The fire in the dead forest continued to burn. At first, it did not attract the attention of those living in the Eastern District.
But as the smoke from the forest began clouding the skies, people began to notice it.
They rushed out of their residence, urging their servants and guards to put the fire out before it spread any further.
By this time, Marcus had already arrived at his estate.
As he reached the gates, Brown and Joshua rushed forward. They noticed the cloth bag on his shoulder but said nothing about it.
"Milord!" They called out with relief and worry in their voices.
They had been searching for Marcus for a while.
"Where did you go, Milord?" Brown asked, clearly frustrated as Marcus had left without any protection.
But seeing the cold look on Marcus's face, Brown held back his words.
"We don't have much time before they notice. Gear up. Call everyone, gather in my office, we have a task to complete tonight." Marcus ordered.
Both Joshua and Brown were stunned by this order, but they quickly moved to complete it.
…
In a few minutes, all his available knights gathered before him.
While leaning on his table, a few mana crystals were held tightly in his hands.
Marcus was absorbing and replenishing his mana. Though what he did tonight didn't drain him, he wanted to be at his best to prepare for the worst.
"Tonight's mission is not necessarily a battle, however, it is safe to say that you might have to fight." Marcus began.
"We will be hitting three places tonight. Our mission will be to kill any and every cultist we come across, while freeing the people they have captured over the years."
The faces of his knights folded into frowns. All of them wondered where the young lord had gotten this information from.
"Milord, is there a number of captives? Just so we can be sure that we've got all of them." Gerald, one of his knights whom he had left on guard duty in the Daze Mountain Range, asked.
"There's no accurate answer to that, however, they are over fifty thousand captives."
"What?!"
Brown felt his knees go weak.
The others were also shocked, however, they soon concluded that Marcus was exaggerating.
There's no way there's that many people in captivity in Agard without the public's knowledge.
All of them had similar thoughts.
"A lot right? But that's just me downplaying it."
"Milord, you're joking, are you?" Joshua chuckled.
"No, I'm not. Currently, there's only ten of us, and that's not going to be enough to save that many people in a single night. So, we're going to need help from everyone in the estate."
They a bit over three thousand people currently living in Marcus's estate, and almost half of them were adults.
"Holy shit," Mercidin whispered the moment he realized that Marcus was serious.
The scale of it all, it was mind bugling to envision.
"Indeed," Marcus commented. "But the populace of the estate cannot be involved in any battles. So, we will have to make sure that we've taken care of all danger before they can get involved.
So, Mercidin, Lesley, Oner. The three of you are heading deep East. There's a pig shed there, owned by a greedy, animal farmer. Beneath his barn, you'll find an entrance to an underground prison. Kill everyone not imprisoned there."
Taken aback, Oner asked; "Even the greedy farmer?"
"Yes, and everyone that claims to be a relative of his, slave, or worker. They are all a part of the Faceless Order."
Chills ran down the Knight's back.
"Their overall strength and number shouldn't be a problem for the three of you to deal with. Though, it might be a bit of a challenge for you, Lesley." Marcus's gaze fell on the young knight.
"I don't mind, Milord. I will carry out your order even if it costs me my life."
"Good," Marcus nodded his head, pleased at this response. "Complete this mission and I'll be sure to gift you and Chase something, perhaps even more valuable than what the rest received from me in the past."
Joyful and motivated, Lesley and Chase fell to their knees as they heard this.
"Our loyalty belongs to you, Lord Marcus!"
Marcus raised a hand, "The three of you, gear up properly. Take some Phosphorus-I, just in case you come across Delirious Devilish Mutants. Wear armor made from the highest grade of Marc Steel and move out.
I will send people your way to assist in bringing those captives back."
"Yes sir!"
The three of them quickly left Marcus's office.
"Chase, Gerald, and Cage, head north. In an abandoned port there, you'll find another underground prison. Kill everyone that's not a captive there. No questions asked."
"Yes sir!"
They went on their way.
Marcus looked at the remaining three, Brown, Asad, Joshua, the three of you are going to be in charge of mobilizing our people down to the locations I already mentioned.
"But sir, you mentioned that we'll be hitting three locations tonight. Who's going to take care of the last location?"
"I am."
Silence filled the room as his knights processed what he said.
"I'm not in support of that." Brown immediately protested.
"Me neither," Joshua said.
Asad only frowned, however, he felt the same.
"While I do appreciate the concern, those bastards can't do much against me. So, there's no arguing this. If we had more warriors to make use of, then I wouldn't mind. However, we don't, and right now we need everyone to play their roles. Is that clear?"
"Yes… Sir."
Marcus gave a few more directives to them and warned them of what to be cautious of, including how to deal with them.
"Good, move out and get prepared. I'll be leaving in a moment too."
Marcus stayed for a while in his office, contemplating the chances of failing tonight.
It wasn't particularly high, but it wasn't low either.
What made him unsure was the fact that he didn't know what exactly the locations he sent his men to contained, the days before they raided them in his previous life.
They could meet opponents that would be difficult to defeat.
However, because of his Marc Steel and Phosphorus-I, he had a bit more confidence in their success.
And then came the second issue, where to store the cloth bag.
Marcus considered hiding it in his mansion, however, that idea was quickly shut down as someone else could sneak while they're out and steal it from him.
He clicked his tongue and wrapped it tighter around his shoulder.
For now, we're parting ways.
***
An hour later.
Southern District, Lesser Than Thou.
The tavern stood exactly as Marcus recalled it.
Dark, bleak, and despondent.
He had suspected this place in the previous life mainly because of Eddy's presence in it.
But now…
Tightening his fingers on the hilt of his sword, Marcus pushed the door open.
He walked towards the hidden door on the floor that led to the underground structure.
"This time, none of you will escape." He swore to himself silently.