401: Chapter 46: The Value of Lord Ha’s Friendship_2 401: Chapter 46: The Value of Lord Ha’s Friendship_2 The lineage of the Koslow family can only be proven by their surname, as the family heritage has been lost many times along the way.
Praising Prim the Holy Mage now is purely due to the current awkward situation of the Leibron family.
Apart from their illustrious ancestors, they simply have nothing to brag about.
Though they could boast about Count Lanton’s heroic sacrifice for the human race, which heavily damaged the Orc army.
But the emotional intelligence of Hudson is not so low.
No matter how they boast, the Bertelli Fortress still fell, and the Moxi Duchy was hence put into a defensive predicament.
In a sense, the awkward situation of the Leibron family is, to a large extent, a consequence of the fall of the Bertelli Fortress and the strategic predicament that followed.
Tragic heroes surely deserve to be praised, but unfortunately, over a hundred noble lords died in battle for the Moxi Duchy in order to fulfil their duties.
When everyone sees sacrifice as a duty, such actions are no longer worth praising, and the pragmatic nobles focus more on efficacy.
No matter what the reason, the Leibron family must take responsibility for the Moxi Duchy’s strategic predicament, or at least share some of the blame.
Count Lanton’s refusal to let them go to the Capital was not only due to his lack of confidence in the Moxi Duchy but also out of fear they would be made scapegoats.
The Bertelli Fortress was manned not only by the private army of the Leibron family but also by the private armies of the neighboring minor nobles, as well as the reinforcement deployed by the Duchy.
Now, with the entire army of defending nobles annihilated, and only a few of them able to escape, the bereaved families of the fallen surely hold a grudge.
Without even having a chance to act, the Leibron family had already accrued a significant amount of hatred.
“His Excellency the Count, there’s no need for such fuss.
It’s all Anthony’s fault.
On that tragic day, under the urgency, he concealed his identity as a last resort.
The purpose of our visit today is mainly to thank you, His Excellency the Count, for saving our lives.
Without your timely intervention, the Leibron family would have ceased to exist.”
Anthony said with a face full of gratitude.
However, in his gratitude, there was also a hint of fear.
He had apparently been overwhelmed by Hudson’s enthusiasm.
Based on prior analysis, he had been prepared for a cold reception.
But Hudson’s enthusiastic attitude made it seem as if the two families had been close for generations.
This genuinely left Anthony perplexed.
After a pause, Anthony took out a sheepskin roll and a Memory Stone and handed them directly to Hudson.
“Your Excellency, this is a recipe for Life Essence, and an introduction to the method of refining it.
The Leibron family has suffered great calamity, and we really have nothing to offer in return for your life-saving grace except this formula as a token of our gratitude.”
He had found out in advance what the Koslow family was lacking, and then he chose his gift accordingly.
This kind of understanding of social etiquette is not something a young man would possess.
It was likely instructed by an elder in the clan.
After glancing at the sheepskin roll and the Memory Stone, Hudson shook his head and pushed them back, saying righteously, “Sir Anthony, you are being too formal.
Mercy and assistance to the needy are the qualities that we knights should have.
Moreover, fighting the Orcs is the common duty of all humans.
We should not seek reward.”
The value of Life Essence is immense.
In times of peace, such a reward would have been enough to repay the act of saving a life.
But now in times of war, the once treasured Life Essence is not so elusive anymore.
Just recently, the Moxi Duchy included the formula of Life Essence in their recruitment terms for Hudson.
As long as Hudson was willing to bring his clan over to settle, he would immediately be given it.
Frankly speaking, the offer from Chris the Ninth was quite generous.
Not only the Life Essence, but he also offered an enormous area of physical fiefdom of the rank of Earl, the area of which could catch up with half of the Southeastern Province.
Even the cost of post-war reconstruction was willing to be shouldered by the Duchy.
The only problem was the location of the territory; it was just a “billion” bit too bad.
It fell just outside the fallen Augustusburg Defense Line, the very front line against the Orc invasion.
Hudson knew his limitations very well.
Even if Chris the Ninth gave him the entire Northern Region, he wouldn’t be able to hold back the tide of the Orcs.
Hudson was still young and not prepared for an early death.
According to past experiences, experiencing a second or a third full-scale Orc invasion in his lifetime was highly probable.
Living next to the Orcs was not only dangerous during the times of full-fledged war but also during peace times when the Orc tribes would occasionally raid.
Peaceful farming was almost impossible.
All the noble territories near the Orcs struggled with productive development.
Even ignoring the threat of the Orcs, the North was desolate after the war, and the restoration of the population was a vexing problem.
Chris the Ninth’s promise of the Duchy providing post-war reconstruction funds was a mere fanciful tale.
After this war, there would be so little left in the treasury of the Moxi Duchy that even rats would cry at the sight of it.
This was something the Alpha Kingdom had ample experience with.
After each expulsion of the Orcs, the entire kingdom was in a state of exhaustion.
The central government would have to beg everywhere to barely keep the kingdom functioning.
Failing to present his gift made Anthony break out in a cold sweat.
Everyone in the circle of nobility knew what this meant.
“Your Excellency, we sincerely wish to express our thanks for your life-saving grace.
Please give us an opportunity to express our gratitude.