Chapter 228: Spike

The Owl Riders' Black Wind Horses differed from the flag-bearing cavalry that had shown themselves earlier; these horses were armored.

The Black Wind Horses were wrapped in a layer of armor all over; to avoid adding too much weight burden to the horses, the Great King expended great sums to have fine materials made. Moreover, these horses' armor wrapped up to the head, and on top a spike was made, modeled after the unicorn shape of the White Marsh.

When they reach the battlefield and the Black Wind Horses surge forward, a single strike from them will surely pierce straight through.

John Pu also had people design the spike's angle, seeking the smoothest possible draw for the warhorses. The whole spike shone with a cold light; except for training, it is normally not used, and this is the first time it has appeared before people.

Looking again at the Owl Riders' weapons and equipment, they are not uniform.

This unit of over a hundred men had some holding spears, some wielding great swords, some carrying bows and arrows on their backs, and even some bearing heavy halberds; what they all shared was a standard-issue curved sword hung at the waist.

The Great King's beloved treasure was almost fully armed to the teeth; weapons were assigned according to each person's specialty, with dual weapons as standard issue, not counting things like daggers.

The varieties of weapons appearing in this unit are far from complete; the Great King prepared a dazzling array of weapon racks for the Owl Riders, possessing the pinnacle works of cold weapons. As long as everyone found them easy to use, the Great King would go buy them from the Myriad Realms. Fortunately, the force is small and they are cold weapons, so the Great King has not yet gone bankrupt.

Although their weapons differed, they gave off no sense of disorder; their demeanor was completely unlike the neat, spear-aligned formations seen before.

They were cold and lethal, like a steel torrent rolling forward with the might of thunder and countless forces!

Just now a formation raised their blades, and many followed the Great King in clapping and cheering; now the Owl Riders, holding the field, filled the venue with not a hint of noise—only the drumbeats of the military band and the sound of warhorses' hooves striking the stone slabs!

The Great King had already risen and run to the front of the gate tower's railing; this fellow, leaning on his pointed little chin with both hands, opened his mouth and broke the stillness on the gate tower.

"His gaze is truly fierce!"

The Great King wanted to burst out laughing three times, but at such a genuinely proud moment he restrained himself considerably, uttering only a joke.

Isn't his gaze fierce? This was personally selected by the Great King.

The requirement is a fierce gaze—one look and you know it's the kind you don't provoke.

Otherwise, just showing a pair of eyes would allow only limited effect. His beloved general Tie Zhu was tall enough, but because he looked a bit simple-minded, the Great King had no hesitation in crossing him off the list!

Ah, your pure-eyed gaze won't do—it's not fierce enough, Tie Zhu!

Even the laypeople present who couldn't see well knew that this final show of force was not to be provoked. Meanwhile, the people on the gate tower grew quieter one by one, and more complicated.

The officials of Youzhou were thinking, looking at the armor, it seemed like the Great King's personal guard, but once fully armed, that aura felt somewhat frighteningly substantive. I don't know when, but the Great King himself had already equipped his personal guard like this.

Could it be due to their family's deep learning? At this moment everyone would realize, the Wei clan has commanded troops for over a century—could this be their foundation?

If we had to say what's most complicated, it still belongs to those from Upper Valley Pass.

Ge Zhong's eyes turned green with envy!

That armor, those spears, those horses, even the people—he wants them all! Why isn't this unit from Upper Valley Pass? Although it numbers fewer than a hundred, even Upper Valley Pass's fifty-thousand-strong army couldn't screen out a unit this fierce!

He hadn't seen them in action, yet he believed they would cut down people as easily as slicing vegetables.

He believed that as long as the You King had these people by his side, on any battlefield they could withdraw unscathed. Indeed, with these hundred protecting him, breaking out of an encirclement would be enough. Look at their horses—armored down to the hooves!

The Owl Riders rode to the gate tower where the Great King was, turned their horses' heads and halted, uniformly placing their right hands over their hearts in salute, performed the courtesy, and then continued onward.

Today the Northern Border Academy also arrived in full; the Great King invited Xie Yuan, who did not go up onto the gate tower but remained below with the students.

From the first cavalry unit emerging, frankly he was a bit surprised; the Owl Riders behind were outright a heavyweight shock!

These are not ordinary cavalry; they are the You King's spike held in his hand.

They came and went in haste; the Owl Riders' grand entrance swiftly withdrew, taking with them the scene's breath and its fervent, excited atmosphere.

After their figures had completely vanished, the people behind Xie Yuan began to discuss heatedly in belated realization, their faces showing shock, excitement, and deep pride.

They shared in the honor.

Xie Yuan knew that the You King's purpose in going to all this trouble had been achieved.

The people's hearts are in hand.

An eight-year-old feudal lord.

Standing amid the noisy crowd, he glanced once toward the direction of Chen Commandery; what his uncle had said… perhaps not necessarily true. How the Baili family will end up now looks unfathomable.

Is there really someone who could uproot this little sapling of the Baili family, deeply rooted in the north?

He then lifted his gaze to the gate tower, where the Great King was chatting warmly with the Marquis of the Eastern Capital—how awkward~

In the academy unit, Zhou Huang was beside himself with excitement, shaking his classmate desperately: 'Did you see it? Did you see it! Are all of Youzhou's troops like this?!'

His classmate, shaken to the point of disarray, said, '…I, I only found out today…'

Zhou Huang: 'Truly mighty! I… after a few years, I'll want to enlist—does this army accept only Youzhou people, or anyone from anywhere?'

Classmate: 'How would I know? Before, aside from those about to starve to death, who would voluntarily join the army…'

On stage, the Great King had already begun preparing his closing remarks; after the venue quieted down, he once again brought up the steppe threat theory.

"I provide soldiers with the finest armor and weapons, and invite the best martial masters to teach them killing and life-preserving techniques—why? Because we of Youzhou are few, and every life is precious to me. All the soldiers who have just walked past here trained for as long as two years and as short as half a year; they have all grown in the barracks. Joining the army is not frightening; martial skill is learned for oneself. Youzhou is also ours, needing our own protection; we cannot rely on the court, we must be capable of self-rescue. Remember my words today."

After the ceremony ended, the Great King hosted a banquet in the Bright Light Hall for the Marquis of the Eastern Capital, accompanied by officials of the You King's mansion; at the table, the Great King felt that his usually taciturn Uncle Liang had become somewhat more enthusiastic.

Before, he had said he could procure curved swords for Upper Valley Pass on his behalf, but when had Uncle Liang ever paid him any heed? He would just say something and be done; this time, however, Uncle Liang proactively proposed purchasing a batch of elite frontier army equipment.

The Great King understood; this time the distance wasn't as close as before, so it certainly wasn't that the Marquis of the Eastern Capital had suddenly noticed the quality of these weapons.

The Great King raised his wine cup: 'Uncle Liang, I've come to like Liang Second Brother; Youzhou and Upper Valley Pass have always looked out for each other. As the saying goes, distant relatives are no match for close neighbors—if anything happens, we can still count on each other. From now on we'll be one family, right?'

The Marquis of the Eastern Capital rose and raised his wine cup: 'It is an honor for Liang Mou and for Upper Valley Pass. If there is anything, Your Highness need only send someone to inform Upper Valley Pass, and Liang Mou will obey orders.' The Marquis of the Eastern Capital's ability to paint pies is also not lacking.

"Good! Uncle Liang is straightforward! Now Upper Valley Pass and our Youzhou are one family!"

The Great King continued his enthusiasm: 'Uncle Liang, let me offer you another cup!'

Zhao Bao glanced at him suspiciously, downed a cup—another one already? What's with this huge craving for drinking plain hot water?

Probably his performance was too obvious; the Great King's rear attendant Ling Yin noticed and gave him a three-word hint: 'Grape wine.'

!

I said!

Upon hearing that, Zhao Bao immediately stumbled forward and bumped into the Great King, sloshing a little wine out; he promptly stepped forward to apologize, and at once refilled a new cup with plain hot water and handed it to the Great King.

Great King:...

"Your Highness?" He drank it! Even the Marquis of the Eastern Capital drank it.

Prince You, fuming, again downed a full cup of cold water; the Great Jin wine cup is too big—I'll have to change it later; it's too easy to get drunk.

In the depths of winter, I am utterly miserable!