The judgment within the city continued, after all, there were too many people involved this time. The nobles in the city finally realized that this Northern Border Governor was truly capable of resorting to violence.
At this moment, news from the Demon Clan came again from outside the city. However, this time the Demon Clan chose to cut off the railway to the Northern Border and surrounded the Royal Capital without attacking, clearly intending to lure the Northern Border troops inside the city out to fight in the field.
After all, the surrounding area of the Royal Capital had not been completely fortified, and the Demon Clan had the resources to wear them down.
Lind chose to advance outside the city to confront them, just as Antipa had assumed. The sooner the situation was stabilized, the more advantageous it would be for Lind. Furthermore, the Demon Clan was unaware that Lind had convenient long-range communication means. Although he didn’t plan on executing any intricate maneuvers, it would still be no problem to establish contact with the troops rushing in from the Northern Border. Most importantly, there was no strange Black Fog along the direction of the Northern Border railway.
This allowed Lind to communicate with the troops arriving from the Northern Border, engaging in a two-pronged assault.
Although Lind had killed a large number of nobles, the order within the city was surprisingly stable. In fact, it was these nobles who had been the root cause of the turmoil in the Royal Capital.
To prepare for the battle outside the city and boost morale, Lind did not proceed with typical military deployment by directly marching the troops out of the city. Instead, he gathered all the units that would be leaving the city for battle.
These troops were to be inspected by Lind, marching directly down King’s Avenue and out of the city to confront the enemy.
Indeed, the soldiers who finished their inspection would head straight to the battlefield.
At this time, Lena had just finished adjusting her wedding dress. Although she was already a married woman, this was still Lena’s first time wearing a wedding dress.
Although Lena hadn’t requested it specifically, the dress had been altered to be even more luxurious, with a long train trailing on the ground. This made Lena a bit uncomfortable; it wasn’t self-restrained at all. However, it was a wedding dress, and simply wearing it made her very happy.
“Don’t you like it?”
Noticing Lena’s subtle emotions, Lind asked while looking at the long train.
“No, Lind, I’m truly very happy right now!”
Meanwhile, Lilith was watching her brother with a puzzled expression and quietly asked Lind’s maid, “Do they act like this often?”
While the maid didn’t answer, her calm expression seemed to suggest that it didn’t require a response.
Lena awkwardly spun around, clearly aware that the long train was not meant for twirling. Like an ordinary girl, she might not even be able to spin around at all.
Realizing this, Lena scratched her head in embarrassment, about to take off the wedding dress. She was already quite satisfied; next, it was time for her and Lind to participate in the military parade ceremony.
Just as Lena prepared to unrobe the wedding dress with a regretful expression, Lind took her hand.
“Please, Lady Saintess, help me with the wedding.”
Lind glanced at Lilith, who was watching the scene unfold nearby.
Since their marriage, the couple had not had a proper wedding ceremony.
Choosing this particular time was mainly due to the death of Claire. Although both Lilith and Lena had tacitly avoided mentioning it, even if Claire’s actions had been despicable, she had once been a good friend of the two.
“Lin de Ror, do you take Lena Lars to be your lawful wife? In both good times and bad, do you vow to love, honor, and protect her for all your days?”
Although she wasn’t very practiced, Lilith read the vows to her brother with a speechless expression.
“I do.”
Lilith then looked at her sister-in-law, who was moved to tears, and flatly asked, “Lena Lars, do you take Lind Ror to be your lawful husband? In both good times and bad, do you vow to love, honor, and accompany him for all your days?”
“I do.”
….
The military parade was about to begin. Under the watchful eyes of the people of the Royal Capital, the trumpet sounded. In the plaza of the Royal Capital, the roar of engines gradually approached, causing the ground to shake slightly and filling the air with the scent of holy water and gunpowder. The dark tank tracks crushed the ground of the Royal Capital, leaving deep ruts.
This was the first time for the citizens to view the Northern Border’s war machines up close. It was said that these types of war machines could be operated without a profession, meaning that many without magical talent also had the chance to use them.
Many teenagers within the Royal Capital swallowed hard while watching the tanks with their slightly rotating turrets reflecting cold light; just to fire a shot would be worth dying for.
As the soldiers marched in the parade, they didn’t step in perfect unison like during regular drills. Instead, they carried their weapons and jogged in formation, following the tanks as they exited the city to prepare for battle. Nonetheless, the formation still maintained a neat and orderly rank.
Those who had some understanding of the Northern Border would notice that many of the equipment on display were making their debut, including the large cannons strapped to the soldiers’ backs.
Even though it was a parade, the exit was also a battlefield. All personnel and equipment were loaded with gunpowder or fully charged; just pulling the trigger would activate them. Tanks, infantry, and cavalry all moved out in combat formations.
Nobles who were still undergoing judgment and hadn’t been executed according to their crimes were also dragged out to witness the parade. As they felt the ground tremble and watched the flow of iron rush out of the city, many nobles trembled; these were true monsters, artificially manufactured monsters.
Cliff, being the king, was positioned in a perfect spot to observe the entire parade.
Upon seeing the Northern Border troops armed to the teeth, Cliff suddenly smiled in relief. Having undergone royal education since childhood, Cliff knew better than any noble present what this army represented. The power backing their armed forces came from tremendous productivity.
Especially the last to appear, those sisters dressed not in armor — were they army medics? Seeing one wielding a chainsaw sword left Cliff unconvinced; in an army where even horses were fully armed, it was those unarmored individuals who were the most terrifying.
At this moment, Lind stood on the dais, with his left hand clasped over Lena’s right hand, inspecting the soldiers alongside her.
Lena had not removed her wedding dress but had torn off the impractical train, leaving a dress of normal length. Getting rid of the clumsy decorations, she treated the wedding dress as a formal gown, standing beside Lind, watching as they stepped out onto the battlefield, the crystallization of their union moving down King’s Avenue.
Amidst the sounds of treads and iron hooves shattering the old road, Lena completed her wedding.
