Chapter 72: Martyr Cemetery

In the afternoon, the warm sun had not yet set behind the Misty Mountains; the gentle sunlight shone on one's face, giving a very comfortable feeling.

On the hillside to the east of Wilderness Town, there were nearly two hundred tombstones standing amidst a patch of grass.

Around the tombstones, quite a few people were busy, repairing a wooden fence.

After Alayen brought the fallen soldiers home, Wilderness Town, under Yamila's arrangements, began preparing various supplies and organizing the burial affairs for these fallen soldiers.

On the third day after Alayen returned, Yamila organized a large number of residents, and accompanied by the families, they buried these soldiers one by one in the locations designated by Allen.

A very small number of residents preferred to have their family members enter their own family graveyards, and Yamila did not force them; such matters were better left to personal choice.

For the soldiers buried in the Martyr Cemetery, their families used wooden boards to build tombstones for these soldiers lying in the graves.

On them were simply carved their names, identities, ages, and the deeds of their lives.

Allen wandered back and forth among these nearly two hundred tombstones, his heart heavy; he knew that when Yamila received the notice, she had already issued compensation and pension notifications to the families of these soldiers.

It was just that Allen felt it was not quite enough; he prepared to issue a batch of Medals symbolizing Honor to all the soldiers who had participated in this battle, and they were limited-edition Medals representing the Battle of the Lonely Mountain.

After all, this was an extremely tragic battle, and it laid the foundation for the development of Wilderness Town for the next ten years.

Allen intended to use gold to cast this batch of Medals, creating three styles according to the different branches of service: infantry, archer, and cavalry, plus auxiliary troops.

For those who died on the battlefield, an extra ruby would be inlaid on the Medal, representing their blood spilled on the battlefield.

For those who performed well, a yellow gemstone would be inlaid on the Medal, representing their higher courage and loyalty compared to others.

For those who performed exceptionally well, yellow, green, and transparent gemstones would be inlaid on the Medal to indicate their outstanding performance on the battlefield.

On the back of the Medal, Allen prepared to engrave the Crown Three-Star Flag that represented him, and below the flag, engrave the name and unit of the Medal holder.

Even if these Medals were made of pure gold, this bit of money was nothing to Allen now; it was about as much as a single hair from nine oxen, no need to be stingy.

Allen also had plenty of gemstones; the biggest problem was that such exquisite things would ultimately still need the help of the Dwarf brothers to produce, and he just didn't know how long the construction period would take.

Allen had previously thought about issuing certificates, but in this day and age, writing was done on parchment with ink and quill pens; thinking about it, he decided to forget it and just issue more gold—it was practical and could better boost morale.

Allen had already begun conceiving these matters while at the Lonely Mountain, but to complete them, he still needed to obtain the specific personnel list and a summary of merits.

Fatis had the specific list, and Allen prepared to talk about this matter properly with Fatis and Alayen during the banquet in the evening, and incidentally have the two legion commanders fill the unit establishments.

The dozens of people building the fence here saw Allen lingering among the tombstones.

While working, they whispered about their kind and merciful lord, who, at the very first moment of his return, had come to visit these soldiers who had sacrificed themselves on the battlefield.

However, this situation stopped immediately as Allen walked toward them; their sweat-covered faces showed a trace of panic, and they hurriedly shut their mouths and quickened the movements of their hands.

Allen had not come over because he heard their discussion; he was just preparing to find their person in charge.

Soon, a weathered middle-aged man ran over quickly; his name was Kent.

"My Lord, what are your orders for me?"

Kent nodded and bowed while looking at his high-and-mighty lord, while inwardly speculating: what exactly did this young, noble lord want with him?

Allen wanted to ask the Dwarf Tier to craft a statue, mainly to commemorate these warriors who sacrificed themselves in the Battle of the Lonely Mountain.

Allen did not have too many requirements, only hoping that the background of this statue could show the Lonely Mountain, Dale, and Ravenhill.

And the main subject would be the slaughter between the alliance of Humans, Dwarves, and Elves against the Orcish.

As for the words to be carved on the statue, Allen had also thought them out.

"Here lie one hundred and eighty-five heroic soldiers; they faithfully carried out the lord's orders and fought to the death in front of enemies several times their number. Their courage inspired their companions, their sacrifice brought the dawn of victory, and their great deeds will also be recorded here forever, to be revered by future generations.

Ruler of the Rhovanion City-State, Allen.

Inscribed on the 3rd of December, Third Age 2941."

Allen knew his literary talent was not good, so he could only write some simple words to cherish their memory.

Now, the Dwarf Tier beside Allen quickly described the pattern he designed according to Allen's requirements, and strings of technical terms came out of the Dwarf's mouth.

Allen, standing to the side, heard but did not understand, but he still trusted the Dwarf's sculpting level; it probably wouldn't go wrong.

And finding Kent was to have him assist Tier in finding suitable stone, transporting it to the location Allen designated, and finally cooperating with Tier to complete the carving work.

Allen told Tier and Kent that as long as the statue was completed, there would be a generous reward.

The two, having received the task, soon huddled together, whispering about how to do it.

As for Allen, after staying in the cemetery for a while longer, he called the others and returned to Wilderness Village.

By the time Allen walked into the banquet hall, Bilbo Baggins, with Alice's help, had already prepared a large amount of Hobbit delicacies.

And Yamila led several men to fetch several large barrels of Wine from Allen's storeroom.

Everyone was ready for the banquet, just waiting for Allen to announce the start.

After all, this was just a small banquet hosting a dozen people, and an afternoon was enough to prepare it.

Bilbo Baggins, dressed as a chef, quietly told Allen that he had taught some cooking techniques to Alice, and Alice learned very quickly; from now on, Allen could enjoy Hobbit delicacies every day.

Hearing such news, Allen felt even more grateful to his Hobbit friend.

Bilbo Baggins had seen that Allen was in a bad mood when they were in Dale, and it was only after Bilbo had a detailed talk with Gandalf that he understood some of Allen's thoughts.

Gandalf was extremely unskilled at how to comfort others; this white-bearded old man was better at how to encourage others to break through themselves and accomplish some great feats.

Furthermore, Gandalf didn't think Allen needed comfort at all; this excellent young man would recover soon and didn't need others to worry about him.

But Bilbo Baggins kept it in his heart; he wanted to help Allen recover in his own way.

In the Hobbit's view, nothing could soothe the soul better than a good meal; if that didn't work, then before the meal, have a pouch of fine pipe-weed.

Wilderness Town did not have such things as pipe-weed, and what the Expedition carried had already been exhausted during the journey.

But food was Bilbo Baggins's strong suit, so this Hobbit wanted to comfort Allen's somewhat depressed soul through his own culinary skills.

In fact, Allen had long since walked out of that low state, but that did not prevent him from expressing his gratitude to his friend.

Allen hugged his little friend with full gratitude, then smiled and said: "Bilbo, thank you for everything you've done for me, and thank you for teaching such precious skills to my subordinates. Let's go, let me taste your craft; after all, when at Bag End, I was only busy watching those Dwarf friends play around."

Bilbo also thought of what happened that night, and smiling, he walked with Allen toward the center of the banquet.

At this time, all the invited people had arrived at the banquet hall, and after a short speech, Allen announced the start of the banquet.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, Allen, Fatis, and Alayen finalized the matters of the Medals and the replenishment of troops.

Amidst the whispered conversations, Allen also learned from Yamila about the encounters of Wilderness Town during the war.

Amidst the hearty laughter with his friends, Allen drank a lot, a lot.

This banquet began at dusk and lasted until late into the night; the food prepared by Bilbo Baggins for everyone was eaten clean.

And those few large barrels of Wine were also not left with much; it was not until the very end of the banquet that Allen returned to his bedroom in a daze.