Published: July 3, 2025
That day, the rain that fell in the afternoon had completely stopped by the time the stars came out.
By a combination of coincidences and some deliberate reasons, the four members of the 'red sword' had gathered in Abel's office, which was quite a rare occurrence.
They were conducting the final adjustments for the troops they had each trained and organized.
"The forces of the Barony of Run and the Marquisate of Heinlein will serve as the core of the Southern Army."
Abel explained to Warren, Rhea, and Lin while pointing at a map of the kingdom.
"The so-called imperial guards will be led by Phelps, along with his 'white brigade' and the adventurers from Run."
"I've never heard of a king making adventurers into his guards before."
"That's a feat that only Abel could manage."
Both Lin and Rhea understood, albeit surprised by Abel's explanation.
Phelps was the son of Marquis Alexis Heinlein and, at the same time, a b-rank adventurer from the City of Run.
The 'white brigade' he leads consists of forty members, which, while not quite enough to be called a 'brigade,' is still a force comparable to a 'battalion.'
Additionally, all the adventurers from Run were familiar to Abel and were worthy of entrusting their lives to.
Among them, Abel's popularity was unmatched.
If they were swallowed by the Empire, the 'surplus funds' they had accumulated and stored in the Guild could be confiscated.
In other words, there were adventurers who wanted Abel to restore the kingdom from both emotional and rational perspectives.
"The adjustments in that area have been entirely handled by the Guild Master, who has been holed up in the Guild. Lin, how about the mages in the army?"
"Yeah, they were trained quite well from the start. Especially since they have a lot of magical power, their sustained combat ability is high. They can cast plenty of magic. Right now, they're doing a lot of mock battles to gain experience in combat against people. They are ready at any time."
Lin responded while snacking on some sweets.
The four of them had been talking for a while and were snacking on sweets instead of having dinner, and the supply had dwindled significantly.
"The knight order has even begun outdoor exercises... so it seems almost all preparations are complete."
Organizing an army takes more time than one might imagine.
Furthermore, if they were to fight against a different mission and opponent than before, it was wise to enhance their proficiency as much as possible before they stepped onto the battlefield.
Failure would mean death.
And those preparations were made through the efforts of individuals whose names would not be remembered in history... not only those whose names were recorded in history books had exerted themselves.
While the four were discussing such matters, when all their words fell silent, Abel suddenly felt a sense of discomfort.
At first, he didn't understand the reason.
But soon, he realized.
"It's too quiet..."
Indeed, it was already night.
However, there were still quite a few people working in the mansion, and there were soldiers on patrol.
Normally, various sounds such as conversations and footsteps filled the air, sounds that one would not usually be conscious of.
Now, none of those sounds could be heard at all.
That was abnormal.
Then, Abel felt a gaze and looked out the window toward the broad balcony.
He could see four men standing at the back of the balcony, at the railing.
Moreover, the man in the middle had raised his hand slightly… with a defiant smile on his face.
"They've come..."
Abel muttered as he took his sword in hand.
The other three, having likely imagined who the four men on the balcony were, each took hold of their weapons and headed toward the balcony with Abel.
The balcony outside the office was spacious—comparable to a school sports field.
It connected to a hall, and the size of this balcony was sufficient to host a party.
In fact, the baron had once given orders from this very balcony during a ceremony for the knight order held in the front yard.
On that wide balcony, the four men stood lined up.