After the vanguard set out, the Demacian army advanced at a remarkable pace.
With no worries about supplies along the way, they relied on large livestock-drawn wagons and, in some areas, the shipping advantages of the Yeming River. At one point, the Demacian Northern Expeditionary Army covered more than two hundred miles in a single day.
Considering the atrocious state of the roads between Valoran's principalities and city-states, as well as the fact that the army carried its own baggage train and purchased some supplies locally, this rate of march was nothing short of a miracle.
To the people of Valoran's principalities, all they saw was Demacians rushing past nearby roads with a whoosh, or sailing by like the wind in strange ships on the Yeming River.
The novelty wore off as quickly as it had come.
But to the rulers of the principalities and city-states along the way, the sight left them dumbfounded. Demacia's regular army had always been the finest elite force in Runeterra, as far as they were concerned, but from what they could see now, these Demacians seemed almost too elite.
What was more, many of them sensed that these Demacian troops were somehow different from their own. They couldn't quite say how, given how brief their contact had been, but there was no doubt that the difference was profound.
In the past, these Valoran principalities and city-states had all maintained various political and economic ties with Demacia. Demacia even invited them to watch its tournaments as honored guests, and staged drills by elite soldiers before each tournament.
Most of the soldiers who took part in the drills came from minor noble families, and every one of them was skilled with bow and horse. They were not only accomplished riders and proficient with a variety of