Chapter 374: Straight In
More than a hundred steps rose before the palace.
Each step was a full ten meters long, half a meter wide, and thirty-five centimeters high-dimensions that made the climb extremely uncomfortable.
Yet they accentuated the majesty of the palace gates.
The gates were primarily gold and red, carved with the thornflower emblem of the Warren Royal House. On either side, rectangular tapestries hung from twenty-meter towers, their lower edges about three meters above the ground. One depicted an unsheathed sword, the other an upright shield. Qin Ran knew little about heraldry, but he could guess what they meant.
Courage and fearlessness.
In fact, the meaning of the two tapestries was much as Qin Ran had guessed.
The sword represented a king of the Warren Royal House who had personally led an expedition.
The shield represented a king who had personally mounted the city walls to repel foreign invaders.
Now, between the two tapestries, a knight in silver armor sat astride a white warhorse before the gates.
His visor was raised, revealing a valorous face, though the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes showed that he was no longer young.
Still, his hands remained strong. The lance he held pointed diagonally into the night sky without the slightest tremor.
When he saw Qin Ran, he showed no interest in conversation. He slapped his warhorse and charged.
"Hyah!"
With a low shout like the roar of a lion or tiger, the knight on the white horse charged straight down from the palace gates.
The white warhorse's four hooves landed nimbly and precisely on the steps, as though galloping over level ground. The momentum of its downhill charge seemed to make the knight unstoppable.
Facing the charging knight, Qin Ran rushed forward without hesitation.
Neigh!
Night Owl whinnied,