Winterseed -XV-

After about two hours, the battle between Winterseed and the goblins finally ended with Winterseed miraculously emerging victorious.

It was past midnight. The moon still hung in the sky, casting its dim crescent glow over the village.

The soldiers of Winterseed could be seen leaping across the battlefield, laughing and celebrating the war they had just won. They lifted their weapons high in the air and danced around the corpses of the goblins, their shoulders linked together in shared triumph.

Some soldiers circled around Rowan, who stood in the middle of the battlefield with a calm, triumphant smile on his face, praising and thanking him for rescuing them from the tight clutches of death.

Though exhausted from the long fight, it didn't stop them from celebrating. It was a joyous moment.

Rowan stood in their midst with a triumphant smile, but that smile wasn't from the war he had just won but from the windows popping in front of him, carrying messages of his rewards.

[ Your territory has successfully eradicated SMALL GROUP OF GOBLINS! Your rewards have arrived... ]

[ You have unlocked a new reward: MYSTERY CARDS ]

[ MYSTERY CARD: Special Reward granted at the end of important achievements.. each card contains random rewards ranging from evolution points to special ability. ]

[ You have received x1 Basic-grade Mystery card ]

[ 100x Reward activated! 100 Basic-grade Mystery Cards ]

DING! [ Mystery cards have been stored in INVENTORY ]

Seeing the rewards, the smile on Rowan's face broadened. In his previous life, he had only been able to obtain less than ten mystery cards throughout his gaming journey, and most of them were basic-grade ones, which are the lowest grade of mystery cards. Nevertheless, the rewards in those mystery cards, despite its low grade, became an important asset in his kingdom-building journey in Emperors Domain.

Aside from the lowest basic-grade, there are common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary, and the highest grade—Divine! A single Legendary-grade mystery card could boost an FF-rank lord into a C-rank lord in less than a week with the reward stored in it, and the same applies to territory. As for Divine-grade mystery cards, they would boost the same Lord into S-rank in the same amount of time, maybe even shorter.

Just thinking about what he might obtain from the basic ones he got was already filling him with a lot of thrills that he couldn't help but reveal a crazed grin. Sadly, he could not take them out now. He needed to be alone before he could check them out.

[ One of your followers wishes you death ]

[ One of your followers feels disgusted at your grin ]

'This should be the same person who wished me death earlier during the heat of the battle. This person is nearby, judging that he can see me grin right now, but who the heck is this person?'

Rowan looked around him, observing the faces of the soldiers, but he could not find anyone who stood out among the other soldiers. All of them looked equally happy and danced around, jubilating.

He even went as far as using his [Eyes of Revelation] to check the status of all the soldiers on sight, but they all had the 'Happy' status.

'Could this person be a mole sent by another village, or someone who simply loathes my existence?' Rowan wondered.

At that moment, Brandon and a worried Riela approached Rowan.

"Rowan!" Riela's voice trembled as she called out to him.

She rushed to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "Do you have any idea how terrified I was? You shouldn't have left the house, not with those goblins swarming the village! What if something had happened to you?" Her voice wavered, betraying the fear and worries she had held back during the battle.

Rowan smiled and accepted her hug with gratitude. He was very happy that someone cared for him this much, especially someone from the opposite gender.

In his previous life, Rowan had a lot of intimate activities with beautiful ladies, even famous celebrities, but never built a relationship with any of them. Thus, he was pretty new to having someone care this much about him, and he couldn't deny that he cherished it so much.

Some of the soldiers stopped and watched the interaction between Rowan and Riela with smiles on their faces. Most of them already knew about the close relationship between the two of them when they were young. They already expected both of them to marry when they were old enough, and now seemed to be the perfect time. They whispered among themselves, wishing their young lord a merry relationship.

[ Your soldiers wish that you have a good time tonight ]

[ Your soldiers pray for unlimited stamina while doing it ]

[ Your soldiers agree in their minds that she is a worthy candidate ]

Rowan raised an eyebrow, 'These fuckers! How dare they doubt my stamina!!'

He separated from Riela and gazed upon the faces of the soldiers, each of them having a proud smile on their faces, gazing at him. Even Brandon nodded at him, approving his relationship soundlessly.

Rowan sighed; they weren't wrong. A good Lord deserves a good wife... good wives!

He took an extra gaze around and finally announced.

"You were all incredible today," Rowan said, his voice strong yet warm. "We fought as one, and because of that, we sent those goblins back to the hell they crawled out of. You've saved our village. I couldn't be prouder of each and every one of you."

"Thank you, Lord Rowan! May your reign be long and fruitful!" Everyone responded in a loud voice.

"Amen to that! We should get back to our homes and have a good night's rest. For those of you whose homes were destroyed by those vile creatures, do not worry; I will build you a better and stronger house soon! One where you will be able to sleep without any fear of someone breaking in!"

"You are the best, Lord Rowan!" Those whose homes were destroyed became really excited and looked forward to their new homes.

The soldiers were dismissed after a brief discussion. Everyone returned to their various homes. Rowan, Brandon, and Riela were escorted to the north side to meet the other villages to inform them of the victory.

After a few hours, Winterseed village finally returned to its peaceful self. Since all the soldiers were beyond exhausted, no one guarded the borders. No one was afraid, though; they had already faced a bigger danger, and the odds of something else happening were very low.