Todd slowly lowered his arms and addressed everyone present: "Asgard has accepted these warriors, and they will continue to fight for the gods in Valhalla."
These words immediately caused an uproar throughout the camp.
The soldiers' faces no longer showed any grief at losing their comrades; each of them shouted and cheered at the top of their lungs.
The initial cacophony eventually coalesced into a simple statement.
"My brothers, let's meet in Valhalla!"
After completing the ritual to commemorate the fallen heroes, Todd, now back in human form, returned to the altar and sat down. He watched as the shamans, led by Minnie, took the urn away, and then gave Ackerman a wink.
The latter subtly gestured that everything was in order.
Moments later, several carts loaded with valuables were pushed into the venue. Then, the silverware, jewelry, and coins on the carts were all dumped onto the floor.
The mountain of treasure before them, bathed in the dazzling light of the fire, dazzled everyone's eyes.
Immediately afterwards, Ackerman led a group of soldiers to bring all the young women captured in the battle to the field, which caused a burst of laughter and merriment among the soldiers.
Sitting in his high seat, Todd looked at the expressions on the faces of the people in front of him, but his mind was filled with the idea of how the barbarian spoils were divided up, which Rachel had mentioned earlier.
Generally speaking, in the absence of joint action with other tribes, the wealth and slaves plundered by a single barbarian tribe should nominally be managed and distributed by the chieftain. However, in reality, this practice is equivalent to the chieftain owning all the spoils of war.
Warriors of higher rank in the tribe may be allowed to possess weapons, armor, and a small number of personal belongings, but the property of ordinary people in the tribe belongs to the chief.
This distribution method directly resulted in the chieftains of barbarian tribes possessing absolute power over the control of goods.
However, if multiple tribes act together, the distribution process for the loot will change.
The most powerful and contributing tribe in the tribal alliance has the first right to choose the spoils of war. After it has made its selection, the remaining spoils will be distributed among the other participating tribes in turn.
Therefore, in principle, Todd had the right to represent his tribe and be the first to choose the spoils of war.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Todd stood up, walked over to the valuables, glanced at them a few times, and then slowly walked away.
Then, he walked up to the female slaves and examined the young women.
It has to be said that Ackerman is truly gifted when it comes to picking women; he puts all the good-looking ones in the last row, and those women are indeed impeccable in terms of figure and appearance.
Todd suddenly felt a cold glint in his back. He turned around and saw that Rachel and Deirdre were standing not far away, looking at him with a half-smile.
Shaking his head helplessly, Todd left the slave girl's quarters under Ackerman's disappointed gaze.
Returning to the pile of valuables, he recalled that Rachel always ate roasted pine nuts from that worn-out wooden bowl, so he bent down and picked out a silver bowl inlaid with jewels; after thinking for a moment, he also picked out a jewelry box full of trinkets for Deirdre.
After taking the two items, Todd returned to his seat amidst the puzzled looks of the others.
Ackerman walked to the center of the room, first bowed to Todd, then took out a crumpled piece of paper and read aloud as he looked at it: "Quita!"
A tribal warrior, his face covered in scars and as strong as an ox, slowly stood up, completely bewildered as to why his name had been called.
"Quita was the first to charge into the fortress during the raid on Marachi, killing four enemy soldiers. He also killed three more enemy soldiers in the battle to annihilate the pursuing enemy forces. He deserves the greatest credit!"
Ackerman looked at the big, clumsy guy, who was standing there like a wooden stake, and waved him over, both amused and annoyed: "Come here!"
Quita shuffled along, slowly inching to the center of the hall, where he stood there, looking completely lost.
Ackerman first looked at Todd, who nodded slightly at him.
Without further ado, Ackerman shouted at the top of his lungs, "Quita, as a reward for a warrior, the chief allows you to choose three spoils of war!"
These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the people around.
"You really let me choose three spoils?!" Quita exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes wide.
Todd sat in his seat and smiled, saying, "The gods favor the warrior."
Without further hesitation, Quita immediately selected the three most important spoils in his mind.
Todd looked at what he had chosen and was immediately at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
A large black pot, a whole bolt of fine linen, and an ugly woman weighing over 180 pounds with a pockmarked face.
Seeing Quitta's satisfied expression, Todd didn't bother to say anything more and simply gestured for Ackerman to continue reading.
Soon, the person who ranked second in merit was called out. After choosing three spoils of war, he ran down happily and gratefully.
The third person, the fourth person… the spoils in the arena dwindled, but the cheers grew louder and louder. (Incidentally, when it was Ackerman's turn, he unsurprisingly chose three young and beautiful women… May the gods grant him the blessing that he will die sooner or later on a woman's belly…)
After all the heroes had taken their spoils, there was only a pile of things left on the field. Todd then ordered that the remaining items be divided equally among the participating tribes.
Unlike the past system where the clan chief controlled everything, everyone experienced for the first time the impact and happiness brought by 'private ownership' through this distribution.
The warriors who had distinguished themselves on the battlefield, holding valuable treasures in one hand and their female slaves in the other, chatted and laughed.
The soldiers who stayed behind at the camp watched others return laden with spoils, filled with envy, and secretly vowed to catch up in the next battle.
The most disappointed were the tribal chiefs who had lost their privilege of distribution, but since Todd, the son of the gods, had only chosen two spoils of war himself, they naturally couldn't say anything more. Fortunately, he promised them that the captured soldiers and civilians would be given priority in being incorporated into their troops, which made them feel a little better.
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