For years, both the Grand Concord Dynasty and Thalric had dread of exploring and expanding westward.
The endless mountain range stretching across the western lands had always stood in their way.
The emperor of the Grand Concord Dynasty once sent n into those mountains, but they found nothing.
The range seed to have no end, and no one had ever succeeded in conquering it.
Eventually, the Grand Concord Dynasty abandoned all thoughts of western expansion.
So even believed there might be nothing beyond the mountains at all.
Whether another civilization truly existed there remained uncertain.
Yet many years later, a vast western army crossed those mountains and set foot upon the eastern lands.
Compared with the barren west, the broad and fertile lands of the east seed like paradise.
The western expeditionary army could barely contain its delight.
Although both sides still fought with cold weapons, the standard equipnt of the western army differed greatly from that of eastern forces.
The better elite soldiers wore a few pieces of iron armor over vital areas.
The worse equipped troops relied almost entirely on cloth and leather armor.
The expeditionary army numbered three hundred thousand.
More than half wore only cloth or leather armor, giving them a much lower armor rate than the armies of the Grand Concord Dynasty.
Around seventy or even eighty percent of Grand Concord soldiers wore armor.
Of course, most of it was only simple iron protection covering the vital parts of the body.
Perhaps because the west produced less iron, proper tal armor was relatively rare there.
However, one unit within the western army possessed extraordinary combat strength.
It was known as the Knights of God.
Every mber was a heavily armored cavalryman.
Their number reached one thousand.
Each knight wore a full suit of plate armor with astonishing defensive strength.
Even their warhorses were covered in thick iron barding.
The force of a charge by such heavily armored knights was easy to imagine.
Their na alone revealed that the western world was ruled by divine authority.
The power of the church stood above even that of kings.
This eastern expedition had been launched by the church.
They ca under the banner of destroying heresy and claiming all lands in the na of God.
Their true purpose was to conquer the eastern world and seize its wealth and resources.
After crossing the mountains, the expeditionary army erged deep within the territory of the Grand Concord Dynasty.
They were still two thousand li from the northern frontier.
Their arrival was like an army descending from heaven.
The Grand Concord Dynasty had been caught completely unprepared.
Clang!
A sword flashed from its sheath.
A blonde woman with blue eyes pointed her blade toward a town ahead.
She stood tall and commanding, radiating fierce authority.
"Carry out the will of God!"
"Claim every land in His na!"
"Attack!"
The Knights of God charged.
With overwhelming force, they struck one major Grand Concord town after another.
By the ti the dynasty understood what was happening, the expeditionary army had already established firm positions.
Using several towns to support one another, they began sustaining themselves through conquest and prepared to devour the Grand Concord Dynasty piece by piece.
The court was badly shaken.
Troops were hurriedly mobilized to encircle and destroy the invaders.
The next several battles achieved almost nothing.
The expeditionary army was powerful.
The soldiers stationed in the heartlands of the Grand Concord Dynasty had spent years living in comfort and were no match for battle hardened invaders.
Clang!
Steel rang across the battlefield.
The blonde woman held her sword in one hand and knocked a Grand Concord soldier’s weapon away with a single strike.
Her strength rivaled that of a wild beast.
After disarming him, she seized the soldier and hurled him aside as easily as tossing away a chicken.
Across the battlefield, the Grand Concord army sent to suppress them had already collapsed and fled.
"So the armies of the east are this weak. How disappointing."
ridia still looked unsatisfied.
She wiped the blood from her face and withdrew with the knights.
Despite being a woman, ridia was not rely strong.
She was unquestionably the most powerful warrior in the entire Knights of God.
Even standing still, she towered a full head above an ordinary man.
Her body was built like a bear.
Once clad in plate armor, she resembled a moving iron tower.
That overwhelming strength had made her the commander of the Knights of God.
Wherever the expeditionary army went, it seized local grain and wealth.
At the sa ti, it continued expanding its ranks by forcibly conscripting the population.
Priests of the church also preached to the locals.
They proclaid their god and declared the expeditionary army righteous and justified.
In this way, they indoctrinated ignorant civilians.
The church used the will of God to control the minds of its followers.
That was one of the main reasons the expeditionary army fought with such strength.
Many of its soldiers were devout believers.
So were outright fanatics.
The Knights of God were even more extre.
They fought without fear of death and displayed extraordinary ferocity.
The expeditionary army advanced without pause.
Nothing could stop it.
Only after the Grand Concord Dynasty gathered several hundred thousand troops to confront them was their montum finally checked.
Even then, the invaders had already seized a large stretch of territory.
They now possessed a secure base where they could rest and recover.
This was an army of several hundred thousand believers.
There was no hope of defeating it quickly.
The Grand Concord court lived in constant fear.
So officials proposed recalling the elite troops stationed on the northern frontier.
The emperor rejected the suggestion the mont it was raised.
Thalric had always watched the Grand Concord Dynasty with predatory intent.
How could the dynasty withdraw its frontier armies?
The mont it did, Thalric would seize the opening.
Before long, the court’s greatest fear ca true.
After learning of the war within Grand Concord territory, Thalric imdiately marched south.
Three hundred thousand soldiers invaded the northern frontier and began fighting the border garrisons.
The Grand Concord Dynasty now faced enemies both within and without.
The pressure beca imnse.
Whenever the frontier descended into chaos, refugees multiplied rapidly.
Rovaryn was still under construction, and vast numbers of displaced people began pouring into it.
The city already possessed a large population before its construction was even complete.
The realm had fallen into turmoil.
Newhaven City could not remain untouched.
Its position was far too important.
Once war began between Thalric and the Grand Concord Dynasty, Newhaven would inevitably stand at the center of it.
Edrick approached quickly with an intelligence report in hand.
"Leader, Thalric has sent one hundred thousand soldiers directly toward Newhaven. Their commander is Caldris."
Caelum looked mildly surprised.
"Caldris? The Thalric man who raided Westbarrow years ago and chased into the mountains?"
"The sa man."
Edrick continued, "Several years have passed. He is now one of Thalric’s field commanders. According to the latest telegraph from the front, his army will reach Newhaven in three days."
One hundred thousand soldiers.
Enemy numbers no longer mattered to Newhaven.
Faced with such a vast technological gap, even the largest army was nothing more than cannon fodder.
Caelum remained perfectly calm.
He did not take Thalric’s so called army of one hundred thousand seriously at all.
"Prepare the entire military for war. Order the First Army to advance and annihilate the Thalric force."
"Yes, Leader!"
The world was entering a ti of upheaval.
It was also ti for Newhaven City to reveal its edge.
If the goal were only to defeat Thalric, the First Army alone would be enough.
But Caelum had ordered the entire military to prepare for war.
That ant he intended to begin expanding his territory.
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