"Splash..."
In the ship's cabin, Lucas sat at the head seat. Beside him were Camilla, Ayesha, Elisa, and Chris.
"My Lord, we are approaching Riverden City," Chris reported.
"Have the men put on their best uniforms and prepare their armor. I want no mistakes. Anyone without a proper uniform does not disembark," Lucas said, his expression serious.
He intended to awe the beastkin, to show them his strength and the excellent treatment his people received. He had specifically brought one hundred beastkin soldiers for this purpose. They were bait, intended to spread word of Sedona City's benefits back to the tribe.
"Yes, lord." Chris saluted and immediately turned to leave and conduct the inspection.
Just as Chris left, Mina entered holding a small slip of paper. She handed it to Lucas, saying, "Master, this is the intel from Riverden City."
There was a coop high on the ship's mast, marked with a special color. They used it to train the birds for receiving and returning messages.
"Oh? Over three hundred beastkin knights, all equipped with iron... Trying to give us a show of force right off the bat?" Lucas murmured, the smile on his lips growing inscrutable.
"Master, what should we do? We only brought two hundred soldiers," Mina's eyes narrowed, her cat tail swishing.
"No need to worry. We're not here to fight; we're here to do business." Lucas set the note down. "This isn't dangerous. If they planned to attack, they would have already captured Riverden City and laid a trap for us."
Besides, his soldiers weren't afraid of 300 beastkin. He had brought heavy-armored infantry. Each one of them could easily take on three of the enemy.
"My Lord, let our squad accompany you as well," Elisa said coolly. Her elven sniper squad had come on this trip.
"No, you will remain on the ship. You're the most accurate with the heavy crossbows," Lucas waved his hand. "The ship is armed with over twenty heavy crossbows. They have a range of several hundred meters and are a modified version that can be used for both long-range and close-range firing."
"Yes, my lord." Elisa replied obediently, though a trace of worry flashed in her eyes. She really wanted to go.
"Master, I want to go!" Ayesha raised her hand, her eyes fixed on Lucas. She had come on the trip this time and was full of energy.
"Alright, you'll come." Lucas looked amusedly at the energetic ox-horned girl and smiled. "Go put on that set of steel armor, and bring your Overlord Spear."
The steel armor was custom-made for Ayesha. Because she was so strong, the armor was thickened. Paired with the Overlord Spear, she was basically a mobile tank, able to crash through enemies without fear of being injured.
"Okay!" Ayesha stood up and ran toward her room.
"Master, will you be wearing armor?" Mina asked softly.
"No need. With you all here, I'll just wear this." Lucas waved his hand. "With my current strength and my precognitive senses, I could easily win a 1-on-10 fight. Armor doesn't make much difference. Wearing this makes me look more stately and refined."
"Lord Lucas, should I change my clothes?" Camilla asked, a little excited. They were almost at Riverden City.
"No need, you look fine as you are." Lucas glanced at Camilla, who was wearing a noble-style long dress. It softened her former sharp edges, making her look more gentle.
"Shudder..."
The ship's hull vibrated. A moment later, a shout came from outside the cabin. "My Lord, we've reached Riverden City! There's a large group of people on the shore. Should we dock?"
"Bring us in," Lucas replied casually. He stood and walked out onto the deck, with Mina and the others following.
"They actually set up camp," Mina said, astonished, looking at the open ground in front of Riverden City. The beastkin had already built a camp.
"That was the rational choice," Lucas said lightly. "Not rushing into the city was a wise decision."
"Master, are we going into the city?" Elisa asked. She gestured to her elven squad, pointing them toward the heavy crossbows.
The elves immediately ran to their positions, ordering the soldiers to load the bolts and crank the winches. The elves then took control, aiming the massive weapons.
"We'll decide based on the situation. Tell the soldiers not to start a conflict, but we cannot appear weak," Lucas said calmly. He wanted to see the other side's first move.
"Yes," Elisa and Mina replied.
The soldiers lined up on deck, arrayed in full armor forged from refined steel. Their visored helmets showed only two dark eye-slits. They held gleaming long-bladed swords that inspired fear in all who saw them.
"Lower the sails! Dock the ship!"
"Drop anchor!"
The ship quickly approached the newly built Riverden City port, a wooden port supervised by James. It faced the city gate directly. The beastkin camp was only about 300 meters from the port, well within the heavy crossbows' firing range.
"Ramp down!"
At the command, the massive wooden ramp was lowered. The soldiers began to disembark, their steps perfectly synchronized.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The heavy infantry's footsteps were no less thunderous than horses' hooves, and perfectly in unison. Their aura was intimidating, and their steel armor glittered coldly as they lined up on both sides of the port.
"No way... Is that all made of refined steel?"
"They're so disciplined. Those footsteps are terrifying. And those long, strange weapons... our iron armor probably couldn't block a single blow."
"Huh? Why are there beastkin with them? Is that a horse-kin? And a bear-kin?"
"What are they doing mixed in with humans? Dammit! Did they betray Valtoria?"
"..."
"Your Highness, that is an elite unit," Sally said, her expression grim. Veins bulged on the hand gripping her spear.
She had never imagined the humans would dispatch such a unit. This completely disrupted their plans.
"This unit... is in no way inferior to my father's Royal Guard," Elsa said in a low voice.
The Valtoria beastkin King's Royal Guard was a unit of 100 top-tier knights, each capable of fighting ten men. Sally herself had trained with the Royal Guard.
"Impossible. They just have a similar aura," Sally denied. She refused to admit that some random unit could compare to her former pride.
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