The iron ore mine was developed.
I maintained strict control, so no rumors leaked to the outside world. The soldiers and Knights were all elites, and their loyalty to the Count’s House was rock-solid. Therefore, there was no room for information to leak.
‘It’s on track.’
Now that everything was under perfect control, it was time to move to the next step.
In truth, obtaining iron ore urgently wasn’t my primary concern. I prioritized the next phase of the plan.
‘Punishing the Marquis.’
My priority was to punish the man who was constantly eyeing the Count’s House. I had to protect my family and my house. For that purpose, I moved stealthily while the iron mine was in the middle of development.
“Change things out bit by bit. The Ravens will cooperate with you.”
“Won’t the Knights or soldiers notice?”
“I’ve already spoken to them to some extent, so it shouldn’t be a major issue.”
“…Then I will do my best.”
With the cooperation of the Ravens, I began smuggling out the Iron Fist members who had been disguised as workers. Most of them were from Sian’s squad—individuals who were agile and specialized in surprise attacks. There were about thirty of them. The remaining seventy were members of Gajei’s squad who had come along.
‘I have a separate task for them.’
From the moment I brought them here, I had already decided what they needed to do. If Sian’s squad was the blade used to punish the Marquis, then Gajei’s squad was the insurance policy to prepare for anything that might happen while I was away.
“Gajei. Leave as many of your squad members behind as possible. You need to protect this place in case something happens.”
“…Yes. I will protect it even if it costs me my life.”
Gajei understood his role well. Unlike Hoden, he didn’t spout nonsense; he reliably accepted the orders I gave.
“No. If it looks like you’re going to die, pull out immediately. This place isn’t valuable enough for you to die protecting it.”
“……Mm.”
Gajei, who had been sending me an unusually intense gaze, spoke.
“I understand. I will make sure to stay alive.”
“Good. You should.”
Only after he promised to stay alive and protect the place did he begin to move silently.
Day by day, time passed.
“Shift change.”
“……Understood.”
As time went on, the personnel gradually changed. Sian’s squad members were replaced by people sent by the Ravens. By the time about one week had passed…
“The replacement is complete.”
“No talk among the soldiers or Knights?”
“I’ve made sure everyone keeps their mouths shut.”
“Good.”
I was able to smuggle everyone I wanted out of the newly created iron mine.
‘This stage is complete.’
It was a fast pace. Now, the only ones left in this iron mine were myself and the Ravens who were to work with me. There was no reason to stay long.
“We have to move before they notice. We’re leaving immediately.”
“You mean right now?”
“Yes. Benson has agreed to take command, so don’t worry.”
“……Understood.”
The moment I knew everything was settled, I pulled myself out as well. Our destination was further south. To punish the Marquis’s House, I had to find the Marquis.
‘There’s no reason I can’t do what you people do.’
This time, I planned to use the Marquis’s House’s own specialty against them. I intended to use covert schemes rather than a direct frontal assault. The Marquis would never imagine that our family would act this way.
‘Even my Father doesn’t know.’
No one knew except for me and the few Ravens who had decided to join the operation. If our allies didn’t know, there was no way the enemy would.
Whoosh
I continued to advance, spreading my Qi detection to the surroundings. Not stopping there, I gave further orders.
“Let’s go! Ravens, watch the perimeter.”
“Yes, Master!”
I had the Ravens guard the surroundings. This was to block any spies from the Marquis’s House that might be lurking. In addition to that…
“Sian. Go and learn. You might have to work together someday.”
“……Understood.”
I told Sian to watch and learn from the Ravens’ movements. Sian’s squad specialized in Gyeong-gong and concealment techniques for surprise attacks.
‘They just lack experience.’
The only problem was their lack of real combat experience. I had provided all the foundations for them to move like the Ravens. Any shortcomings could be filled over time with more experience. There would surely be things to learn by observing how the Ravens moved. Thanks to that…
“Are you saying you’re going to learn from us openly?”
“They are people who will eventually work for the house anyway.”
“I was under the impression the Count did not permit this kind of thing.”
The Ravens were flustered and soon expressed their dissatisfaction. For intelligence agents, every single movement and way of acting is a vital element. It was more strange that they wouldn’t be dissatisfied with someone openly trying to learn their secrets.
‘It’s basically saying she’s going to steal their secret techniques right in front of them.’
If I hadn’t been the Young Master of the Count’s House, they would have drawn their blades immediately. However…
“Do you see those marks on their necks?”
“What about their necks? Are you saying they have Raven tattoos… Huh?”
“It’s exactly what you’re thinking. A Slave Stigma.”
“……It’s on all of them.”
I showed them the Slave Stigmas engraved on the necks of the Iron Fist members. They were usually hidden, but at the moment I desired, the marks glowed and revealed themselves. Seeing this, Soiren, the Raven who had followed me, flinched.
“Are they slave soldiers?”
“Something like that. I can’t tell you the details of how I got them, but they are people who will give their lives for me until they die.”
“Hah……”
He knew the meaning of the Slave Stigma. Those under a Slave Stigma cannot betray their master. It lasts until the master dies or they die themselves. Thus, it also meant they were loyal only to me.
“The Count will hate this. He despises using such methods.”
“I know. If there’s a criminal, he punishes them or sends them to the border.”
“……That’s true.”
As Soiren said, it wasn’t our house’s way. This was my way. Using Geumje to command soldiers wasn’t a method I used frequently.
‘Human rights aside, the efficiency is often low.’
However, I was confident in my ability to control them.
“Even if it’s different from my Father’s way, I am certain this method will help protect our territory.”
“……Interesting. Even if it’s not right now, I will eventually report this to the Count.”
“I’ll deal with that when the time comes.”
“Well, if you say so… I suppose I have no choice. Watch as much as you like. That is, if you can actually watch and learn.”
Soiren, who had been expressing his dissatisfaction, looked at me with a confused gaze before finally giving his permission.
“Sian, did you hear? Learn properly. I’m doing this to teach you.”
“……Yes. I will learn everything, from start to finish.”
Sian bowed to me and then scattered and disappeared like mist. She had activated her concealment technique. Sian was just the beginning.
Shhh
After her, the squad members who had learned concealment hid themselves one by one. They released their Qi and assimilated into nature.
‘I still need to put them through more work.’
With my Qi detection, I could see every single one of them without missing a soul. However, from the perspective of Soiren or the Ravens…
“……We should be the ones learning. Where on earth did you get people like that?”
“You’ll find out later.”
To them, it seemed like nothing short of a divine skill. The dissatisfaction of their secrets being seen had vanished, replaced only by eyes full of curiosity.
“Let’s go.”
“……It’s a bit unsettling, but I understand for now.”
Sian went to learn, and the Ravens followed with a mix of unease and curiosity. And I, leading them…
‘I’ll give you a proper beating.’
Burning with fighting spirit, our party continued further south. Not long after we increased our speed and descended…
“Young Master! I’ve been waiting for you!”
“……Were you Ident?”
“Haha. You remembered me.”
I was able to see the leader of the Ravens, Ident. To think that the man I knew as a servant back at the Count’s House was the leader of the Ravens. Even I couldn’t help but be surprised.
‘No wonder I didn’t see him often.’
Even though he was a personal servant who was supposed to attend to my Father, there was a reason he was rarely seen. He had no choice, as he had to act as the leader of the Ravens. When he wasn’t by my Father’s side, he must have been scouring every corner of the territory for intelligence activities.
“You look exhausted.”
“……I barely managed to pull away at your request, Young Master. In fact, if it wasn’t for your request, I wouldn’t have shown myself like this.”
“Is that so? Hmm.”
As the leader, he looked quite tired. It seemed that leading the Ravens and moving within the Marquis’s territory was no easy task.
‘Well, moving in the middle of enemy territory can’t possibly be easy.’
I rummaged through my pockets, took out something I had prepared in advance, and tossed it to Ident.
Thud
He didn’t miss it and caught the wooden box I threw.
“What is this? It doesn’t look like a hidden weapon.”
“What a cheek. Just eat it for now. You’ll feel your strength returning immediately.”
It was an elixir made using a Healing Potion, which was used as a panacea in this world.
‘It’s still very lacking.’
It hadn’t reached the level of helping to accumulate internal energy. Using the energy of a mid-grade potion usually allows for three to five years of internal energy to accumulate. However, even though I refined this using a mid-grade potion, it at best accumulated two to three years of internal energy. It meant the energy was dissipating during the refinement process. The efficiency was extremely low. It was almost embarrassing to call it an elixir.
“Mm…… Then I will trust you and try it.”
However, it was enough to help someone who was completely drained of energy.
Flash
While it lacked medicinal potency, its absorption was better.
‘It’s like a Senzu Bean from Dragon Ball.’
Even without circulating a Cultivation Heart Law, it protected and recovered the body.
“Oh…… Where did you get this? If possible, I’d like to supply this to the Ravens.”
“Forget it. It’s a failure. I used a mid-grade potion, and that’s all it did.”
“Mm…… That is a bit disappointing. But did you make this yourself, Young Master?”
I nodded at Ident’s question. A flash of surprise appeared in his eyes before vanishing.
“I’ll give you the successful versions later.”
“You must! With this, we could save our lives several times over.”
“I understand.”
Only after I promised several times to give him the finished products did he step back with satisfaction. I didn’t know it when he was playing the role of my Father’s servant…
‘He’s quite cheeky.’
He had a good personality for someone performing the work of an intelligence agent. Still, he was known as the strongest among the Ravens. He might be like that normally, but he was sure to become incredibly sharp during actual missions.
“Where do we go?”
“It’s just ahead.”
Before long, he stopped in front of a castle built between the Marquis’s territory and our Count’s territory. The Marquis hadn’t surrounded everything with walls, but he had built castles like that to block important transition points. It was a kind of gateway.
It was thick. Because of that gateway, my Father had been forced to give up on revenge several times.
“It’s a foul place. Come, you can move through here.”
“……Alright.”
Thump
Ident went to the outer edge of the wall and pulled out a brick.
‘Oh…… Is it magic?’
Rumble
The flow of Mana was extremely small, but the result was significant. A part of the castle wall changed as if it were melting into mud, and then a hole large enough for a person to pass through created itself.
“Let’s go. From here on, it’s the damn Marquis of Owen’s territory.”
“Quite the flashy entrance.”
I was finally able to set foot in enemy territory.