Novel Full Chapter 838 - 455: Parade! Southward!
As Louis’s words fell, the air in the parade ground seemed to tighten instantly.
All gazes, without exception, shifted from the towering review stand to the forefront of the formation.
Major General Grey stood upright in the half-track command vehicle, his back straight as a gun, like a crossbow that had been drawn.
In the next moment, Fighting Energy burst from his chest.
“Clang!”
The sound of the command sword unsheathing tore through the air, a sharp arc of cold light pointing directly at the sky.
“All troops, form up! Prepare for inspection!!”
The shout was like thunder, carrying the murderous aura refined on the real battlefield, striking the crowd fiercely.
The spectator area, which was initially restless, was forcibly subdued by this voice, even their breaths slowed by half a beat.
On the VIP seats, Nico’s eyes lit up slightly, “What a voice… what killing intent.”
Before the words had fallen, the heavy and primal sound of battle drums roared to life, pounding the earth rhythmically.
The first formation advanced from the horizon’s end.
Sacco rode on a black horse, his cold iron armor glimmering under the sunlight, Fighting Energy flaring intermittently through the armor’s gaps.
His gaze was straight and fiery, firmly locked onto Louis on the review stand.
He knew that Lord Louis as well as his own parents and siblings were watching him at this moment.
In the crowd, Sacco’s father stood straight.
Seeing his child leading, he understood that sending his child to the Red Tide Territory years ago was the most correct move of his life.
Sacco’s younger brothers clenched their fists, only filled with aspirations.
And behind Sacco, the true awe was just beginning.
The Red Tide emblem shone on the standardized plate armor, each knight exuding stable and condensed Fighting Energy.
They were all Extraordinary Knights!
The Northern Territory black horses trotted orderly, their hoofbeat rhythms were so synchronized it made one’s heart pound, like a single giant heart beating.
On the podium, Louis simply nodded slightly.
That slight acknowledgment was enough to make Sacco’s back even straighter.
On the VIP seats, Nico was already sitting completely upright.
The nearby Eastern nobility instinctively began whispering counts, “One… twenty… thirty… fifty…”
The voices grew quieter, yet the counting increasingly slow.
When they realized their count was chaotic, even feared to continue, their backs unconsciously drenched with cold sweat.
“Over three hundred…” Nico swiftly calculated in his mind.
In the Southeast Province, if a Count could employ twenty Extraordinary Knights, it would suffice to dominate a region.
At its peak, the Calvin Clan had merely two hundred knights stationed at headquarters.
“Where did the Red Tide Territory get the resources to assemble such numbers?”
Their youth was most unsettling to him, averaging under thirty-five years of age, signifying they were not built over time or through resource accumulation, but rare talents against all odds.
“This isn’t all,” Nico was almost certain, “Knowing this young lord’s character, these three hundred are just for show, how was this achieved?”
Of course, he didn’t know the underlying strength of the Red Tide Territory surpassed other Dukes, for the Daily Intelligence System ensured that resources were never wasted.
Identifying sources of potion ingredients, which potion could break through bottlenecks, which group deserved Fighting Energy material allocation.
All fortune gambles turned into precision investments here.
In the seats of old Northern nobility, Count Albert stroked his beard, his face beaming.
“Have you seen clearly?” he whispered to several young Lords beside him, “This is what a Northern Guardian should embody.”
Looking at the iron-clad cavalry, he seemed to see the shadow of Count Edmond years past. But this current troop was younger and more powerful.
“Guard the Northern Territory?” Albert squinted his eyes, “No, this power is more than sufficient to conquer the world.”
After the Extraordinary Knights’ formation, the scene suddenly shifted.
Ice Wolf Riders swept across the parade ground like a wave of grey and silver.
Giant wolves ran silently, knights in light armor with compound bows slung diagonally on their backs.
The wolf pack itself was a formation, intertwining wildness and discipline into an imposing beauty.
Screams erupted among the crowd.
Following closely behind was the ground’s tremor, as the Polar Bear Corps stepped into view.
Massive bodies clad in heavy semi-armor, leaving clear white marks with each step on the stone slabs.
These magical beast cavalry might not surpass Extraordinary Knights in combat efficacy, but their display of force was so evident that even ordinary people could recognize and feel impressed.
Cheers surged like tidal waves.
As the final white bear passed the review stand, Nico slowly exhaled.
Powerful, yet within his realm of understanding.
On the command podium, Grey’s lips curled into a cold smile.
His gloved right hand slowly raised, making a sharp cutting-off gesture.
The battle drum abruptly ceased.
In the next second, the low and horrifying steam whistle tore through the firmament once more.
“Warm-up finished, now witness truth.” Grey smiled.
Three short and clear commands echoed above the parade ground.
Major General Grey lifted his right hand, slowly pressing down.
Those who were immersed in the cavalry and magical beast impact quickly realized the true oppressiveness didn’t come from roaring and thundering, but from a disturbing silence.
At the horizon’s end, the Red Tide Infantry Division began to advance.
Their pace was not swift, yet precise like gears interlocking.
Gray-black uniforms aligned uniformly, gun butts pressed to shoulders, barrels slightly elevated, all actions without excess movement, like a moving Iron Wall.
What they held wasn’t spears, pikes, nor any weapons familiar to the Nobility.