The atmosphere around the mine was tense as the guards tasked with watching over the place had been expecting to see their comrades return.

  However, minutes had passed, and still, no word of them.

  They became alert, and a bit paranoid, wondering if the mine’s position had truly been exposed.

  Just when they started considering sending someone out to see what was happening, nine Flowing Knights on horseback appeared out of nowhere and charged at them.

  With no chance to gather their thoughts, the guards charged forward to meet the attack.

  Joshua pulled a bow from its resting place on his horse and immediately aimed at the Awakened Knights who rushed towards the entrance of the mine due to the commotion.

  Blood Force flowed from his heart, into his arms as he notched an arrow.

  By the time he let go, a “thwang” sound, followed by the sound of the arrow piercing through the head of a knight, came forth.

  And then he notched another. And then another, shooting three arrows in two seconds.

  Hitting and killing three Awakened Knights.

  The other knights either wielded a spear, a sword, or a tall mallet. But most of them were with swords.

  They clashed against the Flowing Knights. Iron against iron sent sparks into the air.

  At first, it looked like they were at a stalemate, but that quickly changed as the aura of Blood Force quickly permeated the air.

  Logail, armed with a mallet four feet tall, slammed the head of his weapon against a sword, sending his opponent into the air.

  The knight felt his sword vibrate harshly, almost making him lose his grip, but he held on.

  Logail followed with a quick strike, while the knight was still mid-air, sending him crashing against a boulder in the distance.

  Brown wielded his sword like a whip; rather than slashing, he flogged the knight in front of him, inflicting multiple injuries that accumulated into deep wounds the longer the fight went on.

  Soon, the knight lost his head.

  The Savani's guards were beaten back.

  As for Marcus, Bradley, and Lamile, they were still a few yards behind, watching the battle unfold.

  While Bradley and Lamile were anxious about the result of this battle, Marcus was busy inspecting his guards with his skill.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  And he was stunned to find out that all nine of them possess the potential to be high-ranking knights.

  Each with their own unique specialties and processes to awaken this potential.

  A wave of excitement washed over Marcus, one that was almost as great as finding out about the mine.

  ‘What if all my guards, including those who left, all possess similar talents?’

  The thought left a bad taste in Marcus's tongue.

  Could he blame them for leaving?

  No.

  Who wouldn't want a better life and secured future?

  And yet, Marcus couldn't help but sneer at the thought of them.

  ‘Even if they have the potential to become high-ranking knights, with the knowledge on how, very few of them will eventually reach this point.’

  While Marcus was in his thoughts, Brown and the rest were already done with the Flowing Knights.

  They had made quick work of them, overpowering them with their numbers and attacking with decisive moves.

  As for the Awakened Knights, they took a bit more time to deal with as most of them were inside the mines, supervising the work of the slaves and miners.

  As the noise died down, Marcus received an unexpected notification that brought a smile to his face.

  [+5 Achievement Points.]

  Some minutes went by and his knights exited the mine in batches, bringing along the hundreds of slaves within the mine.

  Marcus's knights had a smile on their faces, as though they enjoyed the battle that they fought.

  And truly they did, quick as it was.

  It has been a long time since they fought a battle. As knights, what better way to hone their skills than true life and death squabbles?

  Marcus watched the slaves file out of the mine.

  They were a little more than bones wrapped in skin, their eyes hollow from months of darkness and constant hunger.

  Some of them were confused and many of them expected to be executed.

  With defeated and dejected looks, they dropped their gazes to the ground.

  The life of a slave…

  He didn't know if they were his people or not, but they were people.

  It's not that Marcus didn't believe in slavery, rather, he didn't believe in the concept that slaves weren't humans.

  They had rights that deserved to be respected too.

  ‘What to do with them?’

  Standing on a rock that put him a head taller than the crowd, Marcus watched all of them as he reasoned.

  From his perspective, these people were useful to him. But he didn't exactly have what it took to absorb them under his name yet.

  Unlike the Savani's, he wasn't heartless enough to let the people underneath him starve, slave or not.

  As for their advantages, well, he would have extra hands to help him accomplish a few things.

  And if there are a few smart ones amongst them, it would make his job of reviving Agard easier.

  On the basis that they were trustworthy.

  Marcus finally came up with a short-term feasible solution.

  “I am Marcus Sirdi, Lord and Governor of Agard.”

  “We greet the lord!” They all fell to their knees.

  Some even began shedding tears, expecting to hear the worst.

  Seeing this, Marcus sighed. “Relax, no one here will be getting the death sentence.”

  Upon hearing this, the slaves all thought they had heard wrong.

  “Nor will you be left to starve in this place anymore. I won't be granting you all freedom, but I am not like Savanis. I will feed, pay, and house you, but you will have to work in exchange for these benefits.”

  He paused.

  Everyone here thought they were hearing things.

  It was one thing to feed and house slaves, but a salary?

  ‘The young lord might be getting ahead of himself. Even though he has acquired an iron mine, he still needs to report it to the Royal Court and await their decisions. The profits he’ll get from this might not be enough to feed half his province for the next 10 months. Besides, winter is approaching. The difficulty will only increase from there.’

  Bradley thought, wondering if he should speak to Marcus about this.

  He didn't want the young man making false promises.

  Still shocked, many of them looked at Marcus with doubtful gazes.

  “You don't need to believe me now. Just wait until I've set up a few more things and made a few concrete plans. Then, you’ll tell me what you think.”

  A smile appeared on his face as he turned his head toward Lamile.

  “Point out the other skilled miners that the Savanis enticed.”

  While Lamile went ahead to do that, Marcus turned to his knights.

  “I’ll need two of you to remain here and maintain order, at the same time, as a contingency against Baron Savani. You'll only have to stay here for five days at most. When the kingdom has been notified of this mine location and they have given their verdict, you’ll be able to return.”

  “Might I suggest that the fastest in escaping amongst us remain behind?” Brown spoke up.

  “I agree,” Marcus nodded. “All I need are just eyes on ground. Prioritize your life first. Since the location of the mine is not a secret, it can be taken back at any point in time.”

  “Mercidin and Floki have the best footwork amongst all of us,” Brown said and the two knights stepped forward.

  “Good. Do you guys also know how to cook?”

  Huh?

  This question caught the knights off guard.

  “Those horses that I killed, as well as the other horse of the knights you guys killed, I’ll need you both to turn them into food for these slaves. Just enough for them to at least have a meal a day.”

  Understanding dawned on the knights. But they all felt like it was a waste to do this.

  Marcus's estate needed good horses, but none of them could argue with their lord.

  “Thank you. Everyone else, let's return to the estate! We should be expecting a guest soon.”

  With a smirk on his face, Marcus rode his horse back to his estate.