Owen Bertram didn’t remain idle in the rear. He requisitioned a training ground of the Flying Bear Army and used arrays and talismans to strengthen and modify it. Then he threw the three Red Barbarians in and let Leroy Baker and the others take turns to conduct "training". This training was later extended to the senior officers of the Flying Bear Army.
The Red Clan’s Evil God mystic arts were strange and vastly different from the Cultivation Methods of the Wood Dynasty. It was somewhat better for the Flying Bear Army, as they were fighting against the Nanni Nation, whose people cultivated similar lower-level Evil God mystic arts.
Leroy Baker, Greystone, and some other cultivators had no experience in fighting against the Evil God mystic arts, so Owen Bertram arranged for special training in advance for fear they might suffer losses later.
This so-called special training was just Owen Bertram finding various ways to torture his own subordinates, who had great potential. But good news kept coming from the front lines; this time, the harvest might slightly exceed expectations!
Originally, the expected return on investment was already about twenty times. Even a slight exceedance made for a massive sum.
However, a dispute arose about the division of spoils. Each party’s "investors" disagreed with William of the Flying Bear Army, causing the inventory of war gains to stall. Neither party would give in, and the grandmasters among the investors almost clashed with the Flying Bear Army!
The matter was eventually brought before Owen Bertram.
Owen Bertram was puzzled as to why they didn’t come to him for arbitration sooner. Only after the disagreement was laid out did he understand: William and the others of the Flying Bear Army insisted that a portion of the harvest be allocated to Owen Bertram in advance. This portion wasn’t Owen Bertram’s "dividend" but a reward for his achievements in battle.
No matter why Royval and the others suddenly arrived at the front lines, they must count as part of the battle. The Red Barbarian who possessed the Power of Six Mountains could have changed the whole battle. If Owen Bertram hadn’t killed him, the battle would have ended differently. Therefore, William thought that Owen Bertram’s war achievement should be on par with the entire Flying Bear Army.
Owen Bertram deserved an equal share of the rewards that the Flying Bear Army received; that would only be fair.
However, the Flying Bear Army had already received large portions of the spoils, and the investors were reluctant to part with them. But it was pre-agreed on before the battle and could not be revoked, and as they still needed the Flying Bear Army for future expeditions, they had to accept the terms.
Yet the investors weren’t willing to hand over as much for Owen Bertram for two reasons: Royval had come specifically for Owen, and Owen was already a shareholder, entitled to a considerable dividend. As he was supposed to protect their common enterprise, the investors didn’t agree to give Owen more.
William firmly disagreed and believed that the Flying Bear Army was indebted to Owen Bertram. Naturally, he tried to secure more benefits for Owen.
When the matter escalated to Owen Bertram himself, the investors became embarrassed.
Actually, Owen didn’t value the rewards of his achievements too much. He had gathered great personal benefits from the battle against Royval, who had many divine artifacts, such as the crown hat and the fire whip.
Moreover, Royval indeed aimed for Owen himself. If all the investors had agreed with William, he would have returned these rewards and redistributed them among everyone. But now, Owen Bertram felt a little displeased, for this attitude towards him, a Sixth Great Realm, was absolutely an "offense".
No matter what Royval’s purpose was, he happened to be part of this battle, so it would be reasonable to include him. It was appropriate for Owen Bertram to receive rewards based on his achievements, perhaps just a little less.
From the perspective of cause and effect, if Owen Bertram hadn’t killed Royval, the battle would have undoubtedly been lost.
Why should the investors think that a dignified Sixth Great Realm’s actions were all just part of their duties?
Owen Bertram decided in a single sentence: "Receive half of the rewards according to the achievements of the Flying Bear Army."
The investors made bitter faces, and William was still dissatisfied, accusing them: "This is Owen Bertram’s generosity, he is giving you half of the benefits, yet you are still reluctant. You are really a bunch of greedy and foolish people!"
Owen Bertram waved his hand, settling the matter.
Although it seemed that the Flying Bear Army had received a lot, they would undoubtedly face retaliation from the Nanni Nation next. In this defensive war, there wouldn’t be much spoils. Thus, it wasn’t within the scope of the "investment and participation in the war" business, and the Flying Bear Army had to bear it by themselves.
Owen Bertram had a lot of work to do at the East Prison Town Comfort Office and the Summit Metropolitan Office, but he didn’t rush to leave the front. Firstly, he needed to be stationed in the southern border to face the imminent counterattack from the Nanni Nation. Secondly, he found some information from Royval’s belongings. After analyzing it, he discovered that the Red Barbarians’ policy towards the Nanni Nation and the Wood Dynasty seemed to have changed.
Owen Bertram took Donald Lee and his subordinates from the Horizon Bureau to interrogate some Nanni Nation officers taken from prisoner camps. After several rounds of interrogations, they finally confirmed his conjecture.
Although the souls of the Red Barbarians had the Black Flame Brand, it would burn their souls if they tried to divulge any secrets during interrogations.
However, the Ancient Evil God’s control over the people of the Nanni Nation was relatively weak, so they managed to get some information.
Donald Lee couldn’t help but worry: "It seems that the Red Barbarians have begun to fully support the Nanni Nation, granting them numerous divine artifacts, accelerating the construction of divine temples, and greatly increasing the number of Red Barbarians landing at King Port. They are going to wage a full-scale war against us."