Swordmasters : +1

Emille was confused, he didn't know why the Rougenfortians spared him but fortunately, it seemed that he would get the answer to his question very soon as King Rougenfort and the young female grand marshal visited his infirmary room.

"Grand Marshal Emille Ironbrand, correct?" Blanc asked 

"Your Majesty, I am indeed Emille Ironbrand, the Grand Marshal of Samara Kingdom. May I know why the Rougenfortians have spared me?"

Emille introduced himself and then followed up with the question that had been bugging him the past few days.

Of course, as the one who decided to spare him, Helena stepped forward and explained her plans.

"Grand Marshal Emille, Allow me to introduce myself. I am Helena Laurelei, the Grand Marshal of Rougenfort Kingdom."

"I am the one who decided to spare your life after seeing your excellence in battle and your courage to fulfill your duty to the end."

After hearing Helena's words, Emille was moved, however, due to his recent experience with King Samara, he couldn't help but raise his guard after hearing Helena's familiar sweet words of "recognition".

Still, it felt good to be recognized so Emille decided to give the Rougenfort Kingdom, who had a good reputation, a chance.

"I am flattered by your praise, Grand Marshal Helena. However, that doesn't answer my question so I would like to ask again, why did you spare my life?"

Emille said with a serious expression on his face.

Of course, Helena wasn't someone to dilly-dally anyway so she bluntly told him the reason why.

"It's because we want to recruit you as a General of the Rougenfort Kingdom. I saw your potential as a military leader and I do believe that you are a man of good character."

"It was unfortunate that you had to serve such a greedy and self-centered king like Samara in search of a safe home for your family but I guarantee that Rougenfort Kingdom will give you the safe home you've always wanted"

"How about it? Would you like to serve King Rougenfort?"

Emille already had an idea that Helena was trying to recruit him but after actually hearing it from her mouth, he fell into a dilemma.

He indeed wanted to find a safe home for his family but what if King Rougenfort was the same as King Samara?

He didn't want his family to go through the same trauma so he was having difficulties deciding if this King Rougenfort was a worthy king to serve.

Seeing that Emille was in a dilemma, Helena spoke again.

"I understand that it would be hard for you to serve under another king again but if you're having difficulties deciding, why don't we walk around Samara City?"

"See for yourself if King Rougenfort is an evil king or not."

After hearing Helena's suggestion, Emille's eyes lit up. Indeed, the faces of the citizens would reflect the King's attitude.

A few days of governing Samara City should give him some hints about King Rougenfort's true personality.

Helena removed the chains and cuffs that bound Emille to the infirmary bed before giving him a few minutes to prepare.

After giving a few instructions to his wife and children, Emille changed into appropriate clothes and exited the infirmary room. He was moved by Helena's words and he was hoping that King Rougenfort was indeed as kind and compassionate as everyone said.

The three of them left the infirmary and walked around the city for around an hour before Emille told Helena and Blanc that he had seen enough.

"Well, what do you think after seeing the citizens?" Helena asked with a smile on her face.

As for Emille, he couldn't believe that the citizens would have smiles on their faces as they worked hard to restore the city to its former glory after a devastating war.

He would have deemed King Rougenfort to be worthy as long as the citizens didn't show hatred and fear towards King Rougenfort but who would've thought that they would be smiling?

Due to this, Emille had decided to give the Rougenfort Kingdom a try, hopefully, King Rougenfort would be able to provide him the permanent home he always wanted.

"Your Majesty, King Rougenfort, Grand Marshal Helena, I accept your offer. I, Emille Ironbrand, shall serve my king and the Rougenfort Kingdom wholeheartedly!"

…

One day passed after Emille swore fealty to Blanc and since every military leader was here, Blanc decided to temporarily ignore King Samara and go through the rewards ceremony first.

King Samara would be tortured for a long time anyway so Blanc can just supervise the torture session every time he's free.

For now, rewarding the battalion commanders and introducing Emille to them was more important.

After half a day of preparation, everything was finally ready.

Blanc summoned all the military leaders including a few rising stars among the elite soldiers. Of course, Helena and Emille were also there.

Finally, after an hour, everyone relevant to the rewards ceremony arrived.

Those who were summoned felt giddy about the possible rewards and promotions they would get because as a soldier, having your military achievement recognized by the kingdom was a dream come true.

Everyone gave a mandatory bow to Blanc as the rewards ceremony finally started.

"Everyone, let's start the rewards ceremony. Once I call your name, step forward and receive your squad captain badge."

One of Blanc's aides, John Ziin'ah spoke loudly and announced the start of the rewards ceremony. He then looked towards the soldiers and called the first name.

"Jeffrey Wright! As a rookie soldier, you performed exceptionally well and slew three veteran squad captains from the Samara Army. "

"In addition to this, you stepped up and took over command of your squad once your squad captain fell in battle. The Rougenfort Kingdom acknowledges your valiance and excellence in combat and you are hereby promoted to the rank of squad captain! Please come forward and receive your rewards!"

The man named Jeffrey Wright felt proud as John mentioned his military achievements one by one, then, once John was done, Jeffrey walked forward, bowed towards Blanc, and proceeded to receive his rewards with a smile on his face.

From this day forth, he would be an honorable squad captain of the Rougenfort Army.