The morning air at Enclosed Test Ground Three carried an unpleasant smell of coal.
Towering limestone walls enclosed the grounds on every side, making this one of the most tightly secured locations in Red Tide City.
The center of the grounds had been arranged into what looked like a vicious trap: a waist-deep trench of sludge, staggered rows of sharp chevaux de frise, and several thick stone walls built to resemble city fortifications.
Louis's gaze settled on the enormous object covered in canvas at the center of the grounds.
Half a step behind him, Knight Commander Lambert stood like a silent statue.
The Transcendent Knight was also watching the enormous object. His eyes held no doubt, only a soldier's appraising scrutiny.
He knew Louis never did anything without purpose. Since his lord had called this the "new era," something capable of changing the rules had to be hidden beneath that canvas.
The two young Knights standing on the other side, Gray and Sako, were rather less patient.
Gray tugged at his collar and looked over the sludge-covered ground. "How much longer?"
"Be patient. You talk too much." Vale was the one who answered.
The clumsy little Knight who had once trailed behind Louis was now seventeen.
Years of serving as Louis's guard had stripped away his boyish awkwardness. His once-slender shoulders were now held straight.
He paid no further attention to Gray's impatience, keeping his hand on his sword hilt in deliberate imitation of Lord Louis, whom he admired above all others.
Meanwhile, at the center of the grounds, Hamilton nervously wiped the condensation from his goggles.
He and the dozen or so members of the Machinery Group behind him looked utterly bedraggled, their faces smeared with grease, their eyes ringed with dark circles, their work clothes covered in coal