, Leon Huang's name was praised and celebrated throughout the Human Race.
Sanctum Martial Academy.
The six deans gathered once again, each wearing a look of joy. As Leon Huang's name spread, the reputation of Sanctum Martial Academy rose with it, influence soaring—after all, Leon Huang was their student.
Advanced Student Area.
After reading the intelligence report delivered through secret channels, Lynette Ji's stunning face showed a deeply complex expression.
She already thought very highly of Leon Huang, but even so, she had underestimated him. He actually set up an absolute killing array inside Blood River City, slaughtering ten Strongarm Bull Devil Martial Saints—including the Ninth Prince.
For a moment, regret welled up in her heart—if she had let him have his way that night at the restaurant, with her enchantment techniques, wouldn't he be at her beck and call now?
Unfortunately, she had been too reserved and proud that night, missing the opportunity. Even if she wanted to offer herself to him now, she feared she no longer had the chance.
Aside from these two events, the military's rewards were also distributed to the Blood River Battlefield.
First, regarding official positions.
Although Raymond Lei did not petition for personal merit, as the commander of the Blood River Army who won the battle, there was no way for him to be left out of the rewards. Moreover, this was the greatest Human victory in centuries.
Thus, after discussion among the nine elders of the Military Council, Raymond Lei was promoted to Director of the Overseer Directorate.
The Overseer Directorate is a direct department under the Military Council and is considered highly prestigious. Elder Bu of the nine elders was promoted from this post.
Promoting Raymond Lei to Director of the Overseer Directorate shows that the Military Council intends to groom him as a future elder.
Learning that he was about to be promoted to Director of the Overseer Directorate, Raymond Lei was very happy. Of course, he also knew that he owed it all to Leon Huang.
If not for Leon, he might not have been able to hold Blood River City against the Strongarm Bull Devils this time. Forget promotion—even escaping blame would have been lucky.
In addition, Fiona Li and Marcus Meng were both promoted.
First, Fiona Li was transferred to the Black Crag Battlefield as overall commander. Although the Black Crag Battlefield is less prestigious than Blood River, it still has a garrison of 600,000 troops—a dramatic promotion.
As for Marcus Meng, he was transferred to the Armaments Directorate under the Military Council as First Deputy Director—a real power position.
The Military Council has nine direct departments: the Overseer Directorate, the Armaments Directorate, the Inspectorate Directorate, the Dark Dragon Directorate, and others.
Among them, the previous Director of the Overseer Directorate was Elder Bu, making it the most prestigious.
As for the Armaments Directorate, it oversees the production and management of weapons, including both ordinary and spiritual weapons. It's a department with plenty of perks, and since Marcus Meng was appointed First Deputy Director, he was nearly jumping for joy when he received the news.
Other generals who led troops also received generous rewards and promotions.
Finally, there were Jason Song, Hannah Han, Shawn Tu, and Tyson Xiong.
They had previously followed Ian Song in raiding the royal capitals of the Ninth and Third Princes, killing six Bull Devil Martial Saints. Each of them received a Special-Class Military Merit.
With their accumulated achievements, each now possessed two Special-Class Military Merits.
According to Military Council regulations, even though they were of criminal status, two Special-Class merits could be exchanged for full freedom.
So all four traded in their merits for freedom. Even though the army offered them important posts, they declined.
The generals were promoted and enriched, and the rank-and-file soldiers also benefited greatly. Every surviving soldier was awarded five thousand taels of silver, and the families of the fallen received triple pensions.
Blood River City was filled with celebration from top to bottom.
However, anyone with eyes could see that the reason everyone in the Blood River Army received so many rewards was all thanks to Leon Huang, who had voluntarily erased his own merit. Nearly everyone felt deep gratitude toward him—not only had he saved Blood River City, he also shared the credit. Such selflessness won admiration even from the narrow-minded.
Of course, there were some who claimed he was just currying favor and had ulterior motives.
But whenever someone said that, they were immediately drowned out by scorn and mockery: "If you have the ability to win such great merit and buy hearts, we’d be grateful to you too!"
Faced with this, those ill-intentioned people could only quietly retreat.
That night, the Commander’s Headquarters was ablaze with light. The departing commander, Raymond Lei, hosted a grand banquet for the heroes of Blood River City.
The banquet was divided into inner and outer sections.
Outside, it was bustling—over a hundred tables were set up for officers of all ranks.
Inside, there were only two tables.
At the main table sat Commander Raymond Lei and his wife, along with Ian Song, Snow Yue, William Nangong, Fiona Li, Marcus Meng, Jason Song, Hannah Han, Tyson Xiong, and Shawn Tu.
Thanks to supreme-grade spirit crystals, Hannah Han, Tyson Xiong, and Shawn Tu had all advanced to late-stage Martial Saint, and Jason Song’s cultivation had also improved significantly.
The other table was filled with senior generals of the Blood River Army.
Since he was about to leave his post, Raymond Lei dropped his usual commander’s airs and was very easy-going, personally toasting the guests.
Many officers came specifically to toast Ian Song.
He refused no one, making the toasters very happy. But Snow Yue, who sat beside him, kept frowning—since the start of the banquet, Ian had already drunk at least ten jin of liquor.
"Drinking so much is bad for your health. Eat some food first." Snow Yue gently picked up some food and placed it in Ian's bowl.
Seeing this, William Nangong, who sat one seat away, couldn't help but darken his face, feeling very displeased.
His master, Councilor Newman, had personally arranged his engagement to Snow Yue, and the Heavenly Melody Sect Master had agreed. Snow Yue was supposed to be his fiancée.
Yet at the same table, his fiancée ignored him completely and instead fussed over another man. As a man, how could he not be angry and frustrated?
But he couldn’t vent his anger. Right now, Ian’s prestige in Blood River City was sky-high. If he dared to pick a fight or be rude to Ian in front of everyone, he knew that even if Ian did nothing, others would step in to defend him. He’d already seen how people who merely slandered Ian behind his back were beaten half to death.
So, frustrated, he could only drink alone. The only comfort was that Raymond Lei occasionally came over to drink with him.
Finally, after who knows how many cups, William became drunk. As the saying goes, 'wine makes you bold.' He slammed the table, pointed at Ian Song, and shouted, "You despicable, shameless villain—do you dare duel me?"
The previously lively hall fell instantly silent at his outburst.