At the very center of the square stood a troop of cavalry, all wearing brass helmets in the Suneva style. The front of the helmet was covered by a piece of spotted leopard skin, while the slightly protruding brim was made of black leather and edged with brass on both sides. At the top of the helmet, a relief of the "Emperor's Eagle" stood in the center.

The Imperial Eagle is surrounded by tassels made of black horsehair, and on the left side of the helmet, between the black and yellow colors, a deep red flamingo tail feather is conspicuously inserted in the middle.

Compared to the exquisitely crafted helmet that incorporates various symbolic elements, the armor worn by the cavalrymen at this moment appears much simpler. They wear a heavy breastplate with an exceptionally smooth outer surface. The breastplate has no extra decorations, with only two leather straps inlaid with brass rivets running through it. The reason for not adding more decorations is that the breastplate is extremely heavy, weighing up to ten kilograms.

The weight of the breastplate dictates that the wearer must be strong and robust, and the current cavalry unit consists of men who are all over 180 centimeters tall and physically strong. They are all strongmen specially selected from various armies, and the horses they ride are the finest breed of Finks warhorses on this continent.

These uniformly black Finks warhorses were not only much taller and stronger than ordinary warhorses, but only they could carry the cavalrymen in battle with such weight, because in addition to the cavalrymen themselves and their armor, their weapons also amounted to an extremely heavy weight.

The cavalrymen carried a long flintlock musket and two short-barreled firearms, and a saber hung at their waists. Although firearms were mainly used in recent wars, the saber was still in use by this cavalry unit. This 1.2-meter-long saber had been used by the cavalry for hundreds of years. The handle was made of black ebony, with blackened copper wire inlaid between the grips. The handguard on the outside of the handle was made of gilded brass, with a roaring lion design at the end of the handle, and the head of Saint Marin, the goddess of peace, in the diamond shape in the middle of the handguard.

The patterns on the blade are much more exquisite, with half of them being gold engraved patterns. In the center of the pattern is also the emblem of the Imperial Eagle, surrounded by twelve blooming blue hibiscus patterns.

The characters engraved on the back of the blade identified this cavalry unit as Imperial Heavy Brutalis Dragoons.

This dragoon force, which von Palen is so proud of, has defeated countless enemies over the years, and today, they, along with representatives from other branches of the military, have come to the Royal Castle to be received by von Palen.

Von Palen's gaze swept over the various units in front of the square. In addition to the heavy cuirassier dragoons, there were several cavalry units, including cavalry, dart riders, and lancers. The infantry units were similarly organized to the cavalry, with 24 men in each unit standing in the square. The smallest unit was the naval force, and the one currently leading them was the naval representative, Gustav.

Besides these military units, the Imperial Guard and the Storm Special Combat Team were responsible for guarding the area. As always, they wore black military overcoats, leather hats, and shiny black leather boots. Each of them had a six-pointed star embroidered on their shoulder, and their faces were expressionless. They stood motionless on the ground like stone statues.

As he looked at each of these people, Von Palen was in high spirits. The three days of non-stop celebrations had already bored him, but now, seeing these Imperial soldiers standing in front of him, an indescribable excitement welled up in his heart.

These formidable armies were all built by himself. Over the past twelve years, he had led the Kingdom of Golt to grow into the Delta Federation of today. On this continent of Salisno, the Federation has become the sole hegemon. The hardships he had endured are insignificant in the face of the rewards he has achieved today.

Starting this year, the Empire will move towards another level. Von Palen believes that in the next twelve years, he will be able to lead the Delta Federation out of the Salisno Continent and expand its influence to all parts of the world. The reputation of the Goths will surely resound throughout the world under his leadership.

Thinking of this, Von Palen gradually composed himself and returned to his usual serious expression.

He strode to the podium erected in the center of the square, as he had done in previous years, preparing to deliver an inspiring speech to these most outstanding representatives of the army on the last day of the national celebration, so that these soldiers would remember what the pride of the Goths was on the battlefield to come.

Meanwhile, in the naval ranks below the podium, Gustav had been anticipating this moment for a long time.

He couldn't wait to go home and celebrate with his family after tonight's events, and also to show his wife and daughters the Imperial Twelve Years of Honor medal that he had lost and found.

Yes, the Medal of Honor that was accidentally dropped on the way to St. Marienplatz on New Year's Eve was found shortly after midnight.

Before Gustav could even go looking for it himself, Wolfgang handed him the medal with a smile, saying that his men had found it on the way.

While Gustav was pleasantly surprised, he didn't dwell on it too much. The joy of regaining what he had lost had filled his heart. In the subsequent celebrations, he drank himself into a stupor, and even tonight he was still a little dizzy. Fortunately, he could go home as soon as the emperor's routine speech was over.

He only hoped that the emperor's speech wouldn't go on for too long, preferably within fifteen minutes. As for the usual card game invitation after the speech, Gustav had already declined.

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