The Noble Council's ceremonial department had been exceedingly thoughtful. When several towering barbarian warriors raised flag lances forged from pure silver and unfurled the family banner, everyone cried out in admiration.
The flag lances were as thick as goose eggs and five meters long, gleaming silver from end to end. Fine patterns had been carved into their shafts. The triangular family identification banners fluttered in the wind, the giant dragon standing atop a mountain of gold opening its jaws in a skyward roar, radiating a stern majesty not to be offended.
Every warrior wore a palm-sized family crest upon his breastplate. The ceremonial department had also prepared outer tunics. Made from silk, the collarless, sleeveless tunics were red with alternating golden stripes. Once the guards put them on, they lost some of their fierce, rugged air and gained, out of nowhere, the poise and splendor of noble household guards.
It had to be said that the Noble Council's service was exceptionally meticulous. Three hundred identity plaques bearing the Longshan Family crest had also been prepared, and every guard hung one from his belt. Once Lin Qi returned and made a few slight alterations—using his private seal to inscribe the family's secret cipher and marks upon them, then adding each guard's name and position—the plaques could officially be put into use.
Because Lin Qi had paid generously, the ceremonial department's workshops had used only the finest materials to make these items. Whether the flag lances, the tunics, or the family identity plaques, their materials and craftsmanship were all extraordinarily refined, representing the highest standards of the Western Continent.
Thus, once the three hundred guards Lin Qi had brought changed into this attire, they were utterly transformed. The bearing of an old family with centuries of heritage, of nobles with a thousand