Close Combat Mage
chapter-201

While pondering, Suo Jia turned around and left the inspection stage. Suo Jia didn’t have any intention to rely on this kind of soldiers; they wouldn’t be able to contribute much to the cause. Suo Jia could only place his hopes on the 10,000 regular soldiers now.

Suo Jia rushed towards the military drill ground. The drilling ground was the small public square between two army camps. Once the alarm bell had been sounded, all the soldiers would immediately assemble in the small public square between the two barracks. If they went forwards, they’d be able to support the city walls, and if they went backwards, they’d be able to guard the fort’s border station. This gave them the freedom to advance or retreat.

On the way there, Suo Jia knitted his brows tightly; since the slave soldiers were already like this, the regular soldiers wouldn’t be much better. That damn fatty had definitely stuffed all the army funds and provisions into his own pockets. What more could one expect from the army raised by such a guy?

Very soon, after sweeping past countless buildings, Suo Jia arrived at the small public square. After a quick glance, Suo Jia couldn’t help but stand there blankly. This…just what kind of joke was this?

Their weapons were dazzling, their armors were bright, their flags were fluttering in the wind; an army adorned with steel was standing at attention in the public square. A light breeze brushed by without producing any sound. Even though there were only 10,000 people, they emitted an earth-shattering aura that made them seem impossible to oppose.

Even though there was still a huge distance between them, Suo Jia was certain that this was a genuine armed force, the real iron-blooded knights. Their aura alone was something that couldn’t be faked.

In a flash, Suo Jia suddenly landed on the inspection stage and swept a glance around. It was a 10,000 man army with two types: there were 5000 pike users that occupied the middle and left camp, as well as 5000 cavalry that made up the right camp. Their weapons all gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight. What shocked Suo Jia the most was that the 5000 war mounts were all stably standing there. They didn’t move at all, nor did they make a single sound. It was a miraculous sight!

Seeing Suo Jia’s shocked expression, Naifa Lian proudly said, “This is our Dawn City’s trump card troops: Dawn Army! It is because of this army that our Dawn City can be as steady as Mt. Tai!”

Suo Jia looked at Naifa Lian in astonishment and asked in confusion, “I don’t understand. Your father has such a stingy personality, how could he have trained such a powerful army? How was he willing to spend so much money to equip these super warriors!”

Naifa Lian blushed in shame and said in a low voice, “This is something inevitable. Although Father loves money, he would’ve been killed ages ago without the protection of these soldiers. Moreover….these soldiers are the tools he uses to rake in wealth!”

“Oh!” Suo Jia nodded in understanding. These soldiers were that fatty’s weapons. If they covered their faces, they could pass themselves as thieves outside the city and steal from traveling merchants. At the same time…the army’s existence could suppress any possible trouble the slave soldiers could stir up. It could be said that this army was the root of the Naifa Family’s establishment.

After pondering for a bit, Suo Jia turned around doubtfully and asked Naifa Lian, “Since they’re so strong, why didn’t your father arrange for them to ambush us? If he had dispatched these guys, even we would’ve had to retreat in defeat.”

Naifa Lian shot Suo Jia a helpless look and explained, “Firstly, Father underestimated you guys. In his opinion, you were a group of 30-40 children. He believed that the same number of high-ranking generals and over a hundred archers combined would definitely be enough to eradicate you all easily.”

“Mm…” Suo Jia nodded. He couldn’t deny the fact that if he hadn’t personally spent massive amounts of money to equip up the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes, they really wouldn’t have been a match for those guys.

Naifa Lian bitterly said, “On the other hand, these soldiers wouldn’t vow loyalty and devotion to my father anyways. Strictly speaking, my father lacks that charm that draws people to willingly sacrifice themselves for. My father has always been using the Emperor’s name to command these soldiers around. They are only loyal to the Emperor’s orders. That’s why…even if Father asked them to come, revealing your identity would be enough to make them change sides right before battle.”

“Ai…” Suo Jia sighed and shook his head. He finally realized what the root of the problem was. Although the fatty had spent a large amount of money on this army, he hadn’t won over their hearts. It could also be said that nobody was willing to swear loyalty and devotion to him. Thus, it wasn’t that the fatty didn’t want to use them, but that he couldn’t. After all….these soldiers were only loyal to the Empire, not the fatty himself.

Suo Jia looked at the imposing army of steel in front of him with admiration. He knew that because they were the fatty’s protectors, as well as his tools to obtain wealth, the fatty had to equip them to their teeth for the sake of keeping his own life. He no longer cared about how much money he had to spend. After all…as great as wealth was, it wasn’t as important as one’s life!

Since he had used the power of such formidable equipment, the fatty naturally wasn’t willing to let it go to waste. He surely dispatched the army every day to go steal. It was precisely due to this reason that the he had enemies everywhere. One must realize that such a special, powerful army couldn’t be found just anywhere. Although they concealed their faces, everyone could clearly recognize their identities.

It could be said that the fatty had no friends. Aside from himself, everyone was a target to steal from, as well as his enemy. Once he lost his power, everyone would hunt him down to kill him. The number of people that he had offended was really too great.

Naifa Lian proudly said, “These 5000 pike users protect the city. They are seasoned soldiers that have experienced and successfully lived through hundreds of wars. In terms of defense, they are godly soldiers. There is no one in this world that could ever break through the city walls that they protect!”

“Hm…” Suo Jia nodded in praise and looked at the 4-5 meter long pikes in the soldiers’ hands. He had to admit that aside from people like the Angelic Six-Winged Phoenixes that were freaks impervious to sword and spear, even experts would have difficulty escaping from injury against these soldiers!

Naifa Lian continued with a tone of admiration, “As for the 5000 Mengma Knights, they are the roots of Dawn City. Over the past 30-40 years, each of these 5000 soldiers have personally experienced thousands of battles. On average, they’d battle once a week, and they once battled for 3.5 years straight in a public zone!”

Naifa Lian smiled and loftily declared, “If the pike users are people that have experienced hundreds of battles, then these Mengma Knights that have survived thousands of battles are definitely elites. They’re all proficient in battle qi, battle skills, and equestrian archery. Even if War Gods went against them, they’d still suffer from losses!”

Suo Jia looked over at the cavalry. From what he could see, these cavalrymen were entirely covered with steel; even their faces were hidden. The surfaces of the steel armor were filled with blade scratches. Judging by how deep they were, it was clear these scratches were not inflicted by themselves, but from violent enemy slashes.

From a single glance, he could tell that the exteriors of the steel armors were completely covered in dents. In addition, these countless dents were created by traces that blades had left behind. The war blades they held were particularly chipped. Even the sheathes were scarred. From this, one could tell just how bitter the battles they had experienced were.

However, wasn’t what caught Suo Jia’s attention; rather, it was the Mengmas these guys rode on that were renown for both their attack and defense powers. These things were quite amazing. One Mengma was already worth a massive amount of 40 million. How were these things that the fatty could afford? Just the 5000 Mengmas alone were worth 200 billion!

Seeing Suo Jia’s shocked expression, Naifa Lian laughed and said, “There’s no need to be so surprised. These Mengmas were allocated by the Empire. In addition, they regularly participate in tournaments between the Empire’s corps. No matter how greedy Father is, he wouldn’t dare go against this decision. Otherwise, he’d definitely be exposed!”

Naifa Lian paused for a bit before continuing, “Also, the armors and weapons these soldiers have are all allocated by the Empire as well. They’re all numbered specifically, and nobody can use them without approval. If they are damaged, they will immediately be replaced with new versions with no cost involved.”

“Hehe…” Suo Jia couldn’t help but chuckle excitedly. Before coming here, Suo Jia had already requested for the garrison troops from the Emperor. To the Emperor, this was just one 10,000 man army. If Suo Jia wanted it, then why not grant it to him? If the Emperor didn’t give enough military power to Suo Jia, Dawn City would probably lose its defenses.

Seeing the flourishing state of the army, Suo Jia couldn’t suppress the wide smile on his face. This hard-blooded army would count as Suo Jia’s people from now on. In addition…he’d have these powerful Mengmas and the ability to change armors at any time. An army as formidable as this could only be found here.

(TL Note: The word Mengma here is written as 蒙玛，which sounds the same as mammoth, 猛犸. It’s probably a play on words, and the Mengmas are supposed to be mammoth based, but not actual mammoths, as they don’t exist in that world, and they can’t evolve into velociraptors (dinosaurs). The punny name is just a result of the author being uncreative.)