Victory Parade (1)

The Southern Army's first impression on the citizens of the capital was that of a terrifying military force.

And with good reason—the tanks brought in to break through the capital were all strange and unfamiliar objects to the city's residents.

To citizens who did not even know that automobiles existed, tanks seemed like things from beyond the limits of possibility.

House-sized masses of steel moved with a roar more terrifying than a monster's. Powerful flames erupted from their muzzles like the spells of high-tier mages, while the machine guns mounted on top reduced people to bloody rags.

The rubble of collapsed buildings could not stop the tanks' tracks. Before the tremendous power of their engines, obstacles in the streets posed little hindrance.

There were hundreds of those tanks.

And this was a monstrous unit that had smashed through the 400,000-strong main force of the Imperial Army at the Bruggen Plains. Feeling fear was an instinctive reaction.

Fortunately, that fear soon turned into relief.

The muzzles of those fearsome tanks were aimed not at the citizens, but at the Imperial Palace, where the nobles were barricaded and holding out.

A powerful being was frightening when it was an enemy, but reassuring when it was on your side...