"Creak, creak..."
As the thirty-sixth peal of bells rang out, the palace gates of Nine Dragons Royal City slowly opened.
"Clop, clop, clop..."
Fifty thousand Ravenous Wolf Guards, who had followed the Huan King from his humble beginnings to dominion over the world, rode out first, their formation ironclad, their rhythm as one.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
The honor guard followed close behind, and the musicians struck up their music.
"Rumble..."
Amid the steady rumble of wheels, the Huan King's royal carriage appeared, drawn by thirty-six white horses arranged in six groups of six. The carriage was carved in gold and fashioned from jade, with yellow pendants hanging from it, yet nothing obscured the scene within.
Inside the carriage, the Huan King sat as still as a mountain, with two women of peerless beauty seated gracefully at his sides.
It was easy to guess that if the Huan Kingdom's "Kingdom Ascension Ceremony" succeeded, these two women would become the highest-ranking women in the kingdom... the Empress and the Lady of the Western Palace!
"Thud, thud, thud..."
Behind the Huan King's carriage, apart from the honor guard and musicians, came the Huan Martial Guards, armored like lumps of iron and bearing halberds-the third-stage advanced form of the historically renowned special troop type, the "Wei Elite Infantry"!
Under the gaze of countless people, the Huan King finally left the palace, signifying that...
The Kingdom Ascension Ceremony was about to enter its formal proceedings!
Just as the Huan King's carriage passed out of the palace, Chief Palace Steward Qiu Li, Eunuch Qiu, jogged up beside it and reported quietly, "Your Majesty! Red-alert military intelligence: the Canada-U.S. Allied Forces have launched an all-out assault on the Marshall Islands!"
"Crack..."
The Huan King, Jian Shang, clenched his fist, his bones cracking sharply. Even Qi Ji and