The battle that erupted in the new district ended within half a day, and under Malin’s leadership, the southern assault team suffered two hundred and seventeen fatalities of factory guards, with injuries four times that number; thirty-seven dwarves were killed and one hundred and twenty-nine wounded, eleven elves were killed and twenty-two wounded; and seventeen half-humans died with two hundred and thirteen injured. The rat-man’s assault on the two northern exits caused even greater damage, Malin had various persons in charge tally the numbers, and in the end, the total fatalities added up to nine hundred and nineteen, with over a thousand injured. But they had annihilated tens of thousands of rat-men—just at the two northern exits, the rat-men left behind nearly four thousand corpses, and in the south, so many rat-men were reduced to ashes that it was impossible to count them as part of the victory. Malin felt the loss was still too great, especially at the two northern exits. Lacking sufficient firepower, humans ultimately used bayonettes to repel the rat-men. But for the Great Craftsman and the ambassador, the human troops at the two northern exits could be described as fighting to the death without retreat—nearly fourteen hundred in those two places, with almost six hundred dead, nearly every person was wounded. They had never seen a human legion maintain its combat effectiveness under such a high casualty rate, especially during the last brutal close-quarters battle, where human soldiers killed at least four elite units—those unusually large and powerful ones. The dwarf Great Craftsman looked at those enormous rat-men and was dumbfounded to the point of speechlessness. The ambassador whispered to Malin, "Sir, are all the soldiers in your factory guards like these?" There was trepidation in his eyes. "Yes, all of them are like these soldiers, they have been in training for less than a year, and a year ago these young people were workers, farmers, or loggers," Malin proudly responded—these were his soldiers, soldiers he took pride in. Malin gave orders to have the workshop produce a batch of medals, named Guardian, to honor their will and courage in protecting their homes. The soldiers who died in battle would receive an additional Oath Keeper medal, to honor their determination to die fighting in order to fulfill the oath they made with Malin. They would receive all the consolations Malin had offered: their children would go to school for education, those with talent would be recommended by Malin to various Churches, and their families would be eligible to live in the dormitories provided by Malin until these children turned eighteen and could fend for themselves. If they found employment in Malin’s conglomerate, they wouldn’t need to move out. If they found a more respectable job elsewhere, Malin would reclaim the dormitory but provide them with a monetary bonus. Of course, there would also be awards for Outstanding Service and Ally medals for the elves, dwarves, and half-humans—with the living receiving the former and the fallen the latter, along with a certain amount of Mowish currency in paper money as a reward. Malin would not disappoint the soldiers who fought for him. In fact, Malin’s consolation far surpassed anything the nobles of that era could offer their soldiers. The City Guard members were green with envy when they heard of such rewards. Their compensation was only one hundred and fifty Mowish gold pieces. Furthermore, one hundred of that was negotiated by Malin with the mayor from the city hall budget. Malin specifically asked Faye to confirm that the Mowish Union had City Guards, the National Defense Army, and the Guards Army as its three tiers. The City Guards were simply soldiers levied by individual cities, and their salary and rewards, as well as the form of their consolation, were at the discretion of the city hall officials. The National Defense Army was formed from the private militias of various nobles, with the Mowish royal family providing a certain portion of the funds and all the standard equipment. The noble lords, as commanders, had to provide the remainder of the soldiers’ salaries. Wealthy nobles would dip into their own pockets to equip their armies with new weaponry, while poorer nobles couldn’t even pay their share of the soldiers’ salaries. If such a situation occurred, the royal family would strip the nobles of their military titles and take command of the National Defense Army themselves. Currently, the royal family held half of the National Defense Army’s structure—the National Defense Army that followed Malin to fight the Black Orcs belonged to the royal family. The Guards Army, on the other hand, had been with the Mowish family since they were still an earldom. It was steadily built up over time and had the best treatment. Faye wasn’t surprised that Malin had a hand in the City Guard’s consolation, considering Malin had always shown a fervor for public welfare. Malin chuckled—I’m not Rainmaker; this money doesn’t just fall from the sky. Malin’s conglomerate, whether it’s in business or military, required astronomical investments. If Malin didn’t feel it would be beneath his dignity, he would’ve long since led his men to dine as refugees at the various nobles’ buffets. Really, whether it’s with cosmetics, medicinal cuisines that enhance physical fitness, all sorts of exquisite crafts, or the lucrative arms trade, none seems as straightforward and robust as simply storming through. Before coming to this world, Malin’s favorite L4D-type game was precisely like that—mask up, let’s revel in joy. Ha-ha, now I can only think about finding joy amidst hardship, Malin mused, as he tried to distance himself a bit more from the scene of the burning rat-mother—originally planned to be burnt on-site, but due to all the legendary figures and various Churches coming to witness the exotic and exciting creature from another plane, it ended up taking two days before they started the fire.