"With a carriage, the journey from Joan of Arc Castle to Autumn Dusk Island is much faster," Juer Dan stood at the forefront of the raft, speaking spiritedly.

After this battle, he was fortunate to have only suffered minor injuries. Due to the remarkable achievements his brigade made in the siege of the castle at Joan of Arc, he was successfully promoted to the Legion Commander of the Black Hat Sixth Corps.

Juer Dan hung a large bag of Dinars on his waist: "In the future, I'm planning to build a big house on Autumn Dusk Island, and buy a small building in Joan of Arc Castle, so we can also live like a Master Knight."

For this expedition, these War Monks of the Salvation Army have also gained a lot.

According to the estimates of the finance group, 4,500 members of the Salvation Army obtained nearly fifty thousand pounds of gold in war loot.

Some of them plan to use the money to buy land and houses, while others bought Holy War Bonds to wait and earn money, and still others invested in two Agricultural Monasteries.

Of course, there were also those who took the money to indulge in revelry.

Actually, Horn forcibly disbanded entertainment organizations such as the technical academy and gambling houses, and prohibited them in the city.

All those leading the rogue wandering gangs were captured and sent to the Holy Trinity for labor reform.

But, unfortunately, some of the women engaged in the trade secretly continued their business outdoors, refusing to accept land distribution, insisting on their line of work.

The gambling houses, too, operate in the fields if not permitted to open openly, and even regular raids by the Night Watcher proved futile.

However, Horn didn't enforce strict constraints. First, he's not a nanny; adults are responsible for their own behavior.

Secondly, addressing such phenomena without resolving the fundamental underlying issues won't achieve significant results with mere administrative enforcement.

As long as no crime is committed, Horn could only turn a blind eye to minor infractions.

These War Monks come from modest backgrounds, and for them, having meat and wine daily is living well enough.

Faced with Juer Dan's jubilant remarks, Lauren's face turned pale, yet he still showed an envious expression.

His body swayed with the raft's movements. Having grown up by the canal, Lauren naturally wasn't afraid of water.

Still, he held the raft's grip tightly, fearing falling into the Nanze Lake.

After all, it's the legendary, dreadful Black Bone Swamp!

He was already half-scared to death passing through the Wild Spider Forest—who knows what's beneath those waters?

"Don't be afraid." Juer Dan immediately perceived Lauren's fear and sat cross-legged with a smile, "We've thoroughly inspected — those long-haired zombies near Autumn Dusk Island have all been wiped out."

"What? There were long-haired zombies!"

Juer Dan coughed and quickly shifted the topic to something else: "Look over there, that bridge, the Senate discussed for so long before finally naming it New Life Bridge."

Clinging to the grip, Lauren looked in the direction Juer Dan pointed.

The broken bridge spanned across the lake, the only passage to Autumn Dusk Island.

Due to years of disrepair, the bridge surface was almost entirely collapsed, stones scattered in the water, moss creeping up the lone-standing piers, looking very dilapidated.

But now, thick round logs and ropes covered those piers, and beastmen laborers with flickering grey beast ears waved their hammers.

They wore simple linen garments, sweat glistening under the sunlight, producing clanging sounds with each hammer strike.

"Are those beastmen?" Shading his eyes, Lauren widened them in surprise, "How are they working obediently here? Weren't beastmen supposed to forever resist enslavement?"

"Those in the mountains are rogue beastmen, bad ones; these believe in the Saint's Grandson, so they are good beastmen."

Juer Dan reflected as he looked at the slowly repairing broken bridge: "Next time when we come here, we won't need to take a small boat; we can just walk across."

Gazing bewilderedly at the broken bridge, a slight smile unwittingly appeared on Lauren's usually gloomy face.

"Ah, we're here." Juer Dan stood up, "Arriving at the lowest point of Daze Village, Autumn Dusk Island! It's so beautiful, this is my second home, look at the busy docks in the distance!"

On the disembarkation pier of Autumn Dusk Island, War Monks who had returned home were packed.

As the small rafts or large boats docked, groups of War Monks dressed in black robes disembarked one after another.

Whether alone or in groups, their facial expressions were a mix of emotions — joy, exhaustion, and an indelible sorrow.

An elder stood on a stone pillar at the pier, shouting hoarsely through a tin megaphone: "Move forward, don't crowd the pier, move forward."

Beside him, beastmen laborers unloaded luggage and spoils from the boats.

The War Monks laughed and cried as they embraced their families, or handed over bags containing clothing, death benefits, and award medals to the families of their comrades.

Laughter and tears, joy and pain unfold simultaneously on the small pier.

Since the Salvation Army left the mountain on February 20th, they have been away for more than a month.

But when they truly stepped onto the dock of Autumn Dusk Island, Brune felt like it had been a very long time.

The debris on the docks had been completely cleared, and a few wooden shop huts had sprung up on the ruins.

The weeds between the tiles, the moss on the walls, the rotting animal carcasses, and trees were all gone.

It was as if they hadn't left for a month, but for a year.

"Let's go, I've seen Papa and Amma," Jonar's voice sounded behind Brune.

Brune's legs felt heavy as lead, yet he still carried Jonar on his back, struggling to walk toward Old Jonar, who was still looking around.

When they were about ten steps away, Little Jonar spotted Brune.

He weaved through the moving forest of legs with his wooden sword, running over to Brune's side, "Brother Brune!"

Taking Little Jonar's hand, Brune walked two more steps before seeing Jonar's mother rushing over with her apron in hand.

"Amma!" Jonar greeted with a smile and reached out to pinch Little Jonar's face.

"My son," Jonar's mother intended to rush forward to embrace her own son, but Jonar, who was carried on Brune's back, didn't get down.

It was then that Little Jonar circled behind Brune curiously and asked, "Brother, where are your legs?"

Brune silently turned to the side to let Jonar greet Papa Amma.

Seeing Jonar's empty pants leg fluttering in the wind, his Amma instantly froze.

She stared fixedly at the leg for two seconds, stepped back, and fell straight down.

"Amma!" Jonar was shocked, reaching out to grab, but failing to catch his mother's hand.

Seeing she was about to fall, thankfully, Old Jonar was there to catch her, setting her upright.

He looked up and down at his thin and weathered son, the sight of those pant legs swinging in the breeze causing his eyes to redden slightly.

"Papa, I'm back," Jonar forced out a smile, "Don't cry, if you cry, I'll want to cry too."

Watching Old Jonar approach, Brune woodenly lowered his head, "I'm sorry, I didn't take good care of him."

"Mad, just thinking about it makes me angry that this kid got lucky," Jonar elbowed Brune, as he was carried on the back, this was his only way to fight, "He killed four Extraordinary Knights, even a Knight Leader and an Imperial Knight.

Brune is now a Brigade Commander and Deputy Corps Commander. Soon, he will report to the Holy War Special Zone Military Academy..."

"Jonar, stop..." Brune knew this was Jonar's dream, to become a Corps Commander.

Yet ironically, this dream was realized by Brune, who had no such aspirations, while Jonar was left with crippled legs.

Jonar would never become a Corps Commander again.

Brune couldn't see Jonar's expression, but he could feel Jonar's tremble as he spoke.

He knew that at this moment, Jonar likely covered his eyes with his sleeve.

Then, Jonar's mother, who had just fainted, finally woke up, embracing Jonar from behind, sobbing uncontrollably.

Old Jonar silently joined the embrace, wiping his tears on his shoulder.

Tears flowed and flowed, merging with others on the dock until they nearly formed a river.

The family cried behind him, leaving Brune awkwardly standing there, at a loss whether to stay or leave.

After a few minutes, Old Jonar was the first to recover from the sorrow, "Alright, Jonar is still alive, that's thanks to the Holy Father's protection."

Gently pulling his wife aside, Old Jonar lifted Jonar from Brune's back and carried him himself.

"Uncle Old Jonar, then I'll be off," Brune, having no family to greet him, bowed and prepared to leave.

"Come with us," Old Jonar grabbed Brune's arm, "Come to our home for a few drinks, to celebrate that we defeated the devil and gained victory.

I also want to ask what this battle was about; Jonar will surely boast with a single sentence about himself for eight lines, you tell it closer to the truth."

"How could I boast like that..."

Amidst the lively chatter, Jonar's family and Brune headed towards the town.

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