Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 197 The City on the Front Line
"Your Highness, you could consider awarding medals to some outstanding adventurers, specifically those who performed exceptionally well during the 'live stream,' and awarding them medals in public."

"Let fame and titles attract heroes and villains, let profit and wealth attract brave fools. All we pay are a few commoner titles that cost nothing." Anyway, knighthoods are already so common that issuing a few more won't hurt.

Rean's suggestion clearly drew on his past life's experience.

They might have thought of these things, or they might have emerged on their own as practice was implemented, but it's possible that many years later they won't.

Rean informed Dania in advance, hoping she would grasp the future direction and take control of the project, turning it into her own personal treasury and business.

As for whether Rean's advice was useful.

"Huh? What did you do? Fate and causality are dancing again."

The snake has come out again; it should be somewhat useful, right?

That was enough of my advice. Looking at the pensive Diane, Rean smiled.

The little one is actually quite rational; she will seriously consider this possibility instead of dismissing it as "commoners' nonsense" and ignoring it completely. Although it's a bit ridiculous, such arrogant nobles and royalty are the majority in this world.

In fact, Her Highness the Princess has always enjoyed a good reputation among the common people and is quite friendly to both commoners and nobles. Her attitude towards Rean was more a result of Rean's own actions.

The minor incident passed quickly, and after entering the danger zone, the temporary team naturally remained silent and prepared for battle.

As they made their way through the rocky corridors, progress became increasingly difficult, and the pitch-black surroundings gave the impression that many hunters and wild beasts were lurking in the shadows.

But this time, Rean didn't find many opportunities to make a move.

A group of monsters appeared. The shield-bearing knights held up their shields and stood on top, while the spear knights followed through the gaps. The archer knights behind them didn't even have time to draw their bows a few times before they had the chance to clean up the battlefield.

This is one of the main tactics of this world: the battle formation constructed by the Iron Knights, which is simple, brutal, and extremely efficient.

But Rean still attracted a lot of attention.

"The Mysterious Step".

The black knight's armor was already unusual, but it proved quite useful on this pitch-black battlefield.

It can't provide camouflage, but the master of nighttime ambushes, "Black Dragon," only needs a moment of hesitation and indecision.

"Die!"

He was like a ghost suddenly leaping out of the shadows, always appearing unexpectedly in the most painful corner of the enemy ranks.

The extraordinary strength and battlefield instincts brought by the Dragon-Snake Eyes give him a near-high-dimensional observer's perspective, and every teleportation he makes hits the key points of the battle!
"Destroy evil."

The next moment, a longsword gleaming with golden light tore through the darkness.

In the eyes of most battlefield spectators, it was often only after the Golden Sword was unleashed that they found the Black Paladin.

With that single slash, whether it was the giant lizard with skin as hard as stone, the tall and imposing minotaur, or even the golden, gleaming stone golem, they were all cut in two.

He didn't act like a fiercely charging paladin; instead, he resembled an assassin dancer lurking in the shadows.

After completing the assassination, he entered the enemy ranks and was naturally surrounded and attacked.

But unlike traditional assassins who "frantically flee for their lives," he immediately switched to battle mode, engaging in a life-or-death struggle on the spot.

"Breaking Boundaries. Shattering Sword".

The two-handed sword perfectly embodies the advantage of being able to deal with multiple opponents and surround you. The circular sword technique can be used to attack everything around you, but what is more dangerous is always the holy power of the sword light shattering.

His wide-range slashes were practically perfect; the simple and brutal Evil-Slaying Slash was used by him as if it were a swordsman's sword dance.

When the sword fell, the surrounding area was already a mass of chopped or roasted meat.

He was like a heavily armored tank airdropped into the heart of the enemy lines, firmly anchored to the enemy ranks, constantly disrupting their deployment.

The sharp-eyed Rean also prioritizes attacking Rean's logistics, high-threat spellcasting, and ranged units.

The sharp-eyed archer on his side noticed the calmness on his face. He didn't even break a sweat. Even though he was wearing heavy armor, he still maintained a balance between his body and mind after completing the entire sequence of actions.

This means he hasn't gone all out yet, and he can sustain this level of combat for a long time.

"Wow, amazing, so young. How is that possible?"

"I heard he used to be a high knight, but he's just recovered now."

"It seems that his overall combat strength is now probably enough to go toe-to-toe with a Grand Knight."

"He's still a little short of reaching the third rank, but judging from this trend, it's only a matter of time."

"An Arcane Knight? Pretty impressive."

The knights' gazes toward Rean became increasingly friendly and respectful.

Previously, most people had only heard rumors, but now they have witnessed it firsthand. The powerful swordsmanship and dazzling holy power have confirmed that the rumors were true.

Knights and warriors are used to letting their fists do the talking; in a sense, it's the most "realistic" approach.

Whether it works or not, a fight will make it clear. Instead of bragging, let's just have a simple arm-wrestling match.

Therefore, they have the utmost respect and recognition for the strong, especially those who are "of the same kind".

As for Rean's elusive footwork, they didn't take it too seriously. There were quite a few arcane knights who knew second-circle spells, which were the most suitable support spells for melee knights. Considering Rean's status as a reborn degenerate, it was normal for him to quickly recall second-circle spells.

As mentioned before, the biggest problem for Arcane Knights is that they have too few and too low-level spells. The limit is to memorize a few low-level spells by force.

Therefore, they did not recognize that Rean was actually an unorthodox mage and paladin.

"Well done, young man." An old knight patted Rean on the shoulder as he returned to his unit.

This kind of recognition from "one of our own" is actually the most precious thing.

With the approval of Princess Rean and Suliman, and thanks to his own performance, Rean is gradually integrating into the high-ranking circle of the Kingdom's knights.

This is actually quite difficult.

The knights accompanying the princess were naturally the elite of the elite. Some were from the city lord's knightly order, and even two members of the Radiant Guard had come. The other group consisted of the kingdom's knights who had arrived a few days ago riding griffins, and they were the main force of the main force.

These knights are the princess's future core group, her new loyal followers as she gradually begins to take power.

These knights followed her primarily because of the support of the Lord of Radiant City and the Queen.

Her concerns were not unfounded. If she really became a voter for Mirror Girl, would these two "big shots" still fully support her?
"They don't know, but he probably will."

For some reason, she felt that Rean's figure wielding his sword had merged with that of the tall knight from the Hall of Heroes.

The next moment, she was in a daze, and she merged with the tall figure she had only seen in the story.

The monsters all around, still stubbornly wielding their swords, must be just like the one in the statue.

"your Highness."

The maid's shouts drew her attention back.

Looking around, you see a vast and enormous "dining hall" with marble-like stone walls, and some super-sized "furniture" forms part of the building.

One stone bench became the most valuable general store, and the other became an expensive inn, with two gargoyles shining red guarding the door. Sleeping there meant you wouldn't have to worry about high-ranking thieves passing by.

The local merchants and adventurers were a bit bewildered by the sudden influx of knights. But the knights completely ignored them and went about their work.

Land that needs to be requisitioned should be requisitioned, and camps that need to be set up should be set up

Soon, these few buildings will become properties managed by the kingdom.

Rean was more concerned about the giant mirror demon that was being bound to the shelf, and the square opposite its mirror!

That area seemed to be a street of sorcerers, with many spellcasters in robes looking inside with great interest.

Perhaps, the influence of the Mirror Demon's live stream is still relatively small. Many high-level spellcasters and powerful individuals who were previously too lazy to go out might step into this teleportation space if they frequently see these "adventure scenes".

"Dangdang!"

As a carriage slowly passed through the passage, cheers erupted simultaneously from both the ground and underground.

According to the plan, if the teleportation fails or is not sustainable, then the knights and workers will work together to build a basic front-line base.

At that point, it became the Cavaliers' standard defensive switching.

To be honest, it's quite unpleasant; it must be a tough job.

Now, with the continuous influx of labor and supplies, the knights have become idle.

The thought that they wouldn't have to spend months stationed on the ground anymore, but could just take turns on duty by the day, put them in a good mood.

However, they remained cautious and vigilant about their surroundings. There was no such thing as a safe zone here. The reason this place had become the largest settlement was probably because its hard surface could keep out the most troublesome burrowing monsters, which made people feel much more at ease.

"Fuck off!"

Rean even witnessed a knight kick away a shady merchant who had come to "demand an explanation."

The surrounding businessmen looked at them with hostility, clearly seeing the reality that their businesses were failing.

But as Dania slowly walked out of the crowd, the wary and hostile gazes of those merchants instantly turned into fawning. Anyone with a normal IQ wouldn't offend the royal family casually in the kingdom, much less be foolish enough to obstruct such a matter of national importance.

"Snapped!"

What surprised Rean even more was the influx of a large number of church knights, who seemed to have also established a cooperative relationship with the royal family.

"Is this the underground ruins?" The arrival of a large group of mages carrying levitation discs as they entered caused a stir among the surrounding crowd.

An old mage from the Golden-Eyed Lion Clan, who was leading the group, walked up to the princess and bowed slightly.

"As per our agreement with the royal family, we will construct a defensive mage tower here. Shall we begin now?"

“Let’s begin. I hope it can be completed as soon as possible,” Dania replied with a smile, her lips even twitching slightly.

“Uncle Felipe, thank you for your support.” Rean “saw” the silent response.

It seems this place is completely safe now, locked down by the mage tower guarded by royal relatives. Let's see who dares to cause trouble.

(End of this chapter)