Two days later.
Asipen and his entourage had returned with smiles on their faces.
The man looked somewhat different from how he had before leaving Agard.
His face was brighter, with confidence shining in his eyes.
The apprentice knights who left with him all returned, also looking more confident.
It was evident in their strides.
Mercidin and Chase were the only ones with little to no changes.
But they too had smiles on their faces.
They were welcomed by crowds around Marcus's estate.
"Asipen! How was the journey?"
"Splendid, Shere!"
"Congratulations Asipen, the young lord would be pleased!"
As congratulations came from different angles, Asipen couldn't help but blush.
Everyone understood what the success of his duty meant.
Capital.
With more capital, the young lord would be able to provide more for them.
With more capital, their salaries were ensured.
This made them cheer.
It was only seven in the morning, and Marcus was in the training grounds, about to make an announcement to his knights and knight apprentices.
Just like it happened in his previous life, he was expecting their arrival.
In the previous life, it was because of Asipen's success that he was able to invest in other things in a short while.
But unlike then, he wasn't seated in his office writing, and because he asked them to tell Asipen to wait a bit, he called for Mercidin and Chase, as well as the other knight apprentices that arrived with them.
When the knights were gathered around, standing in straight rows, Marcus began counting.
Eighty-two knight apprentices. And most of them are teenagers. He sighed.
Most Viscounts in Agard would have legit, and experienced knights in that number.
But this didn't discourage him.
"Hello everyone, I'd like to believe that we've all been fine." He began. "I have called you all here to inform you that a long battle against evil is upon us. The hive of a cult has been found active in Agard, and it is more serious than I wished it to be."
"Huh, cultists?"
"That can't be."
Whispers spurred from the teenage apprentices.
"Silence!" Knight Brown commanded, shutting the boys up. His brows furrowed, annoyed that these kids displayed such an attitude before their master.
Their indiscipline and lack of conduct were obvious, but this didn't offend Marcus.
He had come to know what their personalities were like after training with them for a while.
"This upcoming battle… would claim a lot of lives, more so, the lives of those who choose to fight. So let me begin with this, if you do not wish to die, this is your chance to step down. I will allow you to return to a normal life where you can choose a different job. No punishments given."
Marcus paused to look at all of them. Determination. Excitement. Naivety, this was all he saw.
It didn't look like they understood the gravity of his words.
Perhaps because of the guilt he felt, after experiencing the deaths of his men, Marcus wanted to give them a chance to make a different decision in this life.
But these boys had dreams of knights. They feared death, matter of fact, they would have died if the young lord hadn't come to their rescue.
But they also understood the end cost of their dreams, death.
Innocence or not, this is the first show of loyalty. Marcus thought.
Even his official knights felt proud of these boys when none of them wavered.
Foolhardy or not, one who doesn't back down in such times is worthy of some respect.
"Since none of you want to step down, I will take this as your pledge to either train till you die, or die fighting our enemies. On to the next thing. Who here knows what makes one an official knight?" Marcus asked.
A young man, brown-haired, raised his hand.
"Go ahead."
"Milord, there are two things that make a knight. The first is the awakening of the Blood Force, and the second is the pledge to serve a lord. An oath of unwavering servitude."
"What is your name?"
"Harey, Milord." He bowed slightly.
"Good, reward him with fifty silver coins," Marcus said to Brown, who took note of this order.
Harey's eyes brightened upon hearing this. That much for answering a simple question.
The other boys felt jealous and a bit annoyed that they didn't raise their hands to answer the question.
This was something that they were all taught by the knights when they began their apprenticeship.
"Now, who can tell me what Blood Force is?" Marcus asked.
This time, many hands shot up.
"You," Marcus pointed at a boy who was in the third row.
"Milord, Blood Force is the primal energy stored within us. It is born from one's innate nature, and will to be strong."
Marcus nodded his head and rewarded the boy with fifty silver coins.
This riled the young men up. Now all of them were waiting and hoping for another question to be thrown their way.
"If one doesn't awaken their Blood Force, can they still become a Knight?" Marcus asked a third.
And sure enough, many hands shot up.
After picking a boy in the front, the rest dropped their hands, dejected.
"Milord, one cannot be a Knight without Blood Force. Just like you have retainers who have pledged their lives to serving you, they cannot be called knights just because of this. They lack the ability to protect you." The boys answered proudly.
He inched his head upward, expecting his reward to be announced.
"Then what if they have the power to protect me, are they then knights?"
This question caught all the apprentices off guard.
The boy who had just answered dropped his head and began thinking.
On the corner of Marcus's lips, a smile threatened to widen.
He liked these types of interactions.
For kids who didn't learn to read or write, they were subpar when compared to the standards of apprentices in the kingdom.
But Marcus knew that he couldn't be picky with this quality and he overlooked this standard.
They would learn to read and write, but that will come at a later time.
Nonetheless, being illiterate doesn't mean that they should be incapable of critical thinking.
Tasking their minds was a way to foster such.
After a few seconds, the young man gave up. His thinking was simple.
The rest of the boys remained silent, and none of them raised their hands to answer. They were all thinking about it.
Just when Marcus was about to say something, Harey raised his hand.
Marcus nodded.
"Because one has the ability to protect, and has made a pledge, it still doesn't qualify the person to be a knight." He stated.
"Why do you say so?"
"Milord… a Mage has the ability to protect, and has pledged to a lord, the Mage will remain a Mage, not a Knight."
"Then who is a Knight?"
Harey paused to think, but unfortunately, he couldn't come up with an answer this time.
"The heart… a knight is your heart. There are many with power, talent, and wealth, they can protect and be the aggressors. But they are not knights. Your will, your conduct. Your aspirations, determinations, and the oaths you have made. When branded into your heart, those are what make one a knight.
"Knights!"
Brown and the ten others quickly assembled before Marcus.
"What has made you my knights!?"
All eleven of them dropped to a knee and shouted in unison. "Our wish to serve the lord viscount! We will remain loyal to the lord viscount until death breaks the oath! Such is our way!"
"What is your mantra?"
"Iron to flames, warriors to blade, death to our enemies, their lives we have forbade!"
"For a knight of Sirdi is capable, and he shall forever be."
The knights struck the ground with their fists, stirring up dust.
The hearts of young apprentices raced like galloping horses. Some of them gripped their chest, trying to contain their emotions.
Such words filled the heart with a desire for battle, it made them forgetful of the dangers that came with it.
Now more than ever, they wanted to become a knight, and not just any knight. A knight of Sirdi.
It started with one person, and then another, and within seconds, all the apprentices fell to a knee.
They now understood clearly what Marcus meant by the heart made a knight.
And now, their hearts wanted this.
"I wish to serve the lord viscount! I will serve the lord viscount until death breaks the oath! Such will be my way!"
This was a Knight's oath, reserved for when one has earned the right to be a knight.
But Marcus seemed to have forgone customs.
A wide smile appeared on his face. This was what he wanted. People who were loyal.
"We will complete this oath after you all break through. For now, let us move to the main event of the morning. I have a unique technique with me. One that can transform you from an apprentice to a knighthood. Are you all willing to learn?"