Chapter 285: The Disparity

Sane finished giving the gift, and dragged Kaelen back immediately, leaving the administrative staff dumbfounded for the entire afternoon.

They could not accomplish any proper work that entire day, their whole bodies feeling as if they were floating on clouds. They ultimately had to get off work early, returning home to stabilize their spirits.

Elric lay on the bed hugging his mate, and spoke softly:

"The leadership will change tomorrow, I suddenly feel somewhat unconfident. This Lord Sane looks extraordinary with just a single glance anyway."

Cynthia caressed Elric’s sturdy chest, and said:

"I often heard Lord Kaelen say he is only suited for leisurely tasks, occasionally giving a few proposals. His mate handles the leadership work entirely. His eyes are filled with proud pride whenever he talks about his mate. I think Lord Sane is definitely very talented."

Elric sighed:

"That is exactly why I lack confidence. I only fear I will not do well, and he will swing his tail once to smash me into a meat pie."

Cynthia burst out laughing: "Do not be so pessimistic, my husband is very capable. You just work as usual." She rested her chin on Elric’s chest, and smiled, saying: "Take me for example, I was clueless about housekeeping previously, am I not doing very well now? Kevin also became the class monitor, you cannot lose to your son."

Elric chuckled, pinching her nose affectionately: "You, why compare me to our son? But you are right, I just need to do my job well, worrying and fearing too much will make me lose my judgment ability..."

The couple lay on the bed whispering, falling asleep at some unknown point.

The chilly autumn wind slipped through every roof tile, carrying every whisper to disappear into the night. A peaceful night passed quietly just like that.

Lyra city welcomed a beautiful new day the next morning.

Every street was swept clean, and the morning stalls were arranged orderly. The market goers also divided into two clear lanes, completely having no pushing or shoving situation.

Everyone tacitly left an empty space in the middle, yielding the road for ox carts and horse carriages to travel.

A middle-aged man was scolded harshly by a sanitation worker at the West street corner for daring to let his ox defecate on the road. Two women argued over haggling for a yard of floral fabric at the head of the East street. A bakery was working busily at the end of the South street, and an extremely long line of people queued in front of the shop door.

Sane stood on the highest floor of the Department of Public Security, taking the panoramic view of the city into his eyes. He was quite satisfied with the security situation in this place, but he was displeased upon seeing a Public Security staff member unable to even carry a sack of rice.

Elric saw Sane frown looking toward the street corner where the Public Security staff member was struggling to wrestle the sack of rice, sweating profusely. Elric stepped forward one step, standing a distance of about three footsteps away from Sane, and explained:

"That young man was a slave previously, his health foundation was ruined, and he needs some more time to nurse his body back to health."

Sane retracted his gaze, and said: "Why let an untrained person do important work like a Public Security staff member?"

Elric scratched his head: "He knows how to read, and normally only does ledger recording work."

Sane shook his head: "That will not do either. He will be the first to die if a riot occurs. Or his teammates will have caught the criminals already in a certain case, while he is still panting while walking on the road.

You must know, even clerical staff in the Department of Public Security must undergo rigorous training to be allowed to work. It is not for them to go catch criminals, but to prevent them from being taken hostage by criminals, affecting the case-solving process of the other members in the squad."

Sane finished speaking, and moved his steps again: "Lead me to the soldier training ground."

Elric hurriedly scrambled to follow, leading the way for Sane to the training ground. Sane looked around once, and his eyebrows knitted even tighter. Elric was anxious:

"Lord, is there any problem?"

"An extremely huge problem!" Sane rubbed his head in frustration: "They look methodical at a quick glance, but every single guy is actually completely out of shape in reality. The reason you could defeat the Church and the Royal Capital people previously was because of the novel formations and fighting styles. These soldiers before my eyes will only be left as pure dregs waiting until the enemies catch up with the rhythm."

Elric was bewildered: "But, Lord Kaelen commented it was quite alright..."

Sane wiped his face, and said helplessly: "He was only comforting you. Why do you think he hurriedly resigned immediately upon my arrival otherwise?"

Elric: "..."

Are we truly that bad?

Sane took a deep breath, and said in a cold voice: "That ragtag bunch I picked up along the way looks much more decent than this bunch you claim to be regular soldiers."

His voice was not small, completely entering the ears of the over ten thousand Lyra soldiers lining up neatly on the training ground. The soldiers’ complexions changed simultaneously. They were wary of Sane’s oppressive pressure yesterday, but they could not help but generate indignation and doubt upon being directly humiliated like this.

A robust cavalry captain could not hold it in, risking stepping forward one step.

The Cavalry Captain said: "Lord, we used our lives to push back the Church’s Knight Order. You just arrived, and have never seen us fight, on what basis do you judge we are inferior to that ragged mercenary bunch?"

Sane clicked his tongue, raised his hand over his head, and snapped his fingers once. This finger snap consumed half of the Divine Energy Sane had scraped together throughout this time. He completely did not show it on his face, however, because he firmly believed this Divine Energy amount would be full again before long.

A light flashed then went out following Sane’s finger snap, and a crowd of people immediately appeared on the training ground.

"Enemy ambush, form up!"

A command echoed amidst that unfamiliar crowd while the Lyra soldiers were still stunned, not understanding what had happened. The initial chaotic scene vanished immediately, replaced by an extremely unified and orderly formation scene.

The newcomers’ faces were filled with vigilance and sky-high fighting intent, and the weapons in their hands were all in a ready stance. It was not only healthy men and adult beastmen, but even the elderly, women, or weak children protected in the middle were also full of killing intent.

Sane crossed his arms, and then shouted loudly: "Attention! Left, face!"

The newcomer group immediately lowered their weapons upon hearing the familiar command, forming neat ranks, and turning to the left. The whole crowd only gaped their mouths open after finishing doing so, staring intently at the group of people in front. They especially stared at the purple-haired beastman standing with crossed arms overhead.

What the hell, what weird place are we in? The person reading the commands is the Lord Divine Envoy, right?

We were still in the middle of the forest, why did we change locations in the blink of an eye?

Sane jerked his chin toward Elric and the Cavalry Captain: "Look at their formation, then look back at your formation, do you see the difference?"

The two men were dumbfounded, then blushed in shame. The newcomers entered a combat state immediately upon appearing, their formation was neat, and everyone gripped the weapons in their hands firmly. Their army was still dazed meanwhile, not understanding what was happening, and every single guy stood there with a blank face like a pooping goose.

"Do you see clearly?" Sane leisurely tapped his finger on the stone pedestal, his voice low but carrying absolute pressure: "They just experienced a whole month of hunger and thirst drifting on the sea, and had to cut through the forest to pave the way heading here, their stamina exhausted. But they immediately formed a defensive formation, protected the weak, and entered a life-and-death combat state the moment an unexpected event occurred. What about you? You stand on your home turf, well-fed and warmly clothed, yet you stand with blank faces waiting for death when an incident happens."

"If the Church uses a teleportation array to drop an army like this into the middle of our camp one day, you tell me what is the survival rate of our army with the current situation?"

Elric lowered his head in shame: "The whole army annihilated."

Sane turned back to the newcomer formation again, and shouted sternly:

"Team captains step forward!"

The four people at the head of the rows stepped forward immediately: "Reporting to the Lord Divine Envoy. We are present!"

Sane: "Count heads!"

"Understood!" The captains immediately turned around, faced their rows, and began shouting: "Whole army attention, begin counting heads. Team one, begin! One!"

The captain of team one, Sword Saint Godfrey, began counting from himself. The person standing at the head of the row in front of him continued to count two, and everyone in team one seriously counted their numbers in their standing order afterward. The last person of team one shouted loudly: "One thousand two hundred, team one finished!"

The captain of team two immediately shouted in succession: "Team two begin! One thousand two hundred and one!"

It continued from the head of the row to the end just like that, four thousand three hundred and two people including the crew and their family members sequentially rolled call. The captain of team one Godfrey stepped forward to report immediately after finishing the roll call:

"Reporting to the Lord Divine Envoy, the head count is four thousand three hundred and two people, complete!"

Sane nodded in satisfaction, raised his hand then lowered it. Everyone in the team immediately exited the full-body attention state, and relaxed their whole body muscles, but they still maintained the formation firmly.

The jaws of Elric and the Lyra soldiers dropped to the ground, completely terrified by this oppressive aura. Sane turned his head, and asked the Cavalry Captain:

"Do you have any more questions?"

The Cavalry Captain shook his head dazedly. The complexions of the soldiers behind him also turned ashen, lowering their heads in shame.

Sane’s face hardened: "Speak!"

The newly arrived crowd jumped in shock, closing their arms and legs, and held their chins high: "Reporting, no more questions!"

Sane massaged his forehead, looking at them gloomily: "I am not asking you! Why interject! Run five laps around the training ground for me if you have that much surplus energy!"

The over four thousand people: "..."

Take that for being quick-mouthed! The mouth truly makes the body suffer!