Quick answer
Defender’s Emblems and 
Victory Banners unlock different things.
Give a Defender’s Emblem to Battle Ram in the Barracks to open another zombie squad slot.
Use a Victory Banner through the Barracks expansion/building system to increase the area available for barricades and archer towers.
Combat supports up to 4 squads, and four battles award Defender’s Emblems.
After a fight, rewards appear when you return from the battlefield. If an Emblem or Banner is missing, check the ground immediately and avoid progressing far enough to overwrite your recent saves. If the reward really vanished because of the known spawn issue, reload a recent save and replay the battle.
Why doesn't Defender’s Emblem work from my inventory?
Because it is not a normal consumable.
You do not click it directly.
Find Battle Ram inside the Barracks.
He is easy to mistake for part of the military scenery because he stands among the Barracks NPCs and wears a helmet.
Speak to him while carrying the Emblem.
Turning it in opens another squad slot.
How many zombie squad slots are there?
The normal combat system supports:
4 squads
Defender’s Emblems are tied to that progression.
Four battles in the current fight data award an Emblem.
Do not expect to increase the number of active battle squads indefinitely simply because you can resurrect more zombies.
Zombie population and battle squad capacity are separate systems.
Where do you get the first Defender’s Emblem?
The first major battle:
Break Through to the Port
rewards:
This is the battle that pushes you into Port progression.
Once you win, it is worth immediately giving the Emblem to Battle Ram rather than storing it and forgetting what it is for.
The game is beginning to transition you from paid mercenaries to your own zombie military.
Second Defender’s Emblem
The next confirmed Emblem comes from:
Eastern Districts: Active Scouting
This is a Sloth-day battle.
Its rewards again include:
Turn the Emblem in to expand your squad capacity.
Later Defender’s Emblems
Later battle chains award more.
Current battle data includes Emblems from:
Central Districts Purge: Part I;
Break Through to the Bathhouse Basement.
The Bathhouse fight is particularly important because it also leads into Royal Foundry and Steel progression.
By the time Steel is opening, you should have several zombie squad slots available.
If your squad capacity is much lower than your completed battle progression suggests, check whether a reward was lost after a victory transition.
How to form a zombie squad
Opening a slot is only the first step.
Then:
- 1
carry a zombie into the Barracks;
- 2
place it under the squad banner;
- 3
- 4
give the zombie a pike or bow;
- 5
select the squad in the pre-battle lineup.
Zombies cannot use swords in a squad.
If a worker is armored but never appears in battle selection, check the weapon type first.
See Combat and Zombie Squads.
How many zombies are in a squad?
A squad uses the available zombie positions around its banner.
Only properly equipped workers function as fighters.
Squad power is based on the combined quality of:
on participating zombies.
Simply parking unequipped workers in the Barracks does not create meaningful Defence Power.
Do zombies die permanently in battle?
No.
The battlefield uses a copy of the worker.
If the fighter falls:
the original zombie remains;
its talents remain;
your worker progression is not permanently destroyed.
That means you should actually use strong zombies rather than protecting them from combat out of fear of losing them forever.
What does Victory Banner do?
Victory Banner is for Barracks construction space, not squad slots.
The Barracks initially gives you limited room for prepared defensive structures such as:
barricades;
spiked barricades;
fortified barricades;
archer towers.
Each Victory Banner buys an additional expansion of that building area.
This lets you store and deploy more defenses for later battles.
Where do you use a Victory Banner?
Inside the Barracks through its building/expansion interface.
Do not take it to Battle Ram expecting the same dialogue as Defender’s Emblem.
Battle Ram handles squad-slot progression.
Victory Banner handles the defensive construction area.
Which battles give Victory Banners?
Several specific victories do.
Examples from the current battle data:
Eastern Districts Purge
Rewards:
Central Districts Purge: Part II
Also awards a Victory Banner.
Break Through to the Bathhouse Basement
Rewards both:
plus additional battle items.
That fight therefore expands both your army and your Barracks building space.
Emblem vs Banner: remember this
Defender’s Emblem
→ more zombie squad slots
Victory Banner
→ more Barracks space for defenses
Need more fighters? Emblem.
Cannot fit enough barricades/towers? Banner.
I won the battle but the reward is missing
There is a nasty edge case around battle rewards.
The reward is created when the Keeper returns from the battlefield.
If inventory space or spawn positioning goes wrong, the item can:
land on the ground;
appear in an awkward location;
clip or fly toward a wall.
Players have reported this with unique Emblem/Banner rewards in particular.
What to do immediately after a major battle
Before important victories:
- 1
keep a few inventory slots free;
- 2
after returning, do not immediately run away;
- 3
- 4
scan the floor around the Keeper;
- 5
only then continue the story.
That small habit can prevent a unique progression reward from going unnoticed.
Reward vanished — safe recovery steps
1. Search the ground
It may simply not have fit in the inventory.
2. Return to the exact post-battle location
Some rewards can remain near where the Keeper spawned after the cutscene.
3. Do not overwrite every recent save
Missing an Emblem or Banner can block later squad/defense progression.
4. Load a recent save/day
GK2 keeps recent saves.
Replaying one battle is annoying, but much better than discovering a soft-lock hours later.
5. Update the game
Update 1.006 already fixed a Defender’s Emblem soft-lock involving destroyed Emblems.
1.007 also includes additional battle-progression fixes.
Do not troubleshoot a battle reward problem on an old build if a current patch is available.
Should you use a cheat or mod to restore a lost Emblem?
Not as the first solution.
If a recent save exists, reload is the clean recovery path.
Inventory-editing or a cheat tool may rescue a save after the backup window is gone, but it should be a last resort when:
the unique reward is definitely missing;
no usable recent save remains;
normal progression is truly blocked.
A public guide should not make save modification the default answer.
My squad slot is unlocked, but the squad does not enter battle
Check the pre-battle lineup.
An unlocked Barracks slot does not always mean that squad is automatically selected.
Choose the intended zombie squads before launching the fight.
In battles with limited squad capacity or paired sequences, your current lineup matters.
Why is the squad empty?
Common reasons:
zombies are nearby but not assigned under the banner;
no armor;
invalid weapon;
sword instead of pike/bow;
squad not selected.
Do not start with Mastery troubleshooting.
Participation itself is primarily equipment and assignment.
Bow or pike?
Both are valid.
Bow
Safer ranged damage.
Excellent behind barricades or while the Keeper draws enemy attention.
Pike
Melee frontline pressure.
Mixed squads can work well.
For difficult fights, having at least some ranged zombies is generally useful.
How do you increase squad power?
Squad power comes from equipment quality.
Moving from:
Rusty → Bronze;
Bronze → Iron;
Iron → Steel
increases the squad's contribution to required Defence Power.
If a battle requirement is just out of reach, upgrading four existing fighters can be easier than squeezing another tower into limited Barracks space.
When do mercenaries stop being necessary?
As Defender’s Emblems open more zombie squads.
Mercenaries are excellent early because they contribute immediate Defence Power and four fighters.
Later, your own:
zombie squad slots;
armor;
bows/pikes;
combat talents
can replace them more often.
That matters once mercenary prices progress to 3★ 
Wine.
See How to Get Gold-Star Wine.
Victory Banner and difficult battles
Barracks expansion lets you prepare more:
Archer Towers;
Fortified Barricades;
Spiked Barricades.
If a new battle feels impossible because you physically cannot fit enough defenses into your preparation space, check whether a Victory Banner reward was missed.
The problem may be progression capacity, not your layout skill.
FAQ
Who gets Defender’s Emblem?
Battle Ram in the Barracks.
What does it unlock?
Another zombie squad slot.
What does Victory Banner do?
Expands the Barracks building area for defensive structures.
Do I give Victory Banner to Battle Ram?
No. Use the Barracks building/expansion system.
Why did my reward disappear?
It may have fallen on the ground or spawned badly after the battle. Check immediately and use a recent save if it is truly missing.
Can squad zombies die permanently?
No. Combat uses a copy of the worker.
