Chapter 385

【Report! The last battalion of the parade troops has formed up!】

The whole square shuddered, good grief, this time even a name is gone?

Just now there was still a name 'Snow Cavalry', but now it's directly the last battalion?

"How come there's still no name?"

"The tune has changed again."

"It's that, that, the Breaking Formation Music!"

"Here it comes, here it comes!"

Next, the Great King swore, he heard the collective intake of breath from the entire crowd.

Owl Cavalry, the empire's blade, appeared in the field of vision.

Soldiers and warhorses were all armored; spectators didn't know where to look, the timid glanced over briefly then lowered their heads.

The weird, demonic owl-bird mask couldn't block their cold, fierce eyes; making a child cry with a glance was hardly difficult.

Whenever the Great King went to the Northern Great Camp, he demanded they definitely unleash their imposing aura.

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"Our parade is not a martial demonstration; how will you demonstrate your strength? Right, it's the gaze and aura! You must unleash your imposing aura! Without the aura that scares children, you count as failed! Lingyin, you pick them out one by one, eliminate those lacking aura! Those eliminated won't get the parade reward silver~"

The Owl Cavalry immediately wailed like ghosts and wolves, that won't do!

Not getting the silver is no big deal; the key is losing face.

Today the Owl Cavalry's unit wasn't exactly three thousand; it was a 2200-strong unit. Removing the Great King's personal guards nearby, those performing security on-site, and then those too tall or too short, not very coordinated, the rest are all here.

The Great King saw his beloved's performance indeed eye-catching; needless to say, he was extremely pleased.

Who knew Heavenly Father also wanted to cooperate with his performance; suddenly purple thunderclouds exploded on the horizon, crowning the Northern Border's blade with momentum.

Wei Shen precisely summed up, "Like divine soldiers descending, look at this lineup!"

The Great King laughed heartily, 「Indeed it is my divine sword. In the future, whoever offends my Northern Border, my this divine sword will be drawn! 」

Zhi Yan, Heavenly Mountain, Langju Xu, wherever the sun and moon shine, my cavalry reaches everywhere!

Upon these words, the generals clapped in approval, several old ministers teared up. Xie Yuan glanced at the envoys' positions; the Great King's purpose was achieved.

The Great King's blade, the Owl Cavalry, halted before the Southern Splendid Gate; everyone on the gate tower rose.

"Vow to die in loyalty to Your Highness, Your Highness, eternal happiness and boundlessness!"

The Owl cavalry shouted three times in succession; over two thousand men bore a robust aura, and the echo shook the whole plaza. The King left his seat and walked to the front of the second floor, before the tens of thousands of commoners below, he drew his Grand Might Sword and held it level before him!

Incredible, the thunder that had just died down suddenly roared again!

If this were a cultivation world, the spectators would surely be seasoned experts—this is undoubtedly a divine weapon or immortal treasure appearing in the world!

Even the restrained Wei Ke first suspected an earthquake…

Wei Shen's eyes gleamed; he almost drooled, lunging toward the Grand Might Sword—truly a divine sword!

Those far off felt nothing, but those on the second floor sensed that at that instant the airflow throughout the floor suddenly reversed; the three‑sided rooms were hit by a sudden gale, and the bronze vessels inside trembled on their own.

How could this be possible?!

Yet the wind chime under the eaves did indeed ring with a clear sound!

No, no, no, it must be a coincidence! How could there really be any divine weapon?

The Chancellor recognized that the sword in the King's hand was no longer the Youwang Sword; Xie Yuan glanced at Bai Ze, lowered his head slightly to hide his expression, as everyone would begin to talk…

The King, having sunk his qi into his dantian, opened his mouth: "Officers and commoners of the North! The world is in great chaos, there is no peace for the state. But I have confidence that I will make the North the world's sole land of peace and order, for I command the strongest army in the world! Here, I hope you can live and work in peace in the North, joining together to build it well. The beacon fires outside—I will sweep them away myself!"

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Amid the roaring mountains and seas of the chant 'Boundless Joy', the North's military review concluded perfectly.

Although the announcement said the event was over and people could file out, not a single civilian on site left; the stirring review left them so eager they wished to enlist immediately and defend the borders—what home? With such a crowd, it's so lively, let's chat more, chat more…

When the King said to disperse, the people on the second floor didn't leave either; watching the Xiaoqi troops still gathered below, they too became excited, and praises poured out without restraint.

The envoy delegation became even more embarrassed; the King waved his hand, letting them depart first, while Liang Bin reluctantly rose to see them off.

Throughout history and across the world, military reviews are the finest display of power and might; anyone will feel stirred and ignited.

If you are also a patriot with a sense of homeland, that's even better.

For example, the North's folk who have never seen the world are now fired up; they want to do nothing but watch that passionate scene over and over.

Wei Shen was even more eager, asking when the next one would be held—maybe next year?

The King sat beside Bai Ze, idly stroking her fur, and said, "That's not certain; organizing such an event is quite a hassle—Uncle Tang and Uncle Liang both came all the way from afar."

Tang Qian raised his hand, "I am willing to make the journey!" Each trip can earn him fifty horses, so he could come twice a year!

The King: "…It's not good to burden the people and harm the finances." The main harm is to his own wealth.

After the joke, the lower‑rank officials withdrew, leaving only a few close attendants nearby. Tang Qian, the Marquis of Dongdu, plus the three senior figures of Chengguang Hall, and the Wei brothers, inevitably brought up the chaotic situation in the south again.

With just these people left, the conversation became much more casual.

"The eldest is still deadlocked with the Marquis of Hanshou; the second and fourth are still developing in a petty way, but the rebel who seized Pengcheng is a tough character—word is he holds Pengcheng like an iron barrel."

The Marquis of Dongdu snorted, "Just a petty man. He claims to lead the lower classes to overthrow and rule themselves, to live better days, but he is ruthless toward those who refuse to join him."

"A genuine petty person is better than a hypocritical gentleman."

"That's not the case; a hypocritical gentleman is easy to deal with—just expose his pretensions and he's finished." On this, the King had something to say.

……

"I heard that after the New Year, Jiaodong hasn't seen a drop of rain."

"We don't know which day things will suddenly get worse, but we still need to be prepared."

Xie Yuan glanced several times at the King, who was idly stroking Bai Ze's fur; on several occasions he had words on the tip of his tongue but swallowed them back.

White Marsh looked up and glanced at him, then suddenly opened his mouth: "Xie Yuan, what do you want to say?"

Xie Yuan:???

……What the heck, White Marsh actually knows him?!

Everyone looked at the named Xie Yuan, and the Great King also looked over: "Haha, Mister, aren't you surprised? Our White Marsh can call everyone's name here~"

Wei Shen walked over and squatted in front of White Marsh: "White Marsh Sir, do you still remember my name?"

White Marsh lazily glanced at him: "Move aside, Wei Two, you're blocking the wind."

Wei Shen: ……

Great King: "Hahaha~"

Wei Ke also laughed along, and Wei Shen stood up and returned to his seat: "Is it funny, Wei Eldest?"

Wei Ke: ……Sounds really unpleasant.

White Marsh's deep purple eyes turned back to stare straight at Xie Yuan, and he suddenly felt relieved, the words he wanted to say blurted out.

"The Northern Border's troops are strong and its horses sturdy; Your Highness has the full strength to go south, to cut through chaos with a swift blade and end this troubled world—why not do it?"

The second floor fell silent instantly, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Only the Great King's expression didn't change; he continued to pet White Marsh: "I like to keep the fastest blade in the world, but I don't want the freshly sharpened edge to first be aimed at the people of the Baili family."

Xie Yuan had already spoken, and there were no outsiders here, so he continued: "But now is a good juncture. If someday some faction grows powerful and wins, and the south stabilizes, you won't have such a good opportunity again."

"Then I'll just be the King of the Northern Border."

Xie Yuan pressed on aggressively: "No one can tolerate a feudal lord with such vast territory."

"That's just a matter for the future."

"'You've only said half of the answer in your heart, Your Highness; can't I know the other half?'"

The Great King stopped stroking the fur, fell silent, but instead turned his gaze to the distant crowd that had not yet dispersed.

Just when everyone thought he wouldn't answer, the Great King sighed and suddenly opened his mouth: "I fear that the merit of unifying the world cannot outweigh the devastation of nine out of ten homes being empty."

!

Apart from the big-hearted Wei Shen, everyone else, each and every one, stared at the Great King in shock.

They said he had become a spirit!

Even his pets have become spirits—what's missing is just him!

Ever-graceful Xie Yuan burst out laughing: "Good!"

The Great King was speechless: "What do you mean good? I have no money, nor the grain to support such a long front line!"

If we go south now, those emperors dreaming of conquest will surely fight us to the death, and they're all our own people—what a shame to lose them! I thought this question should have been asked first by the Marquis of the Eastern Capital or the Tang Prefect!

Xie Yuan was still happy: "Your Highness is fit to be the lord of the world." Quite simply, everything about him is good—don't look at his dislike for studying, but he has brains; this guy has become a spirit!

Yo, Mister Xie has never praised him like this before! This evaluation is too high, the Great King is eager to try.

"The lord of the world wants to rest one day tomorrow."

Xie Yuan nodded: "Just finished the military parade celebrations, Your Highness may rest a day—it makes sense. I and the Prime Minister cannot decide this; we'll report to you the day after tomorrow."

Great King:!!!

Any more surprises?

He just didn't want to go to school, wanted to skip a day of class, never expecting he could also skip morning court.

The Great King immediately rose, one hand dragging the bear, the other grabbing a tuft of White Marsh Sir's long hair, with an eagle perched on his shoulder, dragging his family away without looking back.

Even Tang Qian felt sorry for the Great King: "So happy?" Just rest a day to let the kids enjoy themselves.

Grand Tutor: "……There must be something else."

Minister Xue: "Maybe they just wanted to skip a day of class?"

Xie Yuan: ……

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After the Great King finished watching the military parade, some were happy, some worried.

The Northern Border's populace and officials were happy; no matter what happens outside, our Northern Border looks stable.

There are also many who are worried, such as spies sent by other southern forces, or envoy delegations, as if they had lost their parents.

Not to mention the Xiongnu and Western Regions peoples, even the Great King's brothers to the south can't figure out how he developed like this!

In You Prefecture, the sources of all good things are said to come from overseas, and it's not that nobody watches the ships coming and going at sea. Unfortunately, the shipbuilding level of Great Jin remains at that of three-meter small wooden boats, and the Great King's Bureau of Works has researched up to now only producing a few vessels of over ten meters, whose only advantage is stability, and they are nothing like treasure ships.

Many people also had the idea to follow the Great King's path, but found they could only end up collapsed on the beach.

Unable to go overseas themselves, and failing to intercept overseas ships at sea, but by loitering along the coast they had seen You Prefecture's fishing treasure ships; the Great King's overseas import business became ever more mysterious.

As soon as the news of the military parade appeared in the newspapers, those who could sent people over; those who heard the news late are still on the way.

The atmosphere at the Honglu Temple need not be mentioned; they found that what the Great King said seemed to be true.

The silver they demanded from them is indeed the price of not waging war, not boasting.

Compared to the Western Regions, Wu Ji Han is more discerning.

The Xiongnu cavalry's reputation in recent years has spread abroad, not because Great Jin is too weak as a contrast, but because Lan He truly brought the Xiongnu iron cavalry to prominence. It's just unimaginable that the Xiongnu iron cavalry… might fade into obscurity as the Northern Border rises and Lan He falls.

Others couldn't grasp the power of the two cavalry units pressing the formation, but Wu Ji Han saw it.

Even if it isn't the Northern Border King's killer mace, placed on the battlefield it could face a hundred foes alone.

And then I recalled that brat's boast in the corner, saying the cavalry finally equipped with owl-bird masks had nearly a thousand lives per person on hand, and those with too few had already been eliminated.

Others don't believe it, but he feels it's not far off.

Wujihan ordered his attendant to buy some wine on the street; the attendant, being honest, bought him Youzhou bai. High‑proof baijiu isn't found on the steppe, so Wujihan praised it as good wine, drinking cup after cup, and soon got drunk, oblivious to everything—which actually spared him a moment of worry.

The next day, upon waking, he unconsciously didn't want to think about the tribute anymore and summoned yesterday's attendant.

"Yesterday you said there was some event on the street today, right? I recall you said it was organized by the Northern Border King."

"Everyone outside is talking about tonight's auction; the wine shop where they bought liquor is full of people who came specially from the Great Jin South to the Northern Border, and aside from discussing yesterday's parade, all they talk about is tonight's auction."

"……What is an auction?"

"I don't know. It seems to be a place for selling things, but I inquired about the location—it's the Futu Tower on Zhuque Avenue, not far from us."

"What's so special about a market that sells things?"

"No, I heard they're selling precious horses and other rare items that only exist in the Northern Border."

Upon hearing about the precious horses, Wujihan became interested. He thought of the warhorses the Great King had reviewed, not knowing where they came from; looking at them, they seemed even more suited to the battlefield than the Xiongnu horses—truly imposing.

Moreover, … the horse's load‑bearing capacity is astonishing.

He didn't know the weight of the enemy's armor; he only saw that the warhorses were equipped with heavy armor, and he recalled the message brought back by the captive the Great King had left—that the Northern Border King's warhorses would actively attack the Xiongnu's warhorses, even killing them in a single strike.

He immediately felt envious.

If he could buy a few, he could improve the breed of the Xiongnu warhorses when he returns…

"Go find out more clearly; we'll go to the evening market too!"

"Yes!"

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【Not again—why do people keep saying I've updated less? With this place's system and various support policies, it's destined that even a big shot coming here would only manage 4000 characters!】

What exceeds are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; everything else is just messing around.

I haven't updated less than usual; normally I just count my debts, but yesterday I wrote nearly ten thousand characters, and yet someone's trying to set the pace—look, whoever updates more, just follow them! Using AI to 'flush', I could flush a hundred thousand a day, you see?】