Chapter 157: Coldsteel’s Oath

Nolan took a deep breath and stepped forward to the very edge of the platform.

The training grounds fell utterly silent save for the howl of the wind and the snapping of banners overhead. The lion standard of the Elfin Kingdom and Nolan’s sword banner whipped fiercely through the air.

Ailindel raised her right hand, and a soft white radiance of soul essence enveloped Nolan.

“Warriors of Coldsteel!”

His voice was not especially loud, yet under the amplification of soul essence, carried through spiritual resonance into the ears of every single soldier present.

“You all know that what I seek is to restore the glory of the legendary Black Armor Army. Hundreds of years ago, our late king led them through thorns and bloodshed to build this heroic kingdom. Their purpose was simple: to ensure that all who were oppressed could walk beneath the sunlight with dignity. But after only a few centuries, those nobles who once upheld honor as their creed have already lost their light! During the Mandala War, while our southern countrymen faced endless tides of undead from the Shiva Empire, the great nobles of the north chose to stand aside and protect themselves simply because of political differences! They refused to commit their armies and watched as the Southern Legion was nearly annihilated, suffering casualties of over seventy percent!”

Hank shut his eyes tightly as memories soaked in blood resurfaced before him once more. His fists clenched until the knuckles turned white.

“Archduke Demont harbors ambitions of rebellion. He is even willing to collude with the kingdom’s mortal enemies, those undead from the Shiva Empire, and place all of Demont Province, all of you, and all of your families upon the bargaining table in negotiations with the undead! The brutal exploitation inflicted upon Coldsteel City by Baron Haus is merely one shadow beneath this kingdom’s glamorous surface, a symptom of the rotten old order. And at this very moment, the same suffering is unfolding across every corner of the kingdom.”

The soldiers below listened in complete silence.

Many of them had once been victims of that oppression and exploitation themselves. They had lived through such despair. They had seen that suffering with their own eyes.

Some of the younger soldiers could no longer suppress themselves. Their hands tightened around the hilts at their waists so fiercely that veins bulged across the backs of their hands.

“The kingdom now faces a crisis unlike any before it! The north and south stand opposed while the archdukes who command massive armies care only for their own ambitions. Grand Princess Flina and the royal family may wish to restore the kingdom, but they are already stretched beyond their limits. And in the south, the undead empire, those sleepless legions seeking to assimilate all living things, watches us like hungry predators. At any moment, they may launch another full-scale invasion and drag every living soul into the abyss of death! I cannot accept it! I cannot stand by and watch the kingdom I love sink further and further into ruin!”

Nolan suddenly drew the sword at his waist. The black blade of Mountain’s Resonance reflected a cold and solemn light beneath the sky.

“Now, I possess a glory worthy of heroes, but I refuse to keep it for myself! I extend an invitation to all of you, to every brave soul unwilling to endure oppression any longer, unwilling to bow before fate! Only those who dare raise their swords against this rotten old order, only those who dare defy destiny itself, are worthy of walking the road toward a radiant tomorrow! I know this path is destined to be filled with thorns and blood. The journey ahead may be unimaginably difficult. But I swear to you!” Nolan raised his sword high, pointing it toward the heavens. “At the end of that road awaits the most beautiful sunrise! If you are willing to pursue the same dream as I do, then raise your swords and let our roar shake this unjust world!”

What answered him was a tidal wave of steel.

Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!

Led by the division captains, thousands of swords were drawn simultaneously, their metallic cries merging into a soul-shaking symphony of iron and steel.

Their lord was not ordering them to kill.

He was inviting them to become something greater.

For the first time, the soldiers realized they were no longer merely weapons wielded by others, but free men fighting for themselves and for their ideals.

Blood boiled in their veins. Hearts thundered within their chests. Every word Nolan spoke struck directly into the depths of their souls, igniting the anger and unwillingness they had suppressed for so long.

Looking upon the glittering forest of raised blades below him, Nolan felt a surge of fierce pride.

“All who stand with me are my brothers. The oath we swear today outweighs a thousand mountains.” He lifted his sword high and roared with all the strength in his body. “Black Armored Legion! For glory!”

The thousands of soldiers below were utterly consumed by the fervor of the moment. Raising their swords as one, they unleashed the ancient battle cry inherited from the legendary Black Armor Army.

“To the death, and never surrender!!!”

The roar fused into a heaven-shaking torrent that surged into the skies themselves, causing all of Coldsteel City to tremble.

Outside the formations, both Leus and the blacksmith Barton were deeply moved by the atmosphere.

Leus trembled from head to toe, tears streaming freely down his face. Gripping his son Kreil’s shoulders tightly, his voice choked with emotion. “Kreil… do you see it? Do you hear it? You were right… your mother… the future she longed to see most… the lord will truly make it real!”

Barton was equally shaken. His calloused hands, hardened by years at the forge, trembled violently with emotion. He remembered that hellish night when Nolan, drenched in blood, had saved him and his wife before cutting down the villainous Haus with his sword. At this moment, he almost wished he could cast aside his hammer, take up a blade, and charge into that forest of steel to become one of them.

Beneath the platform, Nolan’s earliest companions also stared upward with burning eyes.

Hank smiled for the first time in a very long while. He remembered that night in Rosenberg when the mysterious young man had extended a hand toward him and promised him glory and a future. Back then, he had chosen to believe. Now he knew it had been the best decision of his life.

Before Vivi’s eyes appeared once more the memory of those five silver coins Nolan had tossed to her, along with his promise that she could “live freely beneath the sunlight,” and that calm smile beneath the moonlight. That man always had a way of touching the softest part of her heart with effortless ease.

Little Donnie’s thoughts returned to the battlefield outside Rosenberg, to the sight of Nolan charging headfirst toward the undead horde alone at the front lines. It was the first time he had ever felt that the word “hero” could become something so real, so tangible.

Kayan stood with eyes closed, gripping the holy emblem at his chest while quietly singing hymns from the temple. Tears streamed down his face as his hands shook violently around the iron cross staff. It was as though he could see the future destruction of the kingdom from the divine revelations slowly being rewritten beneath Nolan’s leadership.

Beside him, Renee looked genuinely worried that this devout believer might faint on the spot from sheer emotion.

Half a step behind Nolan, Ailindel silently raised her lance, Breeze. As a hero who had survived the War of Heaven, the thunderous battle cries did not stir great waves within her heart. Instead, they sent ripples of memory spreading through her soul. She looked at Nolan’s silhouette as he raised Mountain’s Resonance high overhead, the dark blade gleaming beneath the sunlight with its unique radiance.

Still as beautiful as ever, Hoden. It seems you’ve found the perfect master once again.

Ailindel’s gaze gradually softened. In her eyes, Nolan’s oath and his figure slowly overlapped with the warriors from the distant past who had once charged toward world-ending calamities during the War of Heaven.

Their enemies might have been different. Their eras separated by ages. But the light within them, the courage to raise their swords against fate itself and move against the current, was strikingly alike.

This was the radiance unique to those who walked against the tide. Perhaps there was no need to mourn the passing of old ages. Every era possessed its own light.

And beside her, Rehanna felt as though her heart were about to burst from her chest. She stared at the spirited man standing upon the platform, his profile bathed in golden light beneath the setting sun, and suddenly found her throat dry.

Normally, Nolan resembled an approachable boy next door—warm, cheerful, occasionally unreliable. He joked with soldiers, mingled freely with everyone, and even cooked meals himself without the slightest trace of aristocratic arrogance.

But at this moment, standing before thousands with his arm raised high, he was every inch a true man and a true leader.

Rehanna herself could no longer tell how much of the violent pounding in her chest came from excitement stirred by the passion of the moment, and how much came from feelings she could no longer suppress. She only knew that from this day onward, this man’s figure would likely be engraved upon her heart forever, impossible to erase. She was willing to offer him everything she had—her sword, her loyalty, and even her heart.

Nolan slowly lowered Mountain’s Resonance, and the soldiers sheathed their swords in perfect unison, every movement crisp and disciplined.

Silence returned to the training grounds once more, yet the fervor ignited in the air lingered long after the roar had faded.

Nolan looked at them with satisfaction.

“Very good. Today is not only about our oath. There is one more thing. The Black Armored Legion is still incomplete… but there is no need to wait any longer.”

A faint smile appeared on his face as his voice rang across the field.

“I hereby proudly announce that, with the help of Chief Logistics Officer Master Leus and every skilled craftsman in Coldsteel City… The first generation of improved black armor is complete!”