959: Chapter 76: The Knights of the Knight’s Nation 959: Chapter 76: The Knights of the Knight’s Nation Behind Prince Nicholas stood an elderly knight with white beard and white hair, dressed in a half suit of armor, his armor clinking crisply with every movent.
The knight appeared to be about eighty years old, but he remained vigorous.
Despite the many wrinkles on his face, it was still ruddy and lustrous.
Although his hair and beard were white, they were thick and neat.
Despite his old age, he moved agilely.
At Nicholas’s cue, he promptly rose to his feet, his back straight as a rod.
His footsteps were stable and agile, showing no signs of frailty.
Among the high-ranking officials present, at least half recognized this old knight.
Even those who had not seen him in person had at least heard of his reputation.
The legendary knight Greenfar was one of only two National Guardians of the Falar Empire and the oldest military officer in the empire.
It was said that he, his late father, and grandfather were the only family in the Falar Empire where three generations had successively served as National Guardians.
They had served four emperors of the empire, and, if nothing went wrong, would serve a fifth soon.
There were also rumors that his grandfather, old Greenfar, had once been a squire to the demigod knight Nellie when she was still serving the Falar Empire.
Later, as a subordinate, he had followed Nellie in several wars against the Country of Sand and on campaigns in the southern border’s Plains of Magical Beasts.
It could be said that he was almost a student of Nellie’s, until she left the Falar Empire due to her reflections on the righteousness of war and the ideology of knights.
Only then did old Greenfar step out from behind Nellie and gradually rise through the ranks in the imperial army, eventually reaching the position of National Guardian.
However, although Nellie had left the Falar Empire, and the imperial family always harbored misgivings about her, the National Guardian always maintained his respect for her.
A portrait of Nellie hung in the most prestigious place in his ancestral ho, and he left instructions that each generation of his family should hold Lady Nellie in the highest regard.
Thus, after old Greenfar, Greenfar and his father grew up listening to stories of Nellie, always regarding her as a revered figure.
This attitude infuriated but also rendered the four emperors of the empire helpless, eventually forcing them to pretend they saw nothing.
It seems now that not only Nellie’s portrait hung in the Greenfar family ho.
Since, after sta nding up, in addition to bowing halfway to Prince Nicholas, the old knight also bowed deeply to Pannis from afar.
Although he did not say anything, his deanor conveyed the solemnity of his gesture.
Pannis was startled and, recognizing the elder’s sowhat familiar face, his expression gradually turned into a bitter smile.
He sighed softly, shaking his head with a look of wistfulness.
But in the next mont, he felt a firm hand grip his, a familiar sensation as if traveling through a century, just like the old days.
Feeling the tallic hardness in the palm of his hand, Pannis was very certain of the owner of the hand but did not turn his head.
His gaze remained fixed forward, albeit with an increasingly complex expression.
The old knight did not notice the subtle interactions by Pannis’s side far away.
He was simply expressing his respect to the most important person to his idol, before turning his attention back to his duties.
He strode to the edge of the high platform, took a deep breath, and with a knight’s war cry, he bellowed, “All troops, charge.”
As the reverberating cry gradually died down in the wilderness, a thunderous sound of horse hooves ca from the dawn.
Despite the multitude of horses, the steps of countless warhorses were exceptionally synchronized, each hoof strike making only one sound.
The resonance made the hoofbeats louder and louder, sounding like thousands of knights charging.
The incessant clatter of hooves continued, and after a minute, a dark cloud appeared on the horizon.
If one had good enough sight, they might discern about a hundred knights dressed in black full armor, with black capes draped over their backs, and faces obscured behind black helt visors, unreadable and revealing nothing but a cold, ferocious aura.
Each rider sat atop a uniform black steed, each animal strong and sized impressively, their hooves forged from pure black tal.
A hundred knights ford a charge formation and swept past the highlands, leaving trails of dust behind.
Despite the brief few seconds, the people on the platform were able to clearly see the knights.
At the forefront of the team was a Gold Rank knight, his Aggression shimring with a golden glow.
Following him were ten Silver Rank knights, holding long lances leveled in their hands, with the sharp tips reflecting the sunlight.
Behind them were ninety Bronze Rank knights, each holding the sa one-handed sword — even the angle at which the swords were raised was identical, as precise as if chanized.
One hundred and one knights circled the wilderness at high speed for a round and then simultaneously pulled on their reins; one hundred and one black horses rose up neatly.
In the shortest amount of ti, they transitioned from motion to stillness and halted between the position of the wolf cavalry and Neville infantry.
One hundred and one knights just sat on their horses, motionless like sculptures.
Such a force of one hundred and one people exhibited a strength no less formidable than the four thousand elite troops of the Neville Federation.
This was not only because these knights were also the elite of the elite but also because the spectators present were no strangers to military affairs, having attended a military conference.
If they were ignorant in military matters, it would have been quite embarrassing; thus, almost all of them understood so aspects and could perceive that these one hundred and one people represented not just themselves but an entire army.
In the knight-centric unique military system of the Falar Empire, each knight represents a small team of twenty-one people, including three apprentice knights, five shield bearers, five heavy sword bearers, three lancers, two longbow bearers, and two flag bearers.
These twenty followers, along with the knight, ford the most basic team unit.
Once a battle comnced, knights and apprentice knights would loudly recite the Knight’s Oath and launch a ferocious charge at the enemy.
Wherever the knight’s battle flag went, the followers would closely follow behind the knights to strike at the enemy.
If the knights successfully penetrated the enemy’s formation, the infantry followers would seize this opportunity to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy.
If the knights failed to penetrate and were instead trapped in the enemy’s formation locked in a hard battle, the charging followers would take on the role of protection, shielding the knights behind them and giving them a chance to reorganize their formation.
Therefore, the one hundred and one knights present represented at least a two-thousand-strong, most elite force.
(To be continued.
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