The existence of the 'Imperial Guards' is very special. They can even be seen as 'the emperor's embodiment,' since no one but the emperor can mobilize the Imperial Guards. As for Budo, the leader of the Imperial Guards? He wouldn't randomly mobilize the Imperial Guards without the emperor's command. It could even be said that it was because of him and his family that the successive emperors could trust the Imperial Guards so much.
This also led to the Imperial Guards being incredibly mysterious and grand in the eyes of the people of the Imperial Capital. Whenever the Imperial Guards set out, countless people would come to watch. This time was no exception, but unlike before, this 'farewell ceremony' was more silent. The reason for all this was the man riding a horse at the front of the army.
The familiar dark red bone-like armor had been destroyed in the previous battle. Now he was wearing a black bodysuit and a few scattered pieces of armor. But what was even more attractive was the blood-red cloak fluttering behind him and the grotesque bone spear hanging from his waist. The fangs of the beast bone at the hilt were full of a wild aura.
'So the rumors are true. Look, his cloak is the same color as blood!'
'They say his weapon is made from the skeletons of his enemies... how terrifying!'
...
Similar comments constantly came from all around, but Lancer expression didn't change at all. After all, he had heard similar things enough recently. To him, these words had long been automatically filtered out. His mind was more focused on the scene of him saying goodbye to Leone.
He might not have realized it himself, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips. But it was clear that his expression had been misunderstood again, and more bizarre rumors were created...
Beyond the northern fortress was a vast expanse of white snow. Najenda stood on the city wall with her arms crossed, looking at the area outside the city in silence. But just as she was thinking about something, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind her.
"General Najenda!"
"What happened? Did something go wrong somewhere?"
The border army being able to defend the north generally had no problems dealing with the northern foreign tribes, but that was under 'normal circumstances.'
Although the northern foreign tribes were not closely related to the western ones, their situation was similar. They didn't have a unified leader and were more of a collection of countless large and small tribes. In previous years, even when these foreign tribes attacked the northern fortress for looting, they were just small-scale raids. But it was different now.
Numerous large and small tribes began to strategically attack various districts of the fortress. Although they were eventually repelled, the result of them running all over the place was that the morale of the entire northern fortress was low. After all, when you can't eat or sleep well every day, it would be a miracle to have any morale.
Although Najenda's arrival with reinforcements had alleviated the shortage of soldiers to a certain extent, the soldiers who were not used to the northern environment, after their initial bravery, instead added to the pressure on the fortress's logistics. People were sent away every day. It could even be said that the number of non-combat casualties had exceeded the number of soldiers killed by the enemy.
However, the only thing to be thankful for was that after more than half a month of acclimatization, the soldiers were much better than they were at the beginning.
But recently, the foreign tribes had changed their strategy from running around everywhere to 'large-scale battles.' Unprepared, two mobile units were defeated by the other side. Now Najenda was having a headache, trying to figure out how to fill this gap. So when she saw her frantic subordinate, she instinctively thought that something had gone wrong again somewhere.
"No, the reinforcements from the Imperial Capital have arrived!"
"Imperial Capital?"
To be honest, when Najenda was first appointed as the commander of the northern fortress, she was completely bewildered. Even as a temporary commander, it was not a job that a 'newcomer' like her could handle, no matter how you looked at it, right? But later, when she learned that it was an order from the emperor himself, she could only bite the bullet and go, no matter how confused she was.
Now that the Imperial Capital had sent reinforcements, were they planning to remove her?
Although she was relieved, her mood was still incredibly complex.
"Which general is leading them?"
"General Lancer!"
"Lancer?"
When she heard Lancer name, Najenda was stunned for a moment. It seemed a bit unbelievable, but after she calmed down and thought about it carefully, it seemed quite normal.
Lancer reputation had been completely demonized throughout the empire, but correspondingly, people mostly talked about his actions. As for his strength, most people acknowledged it.
Whether it was the title of 'executioner' he earned on the western border, or his deeds of judging and beheading countless nobles in the Imperial Capital, the most shocking thing was the annihilation of the Royal Fist Temple, one of the largest forces in the empire, overnight.
Any one of these three things would be enough to make people talk for a long time, but Lancer had done all three. People could say that Lancer was cruel, that he had no mercy, or that he was crazy, but no one would ever dare to say that he was 'weak.'
It was not incomprehensible that such a powerful general would be sent to take over her somewhat chaotic front line.
But even though she understood, her mood was still inevitably a bit down.
"I'll go welcome him..."
Najenda, who felt that she was most likely going to be sent home or even demoted, sounded a bit listless, but when she came down from the city wall, she met another 'acquaintance.'
"General Liver."
"General Najenda."
Liver, a middle-aged man in a military uniform with his clothes and beard impeccably tidy, respectfully greeted Najenda as a subordinate when he saw her. Although Najenda was a bit awkward, she returned the greeting properly.
The reason she was awkward was not because the two had any conflicts or that she disliked the other person. It was because the other person's attitude made her feel a bit flustered. This general, who had become famous ten years earlier than her, was in no way inferior to her in terms of both strength and prestige. He was even slightly better, but he was asked to be her deputy, which made her feel incredibly awkward.
Liver personality was a bit rigid, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that his actions would make the other person awkward, but in his opinion, it was 'the right thing to do.' However, after doing what he was supposed to do, he wouldn't put too much pressure on the other person either.
"General Najenda, let's go welcome Lancer together."
"Okay."
The two walked side by side, and Najenda felt incredibly awkward, so she found something to talk about.
"I heard that General Liver and General Lancer worked together before. Although I only spent a short time with him in the Imperial Capital, how should I get along with him?"
"Getting along with Lancer? It's very simple. Just be the way you are now."
"?"
"Lancer is a very pure warrior. He will naturally be good to people who are good to him, so General Najenda, you just need to maintain the status quo."
Liver always serious expression also showed a hint of remembrance.
Lancer had been in this world for a year and a half, and he had spent almost a year of that time in the Western Border Army. It can be said that Liver and Lancer were some of the people who had known each other the longest. Liver had always carried out the most dangerous missions, and his teammates were replaced one after another. Even if they survived a few battles, they would either be promoted or retired. Lancer could be said to be one of the people he had worked with for the longest, so he couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic.
Najenda just nodded and didn't comment further.