The horses anxiously pawed the ground with their hooves, fifty Cuirassiers arrayed in a triangular formation, chattering noisily on the grassland.

Each beastman dressed in leather armor and adorned with feather-pendant decorations sat on their saddles, with long riding boots that wrapped up to their knees.

They didn't wear iron armor or helmets, which didn't suit the tactical role of Cuirassiers.

But they did wear a beastman-style sculpted mask.

This mask was crafted from leather, hemp, wood strips, and feathers, then painted.

Viewed from the front, it resembled a creature with an open mouth, with the face of a Beastman Cuirassier emerging from within.

This is a traditional attire of the beastman barbarians, worn only by the bravest warriors.

Most masks feature Kongge and Mengge as the main design, but recently, due to the priests' changes, some beastmen have started using Brother Huo's image.

Every time Horn saw that blue-faced, fang-baring mask that barely resembled his own face, he found it hard to hold back his amusement.

Seeing the Cuirassiers line up, Horn signaled to the Standard Bearer beside him.

The two flags waved, and Grush immediately received the order.

"Quickly advance!" Raising his saber high, Grush shouted loudly as he swung it down vehemently.

With the command issued, the Beastman Cuirassiers roared in unison.

Accompanied by the loud whinnies of the warhorses, the charge began.

The warhorses powered up their limbs suddenly, dust flying on the grassland, while the beastmen riding atop, despite having trained for just over a week, could sit steadily.

As their capes fluttered in the wind, the gale swept past their sides, and their horse tails danced in the air like countless strands of filament.

Like a raging torrent, the Cuirassiers bent forward, aimed their sabers at the wooden dummies not far away.

The entwined beast bones, sharp blades, and runic engravings shimmered under the sunlight.

"Charge! Assault!"

The cavalry at the forefront pierced through the air at an astonishing speed.

As the distance to the dummy closed, the ground trembled slightly, grass blades bent and broke, dust forming a hazy battle cloud chasing their horse rears forward.

The Cuirassiers turned sideways, their sabers swiftly slashing over the wooden dummies.

Sawdust flew, and the Cuirassiers brushed past one by one, with the targets on their sides continuously swaying.

Some inadvertently turned completely sideways, after all, they've only trained for two and a half weeks.

Yet those nearly horizontal Cuirassiers on horseback, seemingly defying the laws of physics, miraculously remained mounted.

Every time Horn saw such a scene, he couldn't help but marvel, beastmen are indeed beast-like.

Their tails swung left and right, the dual balance tubes in their human and beast ears providing them with a balance far superior to humans.

This is one reason Horn recruited beastmen as Cuirassiers.

When they served as scouts, Horn discovered these beastman traits.

Despite their knight's breathing technique talent being far inferior to humans, they possessed extraordinary sensory abilities.

Great balance, clear vision, and absurd hearing.

For horse riding, they seem to have an innate talent, quickly familiarizing themselves with horses.

In just two and a half weeks, their riding skills surpassed some who have trained for two months.

Yet only one issue troubled Horn and Grush.

"Hey hey hey! Where are you all headed? Turn around, turn around, how did I teach you!"

Anxious angry shouts echoed in his ears as Grush, with several Holy Gun Cavalry, frantically chased after them.

But Grush's shouting had no impact, the Beastman Cuirassiers cheered, charging straight forward, completely oblivious to the fact that ahead was a more-than-meter-deep creek.

Horn shook his head slowly, these beastmen were indeed brave, their intelligence however was generally problematic.

This wasn't Horn being racist; whether through inbreeding or whatnot, these beastmen's intelligence indeed commonly had issues.

Horn once heard a rumor that beastmen were war machines created by the El people, hence born with low intelligence.

But Hilov was a beastman!

Her intelligence couldn't be called pristine, but at least she was a natural genius.

Just like the previous Battle of Pavia, he clearly told those beastman scouts to retreat, yet they insisted on staying on the battlefield.

Most are the type to act recklessly once their blood is hot.

Worst of all, they're forgetful of past lessons, Horn's devout infusion stick had little effect on them.

Not only that, these beastmen stubbornly cling to tradition.

The Northern beastmen are better; their traditions have become relatively advanced after being influenced by civilization.

But the Southern beastmen barbarians are different; they have a habit of carving.

They always carve the heads of the respected gods and then place them on the battle flags.

Thinking of this, Horn turned around and looked up, seeing the cuirassiers' battle flag with its tassels by his side.

On that battle flag, the heads of Kongge, Mengge, and Brother Huo were back-to-back, embracing each other, looking in different directions.

You all, you can't just worship the Saint Jeanne? Why must you target me?

"Your Grace..." Grush, whose pant legs were wet, approached with an awkward smile on his face.

"Training is..." Halfway through his words, Horn didn't know how to continue, "Not bad, but we should still strengthen discipline."

"Your Grace, next time you come, I promise I will have them well-tamed." Grush hurriedly defended to reduce his sentence.

"No problem, you carry on, I won't disturb you, I'm leaving then."

Saying goodbye to Grush and the cuirassiers training camp, Horn, protected by the military police and Holy Gun Cavalry, headed towards Joan of Arc Castle.

As his body swayed with the warhorse, Horn continued to ponder the problems with these cuirassiers.

The purpose of setting up these cuirassiers was to address the shortcomings of the Salvation Army in pursuing enemy forces.

Previously, even though the Holy Gun Cavalry had annihilated the Imperial Mandate Regiment, they still let many Extraordinary Knights escape and failed to eliminate many viable forces.

The role of the cuirassiers lies in pursuit and harassment: striking supply convoys before battle, harassing and entangling flank cavalry during battle, and hunting down retreating enemy forces afterwards.

Next, Horn will surely have a clash with the Ibe Knights from Jinhe Town.

Unlike Kush Territory, which is full of hills, ponds, and forests, Jinhe Town is a vast plain, placing infantry at a significant terrain disadvantage.

If they dispatch light cavalry, harass before battle, and hinder pursuit afterwards, the scattered cavalry regroup, and the battles will never end.

These beastmen, when will they become reliable?

With many thoughts in his mind, Horn slowed his horse down, walking down the street and stopping in front of the City Hall.

Handing the reins to a servant, Horn looked at the City Hall in front of him. The intricate Gothic patterns had been removed, replaced by simple gear patterns with a metallic sheen.

Putting his leather gloves into the sash at his waist, Horn walked towards the entrance of the City Hall.

The previously broken ground had been patched and glued with mortar and stone slabs, ensuring minimal jostling even if hard wooden wheels rolled over it.

At the stone pillars at the entrance of the City Hall, the statues of two generations of Duke Kush were removed, replaced by two lion-bodied statues.

Walking with a brisk pace, Horn passed by the two statues but suddenly slowed his steps.

Turning around, he quickly approached the lion-bodied statues, examined them for a few seconds, and his whole body stiffened.

"Your Grace, what's wrong?" Armand, who had been standing at the door to greet him, curiously came over.

"What is this?" Horn turned his head and pointed at the statues.

Armand peeked over Horn's shoulder: "A lion-bodied statue... eh, wait, why does this have your face and two fangs?!"

This was not a lion-bodied statue; this was clearly a lion-bodied Hogo Statue!

"What's going on here?" Seeing the decorative artisan passing by, Armand jumped over and grabbed him.

The artisan, realizing something was wrong by looking at Horn's darkening face, timidly replied, "I, I thought you liked it this way..."

"Who told you that?"

"M-Master Chrispa."

Horn's vision darkened, he forced a smile: "Alright, you're done here, you can leave."

"O-Okay." The artisan fled as if escaping a disaster.

Horn then muttered, "Quickly find that old scoundrel Patrick for me..."

"No need to look, I've come myself." With a hurried sound of footsteps, Patrick appeared heavily before Horn.

"You..."

"Revenge can wait, I have important military intelligence." Before Horn could finish his sentence, Patrick interrupted him solemnly.

"What?"

"We've received news that a large army has appeared outside the border, very likely the Ibe Knights of Jinhe Town!"

Patrick took a deep breath: "The war has begun."

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