The night turned cold as twelve knights gathered in Marcus's office.
The lanterns in the office made silent hums that seemed to dance around the rhythm of Marcus's fingers.
The knights met the young lord tapping on his table, deep in his thoughts.
It took Marcus a few seconds to notice that the knights had arrived.
"Milord," Brown called out.
Marcus jerked slightly before raising his gaze to look at his men.
Almost all of them had a look of satisfaction in the corner of their gaze.
They were happy, after all, they had grown to be Tidal Wave Knights after years of stagnation.
Moreover, they all sparred in the afternoon, testing their abilities and all of them were satisfied.
As for the other two, although they didn't show their dissatisfaction, it was evident in their distinct attitude from the rest.
Marcus ignored this for now. "We have something to do tonight. We are about to be ambushed."
The knight frowned deeply, exchanging glances while wondering who would think of doing such.
"Does anyone truly dare?" Logail uttered with a frown on his face.
Even when Marcus was ill, no one had dared to do such. Now that he was up and kicking, wasn't this a risky endeavor to partake in?
"Apparently, they do," Marcus replied.
Though he had chosen to go and intercept the assailants, he didn't know where exactly they would be coming from.
This was what had plagued his thoughts before the knights arrived.
He realized a shortcoming in the decision he chose.
What route were the assailants going to use?
There were only three paths to his mansion.
The first was connected to his estate gate, the second led to Daze, and the third was more of a roundabout way, where one would have to cross a vast land and pass through his farm fields before arriving at his backyard.
With the timing mentioned by the system, they could very well make it to his mansion by midnight.
There's also the possibility that he might pick the wrong route and still end up with his mansion attacked.
And if that happened, would he still get a redo to make a different choice?
The more Marcus thought about it, the more frustrated he was. The mechanics of the system were still largely a mystery to him.
Marcus walked to the window of his office and looked toward Daze's direction.
"It is unlikely for them to come through Daze." He said.
"That would leave the farm fields and the main road," Joshua uttered.
"If we are about to be attacked, do we defend or find a way to intercept?" Brown said.
Marcus turned before saying; "We intercept, but that will mean that we'll be separated into three teams. One to take the main road, another for the farm fields, and the third to guard the mansion."
All the knights silently agreed to this idea. There were too many people and fewer knights in the mansion, for them to want to be on the defensive.
"Chase, Lesley, the two of you will have to remain in the mansion and guard its perimeters. As well as Cage and Oner. The four of you will remain behind.
"Mercidin, Brown, Caleb, and Joshua, the four of you will take the main roads. As for the rest, take the farm fields." Marcus ordered.
"Milord, three of us should be able to guard the main road, one of us should remain behind to personally guard you," Brown suggested.
He wasn't totally in agreement with Marcus's orders because they left an obvious weakness, his safety.
"That wouldn't be necessary." Marcus waved his hand.
"But Milord–"
"I'll be going with your group. I need to verify something myself. Also, Floki, Mercidin, your tasks within your teams are not to fight, but rather, to provide quick information. Since the two of you have the fastest footwork. If the enemies show up on our side, run to call for backup from the other side. Is that clear.?"
"Yes sir!" The two answered.
Logail and Joshua wanted to protest against the idea of Marcus joining the fray, however, they held their tongues when they recalled that the young man was a mage.
"As for everyone else," Marcus glanced at all of them. "I'll need you all to focus on preserving your lives. Hide your growth and abilities until you're required to reveal them. Once revealed, kill every witness. The enemies are preparing to face the old versions of you, so we should be able to seize victory if we take them by surprise. I only worry about their number."
"Milord, even if a hundred Flowing Knights come, with my new ability I can take them all." Logail struck his chest, boasting shamelessly.
But Marcus didn't know whether he was telling the truth or not. He didn't know what exact possibilities Logail's power-up had brought to him. Nor did Marcus want to expend his mana figuring that out tonight.
He had a battle to prepare for and needed to be at his peak.
Nonetheless, Marcus still thought that it was an exaggeration.
The other guards rolled their eyes at Logail's statement.
Not because he had boasted, but rather, he had taken the chance to boast before they could.
Taking a hundred Flowing Knights with their current ability, at least some of them felt like they could do that.
Perhaps it was just the thrill of their growth or the intoxication of power that was getting to them.
"Milord, as long as they don't have a lot of Tidal Wave Knights on their side, we shouldn't be the losers," Brown stated.
Marcus nodded and went to take a seat. "Prepare a sword and dagger for me."
This further solidified his earlier statement of joining them on this expedition.
…
It was just an hour till midnight and Bradley had long returned with a small bag filled with Mana Crystals.
"Milord, I was able to get low-tiered crystals at a good price," Bradley reported proudly.
Even though Marcus had told him not to care about the price, the man didn't seem to listen.
"Thank you, Bradley." Marcus opened the bag and counted 25 chunks of crystals that gave out a slight sheen of multicolored light in the night."
Bradley saw that Marcus was already dressed in leather armour, with a sword and dagger hanging by his waist.
Is the young lord going to follow the knights? But he didn't take any combat lessons.
For a second Bradley forgot that the young man could use magic, and once remembered, he said nothing.
Sensing his gaze, Marcus said, "Bradley, watch the mansion. Don't let the workers know what's going on. If anyone asks, just say that it's a training routine or come up with some lies. If they suspect something, then the chaos might start internally, before spreading. Moreover… there's a spy in the mansion."
Marcus uttered all this with a calm tone as he worked on tightening the leather armor around his chest.
Bradley jerked with shock.
A spy in our lair!?
He could understand the implications of this, as well as the implications of not keeping the workers calm.
Someone might truly incite trouble in the mansion.
Bradley looked around cautiously, which was unwarranted as it was only Marcus who was in this office with him. "Should I try fishing the spy out?"
"If you can do it without alerting the spy, then sure. Currently, only you and I know of this. So don't tell anyone else."
"I wouldn't, sir."
"Good. Let's talk in a few hours."
Tapping Bradley's shoulders, Marcus walked out of his office.
…
Within half an hour, Marcus and his knights moved out.