Chapter 358: West Ham

On the walls of Snake Pass, everyone looked out toward the reaver lands.

After Aiden raised his concerns, Simon nodded. Benjamin had a point, and so did Aiden.

After thinking it over, he said. "The review of the slave soldiers will be handled by the military’s political officers. They’re best at this kind of work. Those who are fit to stay will stay. Those who aren’t will be dismissed. What I want is a loyal army, not just a large one."

Benjamin and Lancelot nodded. They had only made a suggestion; it was up to Aiden, Baldwin, and the others to handle the rest.

After all, letting such a large group of slave soldiers go unused would be a waste.

Once they finished inspecting Snake Pass and gave orders for reconstruction and forming the West Ham Army, Simon turned to Francis and said. "Francis, you’re from West Ham. The soldiers of the Squad Divincox are also from West Ham. You should help lead the formation of the West Ham Army. If you do well, I’ll hand over full command of the West Ham Army to you."

Francis had come with Simon on this trip.

During the journey, Simon told him the Squad Divincox would now be stationed at Snake Pass. Now that West Ham had been taken back, these men from West Ham could finally return to their hometown. Since being forced to flee to Dunmere, Francis had dreamed of reclaiming West Ham and returning home on horseback, proud and strong.

Now, the opportunity was finally here. And he might even become the highest military commander of West Ham. How could he not be thrilled?

Excited, he said. "Yes, Your Highness! I can tell if these slave soldiers are really from West Ham just by asking a few questions. If anyone tries to sneak into the army with bad intentions, they’ll have to get past me first."

The other generals burst into laughter. They had almost forgotten about the Squad Divincox.

This was an elite cavalry made entirely of West Ham people. With them as the core, forming a strong West Ham Army would be no problem.

Seeing everyone laugh, Francis scratched his head and said a little shyly. "Your Highness, maybe I was too eager. I’m not sure if I’m really the right person to lead the West Ham Army..."

"Ignore them. A soldier who doesn’t want to be a general is not a good soldier. And a general who doesn’t aim high isn’t a good general." Simon said, patting his shoulder.

Since giving Francis command of the Squad Divincox, the unit had tripled in size. That showed his capability.

And as Francis said, this unit was one of the fiercest when it came to fighting reavers.

After talking about the West Ham Army, Simon turned to Benjamin and said. "We’ve taken back Snake Pass, but there’s still one more problem."

"West Ham!" Guessed Aiden.

Simon nodded. "That’s right, West Ham City. Now that the reavers have abandoned it, we need to take over. Right now, it’s basically an empty city."

Everyone nodded.

Benjamin said. "My Lord, the reaver troops have left West Ham City. It’s defenseless. I’ll lead 3,000 cavalry from the Squad Divincox to go with you tomorrow. Since they’re all from West Ham, they might be especially helpful."

Simon agreed. After a long, busy day, he rested that night in the military town.

The next day, he and Benjamin set off for West Ham City. He left the construction team and Aiden at Snake Pass. After visiting West Ham, he planned to return to Brambleford.

He had just put down the rebellion in Preston, defeated Fern, and taken Snake Pass, all major events that would surely shock the capital.

Plus, he was about to marry Elin, and a second trip to Eldora was unavoidable.

West Ham City lay southwest of Snake Pass. They arrived there on the second day of travel.

"This is the city where Prince Elliot once lived. After ten harsh years, it still looks the same. Nothing has changed." Benjamin said with emotion.

As they entered West Ham City’s territory, the landscape shifted slightly. There were rivers, trees, paths, and some farmland.

It was the only place on the grasslands that still felt different.

Francis rode close behind Simon, looking tense. He had left West Ham when he was only thirteen. Now he was over thirty.

Looking at his old home made him sad. Memories of his childhood there flashed through his mind.

"Your Highness, the reavers were truly cruel. West Ham once had plenty of farmland. Now it’s all wasted and turned into grassland." Francis said angrily.

Even though the reavers ruled West Ham, they hadn’t given up their herding habits. They replaced farmland with grassland.

After ten years, the place had become almost like a prairie.

Simon smiled and said. "That’s why I’m counting on the West Ham Army to give them a taste of their own medicine."

"Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ll make sure they pay back ten times over." Francis said firmly.

Benjamin also smiled. The three of them chatted as they approached the gates of West Ham City.

Outside the city gates, many commoners wandered around. When they saw the cavalry coming, they panicked and ran back inside.

"Your Highness, allow me to lead some men to scout the city," Francis said.

He took 500 cavalrymen and charged into West Ham City.

Simon looked up at the city. On the gate tower, several dried-up corpses were hanging. The bodies were completely weathered, clearly there for a long time.

The characters for ’West Ham City’ on the gate were also badly damaged, barely readable.

From the outside, the city looked like a lonely island in the grasslands.

On the way to Snake Pass, Simon had passed other cities like Ore and Ife.

But those places were just ruins now: broken walls, collapsed houses, no people, only wild rabbits and rats running around.

So West Ham City was the only one of the former sixteen cities that still had people living in it.

"After the reavers invaded, they massacred entire cities. Most people from the other cities were killed. The rest were driven here to West Ham. Hopefully, there are still many people left here." Benjamin said as they waited.

"The cruelty of the reavers is truly beyond words."

He remembered that Prince Elliot’s lands once had over a million households. Now, at least half a million had been slaughtered.

That was over a million people. Simon felt a sharp pain thinking about it. Taking Snake Pass had given him nothing but empty land.

As the two of them spoke outside the city, Francis soon returned. His saber was stained with blood.

"Your Highness, there are still some reaver slave soldiers hiding in the city." He reported