Days passed since Tucker had visited Thomas at the Forged Fellowship. There wasn’t a need to hover over the Master Blacksmith, who was busy creating the contraption that he asked for. If anything, Tucker would only get in the way if he lingered in the area for too long. So, with that in mind, he arranged accommodations with the military department of the capital and received a private lot of land for training.

  Tucker gripped the wooden handle of the axe and swung with all his might. The emerald-clad axe head bit into the trunk, sending splinters onto the ground. Moments later, the tree groaned and released a soft creak. The trunk succumbed to the force and tore open as it shuddered faintly with the final blow. It fell with a graceful impact, caught on the bits of wind essence that Tucker had scattered through the area.

  The blades of grass crunched beneath the weight. Tucker looked up at the training yard he had cleared. In the past four days, he cleared out a hundred trees and sold the timber off to the lumberyards. The funds weren’t a staggering amount, but it was enough to purchase various potions and equipment that would serve their purpose for the upcoming operation.

  Now, the only matter left was manpower. Something Ray had told him not to worry about once he had sent out the letters. But even then, would any of them trust him? Tucker slowly let out a breath of chilly spring air. Back at the bastion, he forced his men into suicidal fights that many couldn’t even dream of. Out of the three hundred and fifty soldiers that followed him, a hundred and seventy made it home.

  He lost the lives of those who trusted him.

  He lost his best friend.

  And to strike the last nail in the coffin, he was once again calling for help to do the impossible. To launch an assault against the Emerald Tower, hoping they could destroy an artifact that may not even be there. Any ordinary soldier would decline the summoning. Faced with odds far more grim than anything they could ever imagine, Tucker knew the men of the Thirty-First wouldn’t come.

  Not because they were scared, but because they had already given too much. Even now, every part of him wanted to turn away. The watchman inside of him had already signed off on the operation once the Administrators had declined his request. But within him wasn’t just the spirit of a watchman. It was the spirit of a man who had far more to give for the home that he loved.

  Tucker didn’t owe it to himself, but to the people who brought him this far. That was why he was trying so hard to prepare for the upcoming mission. Because he could prevent a tragedy from striking his home. If the information from Gravecourt was right, they could destroy the artifact from Pyron and stop him from unleashing the power on one of their fortress cities or even their capital.

  He took a deep breath, laying the axe against the tree stump. The wide-open dirt field was all he could prepare for the men who answered his call, and he prayed it was enough for the few that came.

  “Yo, still clearing the field?”

  The familiar voice caused Tucker to turn his head. He stared at the hill, watching as Ray slid down the grass before walking towards him. Tucker smiled and met him a few feet away.

  “I just finished,” Tucker said, extending a hand out. “I didn’t expect you to be back so soon.”

  Ray smirked and accepted it with a firm grip before pulling Tucker into a hug. “Well, I still took a couple of days, but I heard you got the blacksmiths to aid us in our cause.”

  “That and I secured this training area; it even came with lodging a few meters away.”

  The red-haired watchman peered over Tucker’s shoulder, staring at the three-story deserted manor. He gave a weary smile. “I know you told me about it in the letter, but are you sure it’s not haunted?”

  “I thought you were a man of God. I’m sure you’ll be able to handle whatever ghosts are lurking there.”

  “You know, you could at least deny what I just said,” Ray replied. “I’m sure the other guys wouldn’t be too happy to hear that their sleeping quarters has a ghost or something.”

  “The other guys aren’t even here yet,” Tucker pointed out, but the moment he finished his sentence, a grin surfaced on Ray’s face.

  “Yeah… about that.”

  Ray looked towards the hill and gathered flame essence within the palm of his hand. He then formed it into a ball before throwing it high into the air and beyond the hill. With a loud bang, the flaming sphere erupted like a firework, with its embers fading with the breeze.

  From beyond the horizon and along the cusp of the hill, countless silhouettes emerged. They came in ones and twos at first. The faces of soldiers Tucker had fought beside came into view as they waved at their former commander. Some of them wore their old uniforms from Stafford, while others donned the new ones from other units. Yet, all of them carried their weapons out of habit and not for display.

  Nostalgia filled his heart, but as seconds went by, more and more of his comrades came down the hill. He had only expected twenty, maybe even forty of his men to come to his aid. But in reality, over a hundred soldiers from the Thirty-First answered the summons. They arrived at the field, armed to the teeth with spears, swords, and shields all in hand. In the group were two familiar faces that stood out among the crowd, one with black hair, tanned skin, and blue eyes. The other dirty blonde hair, fair skin, and brown eyes.

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  It was Jones and Liam. Two of the best soldiers within the Thirty-First.

  Just as Tucker thought the last of the soldiers had arrived, with Jones and Liam making their way down the grassy slope, another wave of soldiers appeared, bearing the insignia of the Heartfire and Lionheart Knights.

  At the head marched two figures who stood apart from the rest. Both wore black-and-gold accented armor, each with a different helm. One knight bore a helm with long, horn-like antlers protruding outwards from each side. The other wore a rectangular helm with a narrow eye slit framed in gold, perforated with breathing holes near the bottom. They were Brian and Max, fully equipped with the latest runic armor the Kingdom could supply them with. Each led nearly a hundred of their brethren to the upcoming battle.

  As more arrived, the men fell into line. They led their groups of soldiers from the front with their helms beneath one arm and a hand delivering a simple salute to Tucker. When the former commander of Stafford turned to face them, the conversations stopped.

  Boots shifted, shoulders squared, and a loose gathering immediately shifted to one with order. Those who wore the Stafford uniform were the men who returned to civilian life after the events at the bastion. Under the clear blue sky, they returned with one purpose. Not for pay or because someone ordered them to. But because the man who once led them had called.

  Tucker stood there and nodded. He stared at the four men in front of him and couldn’t help but smile. “It seems like I really am blessed with good company.”

  The men all laughed once they heard this.

  “Sir! With all due respect, but maybe that’s the only luck you have,” one of them shouted.

  “That’s right! After all, if what you said in your letter is true, then we’re in for one hell of a fight!” Another said.

  Tucker couldn’t help but laugh. “Indeed, and you crazy bastards came running along.”

  “We’ve all been through worse,” Brian said, nudging Max. “And who knows, maybe we can finally knock the teeth out of those pesky mages from the Emerald Tower.”

  “Oh, we’ll do more than that!” Max roared, raising his fist in the air. “Am I right, lads?!”

  “Aye!” they all shouted.

  Liam and Jones stepped closer. They repeated the same gesture as Ray, shaking Tucker’s hand before bringing him into a firm embrace.

  “Captain, it’s been a while,” Liam said with a wide smile. “Honestly, when we saw your letter, we couldn’t believe it. But if we can be of service once more, then we’ll gladly come running.”

  “It’ll be just like our time at the bastion,” Jones joked. “Overwhelming odds with close to zero chances of survival. But under your leadership, we’ll pull through.”

  “You two always did seem to have a thrill for danger,” Tucker replied.

  “A thrill for danger?” Liam raised a brow before chuckling. “Not me, I’ll tell you that! If anything, it was him and Nemo back in the day.”

  Jones smirked. “And yet here you are…”

  Tucker watched as they bickered amongst each other. His gaze then drifted to Brian, noticing the broken antler from the bastion. “I see you still haven’t gotten it fixed.”

  Brian rolled his eyes. “Commander, you really know where to hit where it hurts.”

  “To be fair, you should have picked it up once it was cut off,” Max pointed out with a firm nod.

  “Easier said than done, I was too busy dodging the hellfire that rained down on us.”

  Tucker stepped aside as the two knights grumbled and argued with each other. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Neither of them was the type to back down. However, one thing still bothered him. Even if he sent out the letters to Brian and Max, they were still at the front lines. So how did they get here so soon? He glanced to the side, catching a glimpse of Ray’s smug expression. The red-haired watchman pointed at himself with his index finger before flexing his biceps.

  That was when it all made sense. Tucker wondered where Ray disappeared to in the past few days, and this was the answer. Ray departed the capital, journeying toward the front lines to locate Brian and Max. To deliver the letters and recruit their old comrades to their cause.

  “It’s okay; you don’t have to thank me,” Ray said with a grin. “Believe it or not, when I told them about what was happening, they joined instantly and even got the Sword Saint’s approval.”

  “Many of our comrades wanted to come along,” Max added. “All the Knights of Lionheart wanted to serve.”

  “But… why?” Tucker asked. He was certain that he had stressed the dangers of their operation in the content of his letter many times. This wasn’t something they could just walk away from once the mission began.

  “Does a man need a reason to protect his home?” Brian questioned.

  “Captain Maystone is right; we all came here fully aware of the dangers,” Jones said.

  “I mean, at worst, the artifact isn’t there,” Liam chimed in. “In that case, we would have bigger worries, like finding this weapon.”

  “Hell, from what Stormbearer described, it seems akin to a calamity artifact,” Max added. “Even if we don’t find it there. It would leave clues behind.”

  “Yep, which means we’ll have another operation with the entire Stafford Defense Force of Extraordinary Soldiers.” Jones nodded. "SDFOES for short.”

  All of them looked at him with unamused gazes.

  “We’ll have to work on the name, buddy,” Max said, patting Jones’s shoulder. “Now that we’re here, let’s get settled.” He glanced over at the old manor. “I suppose that’s our lodging?”

  “Yeah, it’s not much, but it was the best I could get,” Tucker replied.

  Brian chuckled before grinning. “Trust me, after sleeping in rain-soaked tents for the past few weeks, this is like a castle to us.”

  “Same goes for us after we accidentally burned down our training barracks,” Liam added with a faint laugh. “We tried to copy what you did at Stafford, and it’s safe to say, it didn’t go so well.”

  The surrounding men laughed. One after another, they made their way to the lodging on the training grounds. Tucker stood there, watching as nearly four hundred men arrived at their meeting point. All of them carried their equipment and whatever supplies they could afford to bring. Even the few Knights of Renown had returned to join their ranks, with their silver five-pointed star gleaming on their shoulder plates.

  The entire situation was unexpected, but seeing the faith his comrades placed in him was reassuring. Tucker observed the men heading to the manor with a conflicted gaze. He slowly clenched his hands as the black iron gauntlets pulled over his knuckles, thinking back to Nemo and Luka. A sigh escaped him with the pressure firmly landing on his shoulders.

  This time, he could only pray that they had made enough preparations and, without wasting another second, he joined the group and led them to their headquarters. Fully prepared to begin their preparations for the upcoming operation.