It was known that although Baron Harden's title was still relatively low, his strength was very strong. Although he had retired from the position of legion commander, leaving Erwin in charge, he remained a heavyweight officer in the north, responsible for commanding cavalry operations on the front lines.
They had influence in Tur, the city east of AuBerst, and had a wide range of good military resources.
Baron Harden knew that some mages in Tur had been conducting blood experiments on captured orcs.
Especially the Royal Magic Laboratory required an extremely large number of experimental subjects, so living orcs were more valuable than dead ones.
Common orcs could also be used to manufacture experimental supplies and serve as slave labor.
"Let the priests accompanying the army do their best to treat the wounded orcs without fear of consuming mana; as long as they can live, it is more than enough for us."
All the demons in their place were killed; they were not needed alive, so there was no reason to capture them, and they had all been killed on the battlefield. But orcs were different; they had been appearing more and more frequently in the north, so they needed to know what they were before going into battle against them.
Damian discovered that after a large-scale battle like the one he participated in, there was a long time given to report the merits of the battle, reward those who did a good job, and boost morale.
Baron Harden knew that the casualties of the Lactaba Brigade were already considerable, especially the Sixth Squadron, the main force in this battle, which suffered more than half of its casualties and lost its combat effectiveness with no possibility of repair in the next two years.
Now, rewarding meritorious service could stabilize army morale.
The statistics of a legion's military achievements are very complicated. Each squadron has a military judge responsible for recording merits.
Specifically for small squadrons and those who are part of them, each soldier's meritorious service will be recorded and then made public in the squadron's headquarters. The list of meritorious service personnel will also be posted on the wall for everyone to monitor and see if any officer has taken away their battle merit.
And interestingly, the established method for measuring rewards was very curious.
"[… Soldiers' merit is calculated based on the count of enemies eliminated: First-level demons: The reward for eliminating demons of the lowest level is one merit. Second-level demons: The reward for eliminating second-level demons is two merits. Third-level demons: The reward for eliminating third-level demons is three merits. Fourth-level demons: The reward for eliminating a fourth-level demon is an unknown Grimoire. Fifth-level demons: The reward for eliminating a fifth-level demon is a grimoire of a magical spell and gold coins. Sixth-level demons: The reward for eliminating sixth-level demons, who in this case would be direct servants of Fonios, would be three Grimoires and a small fortune in gold. Seventh-level demons: The reward for eliminating seventh-level demons would be high-level merits, an ancient Grimoire, and a fortune in gold. Eighth-level demons: The reward for eliminating eighth-level demons is five great merits, ancient Grimoires, and a great fortune in gold. Ninth-level demons: The reward for eliminating ninth-level demons is the title of Baron, Grimoires, and a great fortune…]"
Killing a ninth-level demon would earn you the worthy title of baron, but eliminating demons more powerful than them might lead to the possibility of obtaining the title of hereditary count.
At the level of hereditary counts, they were already at the top of the pyramid in this northern realm. It was known that in the Northern Kingdom, which had a dominant area of two million square kilometers, there were a total of seven dukes, four marquises, and eight counts.
Including the royal family, there were only twenty hereditary families in the ruling class.
In the last hundred years, no low-ranking noble in the kingdom has been promoted to hereditary count because they have not expanded their territory or achieved any commendable victories.
In the recorded history of the continent, no common soldier has ever killed a Demon King's General and been granted the title of hereditary count.
Soldiers who can kill legends in war are basically extremely powerful first-level mages or warriors who have been trained for dozens of years without displaying their power. And if they are in the army, they should at least be a general.
Demons from the north invade human territories whenever they have the opportunity. In the last hundred years, no mage or warrior has killed a Demon King's general.
It is extremely difficult to kill one of the Demon King's top subordinates in a war with thousands of other demons. Unless you have precise information and prepare an ambush in advance, only then can you dream of success.
In addition to recording merits in the head, when the army wins a battle, superiors will also ask for merits from officers who have made outstanding contributions that are not counted in the established parameters of rewards for elimination.
For example, in this fortress defense operation, Mage Damian, who was in charge of the Seventh Squadron, ordered all his mages to support Fortress Number Three, and just for that, they held out until the end with a larger number of survivors.
Based on the results of this battle, it is not difficult to approve it.
For the military merit gained by cooperating to kill the enemy, the military judge will also count the contribution, divide the proportion, and turn it into a portion of gold coins, rewarding those who contributed less.
Killing a demon with long-range crossbows or bows will give the soldier one-tenth of military merit.
Each squadron's special equipment, such as fire arrows, catapults, and manpower, must also be recommended with military merit.
There are wars in the northern region all year round, where humans and demons compete for the right to survive.
If humans lose the war, their parents, wives, and children will become slaves and even food for the demons.
Many brutal demons have the habit of cannibalism.
In such an environment, it is necessary to have a strong legion stationed in the northern region outside the cities to be aware of the enemy's strength and also to seek its extermination.
Years of war have slowed the decline of armies in the north.
Most hereditary nobles whose fiefs are in the north are strong and brave and have rich experience in large-scale warfare against demons.
If the first generation of heirs is not good enough, it will be difficult for the title to be transmitted correctly.
Hereditary nobles facing demon attacks in frontline areas are almost all first-class military nobles and have quite strong combat effectiveness.
With their military feats, the influence of northern nobles has become very great. Many branches of the northern nobles are also expanding into other regions. Northern nobles have the strongest voice in the nobles' council and almost always answer each other without paying attention to the King.
The most important thing in forming a strong army is fairness in rewards and punishments. The three main legions of the north can maintain overall fairness by rewarding merit.
The Seventh Squadron suffered many casualties in this battle, which can be considered an outstanding achievement. In the battle to defend the city, the Sixth Squadron suffered more than half of its casualties in high-ranking officers but did not collapse. The fortress
held firm and laid the groundwork for victory in the battle.
If the Seventh Squadron collapses, demons will take over the scepter fortress. Baron's Cavalry Regiment would lose its chance to attack, and the first line of defense for the other fortresses would lose its foothold.
In this battle, the Seventh Squadron can be considered the first success.
Additionally, the captain of the Seventh Squadron killed thousands of demons, including fifth-level and higher demons, so the exchange ratio between them and the enemy was also very good. This kind of solid merit will normally be approved by the Legion Headquarters.
And indeed, just a few days after the merit report document was sent, the Legion Headquarters approved it.
Damian has been rewarded with high-level merits and a great fortune in gold coins. The mages under his command, such as Luke, gained many rewards on this occasion. Additionally, as a squadron, they gained collective merit that could be exchanged for weapons or magical materials.
After discussing with the only high-ranking officer in charge of the vanguard, Damian decided to replenish damaged weapons and obtain enchanted fire arrows.
There are only three sharpshooters in the squadron. The basic archery skills of these sharpshooters are first-class, which is enough for them to make great contributions on the battlefield.
Fortunately, these archers were protected by heavy knights and did not die in battle, so it was very beneficial for them to have good bows, as they would form a special archer squadron.
When basic archery skills reach a certain level, they can already be considered unparalleled talents. It is very troublesome to transfer people from any squadron for fear of taking away the best soldiers they have.
Replenishing squadrons' weapons requires little effort. After discussing the remaining seven minor achievements of the squadron, Damian and the officer planned to exchange them for various low-level enchanted armors for valuable sub-officers to wear.
In this battle, team leader casualties were too high. More than half died or were injured, and there was no one available to lead.
Even Brian, whom Damian trusted, had died in battle; only Luther, who was one of the soldiers in the vanguard who had come with him to the battlefield, remained.
In addition to his significant merits, Damian also had merits for killing enemies. During the battle, Damian killed what is estimated to be a sixth-level demon and cooperated with the vanguard to kill another demon of unknown level. Additionally, he also shot powerful thunder arrows that eliminated important targets in the battle.
Many of the true contributions are not counted as meritorious acts, but sometimes these are summarized, so for private merit, he received five great merits, a fortune in gold, and Grimoires of different natures.
In this case, among all mages, Damian took first place in this battle by a wide margin.
Dmitri, the captain of the Second Squadron, made the second-largest contribution, but unfortunately, he had already died on the city wall. The dozen remaining soldiers played an auxiliary role and did not effectively kill high-level demons; they only participated in the battle to support their subordinates.
Finally, Erwin discussed this with the soldiers and decided to let Damian get the battle merit and then give each of the dozen soldiers three gold coins as a reward. Additionally, he also needed to spend thirty gold coins to provide pensions to the families of those who died.
Counting the thirty gold coin pension issued by the legion, sixty gold coins, if not wasted, would have been enough for many families to live on for many years.
After this battle, Damian gained numerous spell books that he was not interested in, but as a mage, he had to have his own collection, so he kept them.
Luke and the other mages did not make significant or notable contributions.
But if they are lucky enough to survive this war, they should be able to obtain a commemorative medal for defending this mountain range. Obtaining medals is accumulating qualifications; when you rise in the future, medals and achievements are the greatest capital in the human kingdom.
Damian hasn't spoken to Luke for a long time; during the past few years, he had been studying magic and training at night, so he missed many public classes at the magic tower.
Additionally, after the first six months, each mage would have to forge their own path as far as they could with their own efforts.