Chapter 675 — The Age of Empire
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
And amid the cheering, surging crowd, on a small patch of open ground cordoned off by soldiers, a group of technicians in the short robes of arcanotech engineers were operating several mechanical devices; the optical crystals had been calibrated and aimed toward Silverhold, and a young man in ceremonial dress was excitedly explaining beside the machines: "…this is Saint Sunil live, the Steel Ambassador formation is now receiving His Majesty's review… cheers are coming from every direction—Miss Witch, can you hear it? It's cheering everywhere!"
The young man had scarcely finished speaking when another wave of shouting burst suddenly from the eastern side of the square, and with the shouting came a stretch of holy light, flowing together and spilling outward like cloud and mist.
The White Knight battle group entered the square—heavy armor, warhammers and iron-clad prayer books in hand, their footsteps heavy and powerful.
Surging holy light reverberated within this company; though fewest in number, this battle group's majesty and presence were nearly the strongest of all the formations so far, and following close upon the White Knights came the knights and sisters of the former Church, likewise bathed in holy light…
The people kept cheering, kept discussing; ordinary folk could seldom perceive how much symbolic meaning lay hidden on a ceremonial stage—they merely felt this scene to be novel and magnificent. Yet on the castle viewing platform not far away, the atmosphere turned grave and silent in an instant.
The nobles exchanged glances; the knight and merchant representatives looked somewhat at a loss toward the area where the Church folk were gathered, only to see those priests in holy vestments standing quietly, faces blank, watching all of this unfold.
Among the priests, Verodai, holding the platinum scepter, showed a faint smile and said softly, "Now, the army of God is to receive the Emperor's review."
In a room of one of Silverhold's towers, the veiled Merys Peronia stood by the window, watching the scene in the square through the crystal glass; when the knights and sisters representing the Church's power entered, this dragon in human form smiled lightly and returned to the table.
A stack of manuscripts lay on the table, already turned to the last page, and on that sheet of tough enchanted parchment only one sentence was written:
In sum, though the road is hard, our success is also inevitable—this is determined by the laws of history…
The agent lady blinked, and from beneath her veil came a low murmur to herself: "This thing… I'm not sure I could put a price on it."
In the square, since the new Empire had few troop types, this "military review" did not last long; in the end all formations completed their inspection, and after the religious battle group departed as the final unit, the mana combat corps that had appeared first returned to the open ground before the drawbridge according to the planned procedure, and at the commander's shouted orders swiftly changed formation, forming three horizontal ranks facing the crowds at the square's edge.
Only now did Gaoyang finally stir; one hand on the hilt, the other slightly raised, his voice resounding all around: "All present—"
"Raise swords, kindle blades—"
"Salute the citizens of the Empire!"
The cheering and clamor of before vanished in an instant; after a moment of stillness, an anticipated commotion spread through the crowd—when the Imperial soldiers truly raised their swords in salute, nearly everyone instinctively took half a step back in fear and confusion, and then people began to look at one another, staring at the scene before them in bewilderment.
They could not understand this scene.
Gaoyang knew this was inevitable—he merely meant to leave this moment to history.
Before the commotion could continue, the large holographic projection device set up before Silverhold activated.