The lody from the cabaret was light and lodious, but it abruptly stopped when the patrol trumpet sounded, replaced by the soft sound of a street artist’s instrunt.
This is the night of Red Tide City. Its prosperity differs from the decadence of the Imperial Capital; it is a kind of ordered freedom.
Whether worker or noble, all can enjoy the night under the sa lamp.
Even the poorest vagrant can drink a cup of inexpensive yet warming wine under the light.
A carriage slowly passed through the square. rian leaned against the cushion, watching the lights flicker above the crowd.
Eventually, the carriage stopped in front of the theater. An attendant lifted the door, and the cold wind, along with snow, rushed in, causing rian to shrink back instinctively.
Then he straightened his posture and gave a slight smile, like a gentleman who had learned to handle scrutiny.
rian was guided to the top-floor banquet hall, a place reserved for the most honorable people of Red Tide City.
Music, the aroma of wine, conversation, and gentle laughter interwove into a soft background.
Several Red Tide nobles, research officials, and Knight Order leaders sat around a long table, with their glasses reflecting the light and snow shadows.
A young female singer lightly sang "Northern Territory Dawn" on stage; her voice was as clear as water flowing down a glacier.
At this mont, rian was the focal point, and he was gradually getting accustod to such occasions.
Though occasionally still reserved, he was beginning to understand how to respond to jokes, when to raise a glass, and even initiate small talk.
So jested about the new upheavals in the Northern Territory Council, while others praised how the Red Tide workshops could operate during the snow season.
rian rely smiled, occasionally chiming in, recounting interesting stories he had heard in the laboratory a few days ago.
For example, Hillco’s apprentice accidentally blew a tal pot into the ceiling during an experint.
"That child is now reassigned to chimney repairs," he said casually, eliciting laughter.
During the feast, a noble raised their glass in flattery: "If it weren’t for Lord Louis’s perceptive talent in recruiting Lord rian, the Northern Territory might be missing half a miracle."
rian returned the toast with a smile, his tone calm yet sincere: "Red Tide has given everything: space for research, freedom, and a warm room. Thanks to Lord Louis."
The others nodded in agreent upon hearing this.
Then the topic shifted; so spoke of the opulence of the Imperial Capital, while others marveled at how the Northern Territory could now have such a city, as if in a dream.
rian looked at the light reflected in the wine, a soft warmth rising in his heart.
Yes, he was no longer the prisoner curled up in the shadows.
Though not yet completely at ease, he had learned to enjoy, enjoy the respect, enjoy his place in Red Tide City.
The banquet lasted until late into the night.
rian did not drink much, politely exchanging words with a few officials before departing early.
When he stood at the theater entrance, the snow had intensified, and the lights pierced through the curtain of snow, illuminating the clock tower at the street’s end.
Returning to the alchemy building, the fireplace was still burning.
rian looked at the desk piled with notes and sample bottles; the recent experints were difficult.
The Frost Giant project that Louis assigned him was too complex, mainly because the giants’ sanity was highly unstable, and every adjustnt of the potion ended in failure, nearly causing disasters during several outbreaks.
But Louis did not bla him; he rely said, "Research other directions first."
At that mont, rian felt a complex gratitude.
In the Jade Federation, failure to complete a task would have likely resulted in punishnt.
Grateful, he decided to proactively shift his research focus: from the high-risk giant control to more controllable large magical creature dostication techniques, planning to use the developed technology to further the giant experints.
Thus, rian began new experints in the magical beast enclosure outside the city.
The experintal site was near the North Shore Frozen Tundra, surrounded by iron cages and thick wooden walls.
rian’s chosen target was a ferocious snowfield white bear, a top predator in the Northern Territory.
With fur that resists cold, highly dense bones, and capable of tearing tal doors barehanded, no one had ever successfully dosticated it before.
The first few days of the experints ended in failure almost daily.
The bears frenzied, destroyed cages, and injured apprentices.
An overdose of potion only exacerbated its aggression; the sonic induction device shattered glass but didn’t calm it.
During those days, the entire experintal area was perated with the sll of blood.
But rian did not stop; he repeatedly adjusted formulas, reduced induction frequencies, and filled the experint notes with dense annotations.
In the cold wind, his hands were reddened by the cold, yet his gaze remained focused.
At night, he often sat by the furnace, contemplating the boundary between control and instinct.
Until one accidental mont... that day, while formulating a new potion, rian mistakenly poured the remnants of a small bottle of "Frost Heart Solution" into the catalyst.
It was a potion previously used in the giant experints, typically highly dangerous in dosage.
But that ti, after the potion was injected into the white bear, its roar didn’t last long.
It first panted softly, then quietly lay down, emitting low whimpers.
The scene fell into a dead silence.
rian held his breath, watching those violent eyes gradually dim. It wasn’t death, but a form of submission.
"Record the reaction ti... thirty-seven seconds," he noted quietly.
That night, rian did not return to the city. The snow fell all night, and the lights in the experintal zone shone on the calm body of the white bear.
Weeks later, the experint finally succeeded.
The white bear, under dostication instructions, could execute simple battle commands—charge, halt, and guard.
Learning the news, Louis decided to watch personally.
In the morning, the snow mist rolled over the military testing ground.
Nearly a hundred knights gathered outside the demonstration field, their breath turning into white vapor in the air.
In the center stood the massive silhouette of the white bear, its thick silver-hued fur and shoulder height imposing over the crowd, draped in Red Tide Standard light armor, the Red Tide Emblem engraved on its chest, rging tal and fur to make it even more knightly.
Its exhale swirled into white smoke, its eyes gleaming with a pale blue light.
rian stood by, slightly nervous, while Weir couldn’t contain his excitent.
Louis noticed Weir’s eager expression, chuckling lightly: "Wanna give it a try? Then go ahead and see if it listens."
"Yes, my lord!" Weir laughed, jumping directly onto its back.
The beast growled lowly but did not resist, its limbs steady on the ground.
"Charge!" Weir commanded.
The white bear leapt forward, its chain-like muscles rippling under its fur, shattering the snowfield and kicking up a wave of white.
It crashed instantly into a three-layer thick iron shield ahead, splintering the shield wall, scattering wood and tal fragnts.
In the snowy mist, the beast roared, and Weir raised the Red Tide flag high, its fabric flapping loudly in the wind and snow.
After circling, Weir ordered, "Stop!"
The white bear’s stride gradually slowed, coming to rest steadily before the shattered shield wall, steam rising from the armor plates on its chest.
A wave of astonishnt burst from the audience.
Louis smiled, his two young guards, Cody and Gray, beside him, watching wide-eyed.
"Want to give it a shot too?" Louis asked lightly.
The two exchanged glances, imdiately responding, "At your command!"
They clumsily climbed onto the beast’s back, which rely shook its fur, as if tolerating a child’s play.
During the following trial rides, it remained steady throughout.
In the wind and snow, laughter and horn sounds intertwined, creating a lively scene.
Even after dismounting, Weir was still unsatisfied, saluting with a smile: "Sitting on its back is like sitting on a moving fortress."
rian looked up at Louis, his voice tinged with undeniable excitent: "With continued training, it could perform more complex action commands, turning, evading, coordinating attacks, even switching rhythms between orders. But it requires ti and repeated guidance."
Louis nodded, his gaze fixed on the massive white bear, clearly contemplating further possibilities.
A new type of troop had been added to the Northern Territory’s military formation.
The white bear, cold-resistant, incredibly powerful, and suited for snowfield charges, could serve as both assault vanguard and heavy haulers...
"Approve the expansion of the research, establish the Red Tide Beast Corps, and form the first White Bear Knight Order," Louis ordered, his tone calm but unable to hide his excitent.
He then instructed Bradley to allocate funds and rewarded rian with a box of gold coins and rare materials.
When rian accepted the reward, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. A year ago, he didn’t understand the use of gold coins, but now he knew how to make them bring joy.
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