Chapter 39: The Calm before the Storm
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It was a beautiful evening.
The rays of sunset upon the yellow leaves of Flavic forest painted a poetic scene.
The atmosphere was peaceful with no activities of demon beasts from within the forest.
The temperature was warm with an evening breeze blowing from time to time.
It really was a beautiful evening.
Too bad Marcius couldn't enjoy it right now.
The reason for Marcius's lack of delight, despite his recent efforts, was sitting across Marcius in his tent.
Helen Aemilia had a look of displeasure and irritation.
The discussion had been going on for a while now.
As soon as he came back, Marcius was surprised by his mother's presence at the camp.
But at the same time, he felt relief because he now had a Foundation Lord realm cultivator against the threat of archnides.
That relief, however, was short lived as Marcius saw the faces of his mother, Toros, Leon and Ser Janus.
A lecture about Marcius's disregard for his own safety started right then and there.
The lengthy speech of his mother was only interrupted when he showed her his spirit energy.
Helen's surprise at Marius's cultivation momentarily stopped any tongue-lashing his mother had in her mind.
Marcius let out a sigh of relief and switched his attention towards the three men behind his mother.
Judging by the looks on their faces, they might have endured a worse hell then Marcius had to, at the hand of his mother.
Marcius pitied them. He really did.
Afterall, this mess was created by Marcius in the first place.
But in Marcius's defense, he never knew the Aemilia clan would be swift to response to a call of help this fast.
Which was why he had thought the reinforcements to be arriving within the next few days, and went out towards the temple of Sol without any worries.
A miscalculation on his part.
A mistake he would never dare to repeat.
After that, it was Marcius explaining Helen about the reason why he went into the forest alone.
Of course, he covered up the real events by making up a story about how his 'master' had directed him towards a temple and they retrieved a soul medium more powerful than any of its kind.
His story didn't seem realistic, but his mother didn't dig any further.
Which led them to this moment, in Marcius's tent.
"I still cannot understand how you just got up and went into the forest, alone. There are Sergia assassins out there, waiting tirelessly of a single chance to kill you. The forest is the perfect place for ambushes."
Helen spoke while sipping on the drink she was served.
"There were assassins." Marcius corrected her.
"You mean,"
"Yes. I don't know how many of them are out there. But now, they have four less."
"You probably got the majority of them. Sergia currently cannot afford to send out many master assassins. Most of their experts are tied up in the city. There are at most six to eight assassins out here to get you." Helen replied.
"If there are more of them, they will need to wait a few more days. I have no intention of getting out of this settlement anytime soon. I recently got some cool new techniques. I need to train."
Marcius commented while also drinking the cup in front of him.
"The drink is enjoyable. I haven't had this one before. Who makes this?" He questioned.
"It is prepared by our chef. She fermented it herself. It is said to be a family recipe."
Toros, who was standing behind Marcius replied.
"I see you have a new assistant." Helen observed.
"Yes. He is capable. Makes my work more manageable." Marcius replied with a bored tone, and Toros fidgeted at the compliment.
"I see. Good to know. Now, let's discuss about the more important matters." Lady Aemilia's voice turned serious.
"The archnide hive, how big is it?" She questioned.
"By my estimate, they numbered around 800. At most, there can be a thousand. It can also be less. We couldn't get close enough to get better estimate." Marcius replied.
"Sol has mercy. That is a big number. If we let the hive grows even more, there could possibly be a demon beast incursion."
"Agreed. We need to destroy it as soon as possible. I say we strike within a week." Marcius advised.
"A week... may not be enough. We still have no information about the archindes except for their numbers and their location. We need time to collect relevant information and prepare our troops accordingly. If the situation seems too difficult to handle, we can request more reinforcements from the city."
Helen voiced her opinion.
"So, how long do you think all of it will take?"
"Around ten days at the very least. You also need to familiarize yourself with the usage of spirit energy. Use that time to train. Leave most of the administrative stuff to your people and me." Helen answered.
Marcius's mother's advice was reasonable. In addition to cultivation, Marcius also needed to learn the new techniques and relearn the usage of old technique with the argumentation of spirit energy.
Of course, Marcius couldn't learn all of that in ten days. But he would be trying his very best.
"Speaking of reinforcements, how many troops did you bring?"
Marcius stooped his musing and continued the discussion.
"500 blank spirit cultivators, all at the realm of Spirit Elite. They are the core of our fighting forces. And 20 spirit beast cultivators. Most of them are at the early stage of Spirit Master. The highest of them being a peak Spirit Master."
"Would that be alright? I mean, you brought a substantial amount of our main fighting forces here. What about the situation back at the city?"
Helen let out a smirk at Marcius's worried question.
"Don't worry too much about it. After all, your grandfather is back at Mediolan. He is the strongest cultivator within the city as of this moment. Sergia clan would have to think twice and thrice before acting, with your grandfather breathing down their necks."
"If you say so." Marcius hummed.
"I can guarantee that your grandfather and father have it under control. So, just worry about yourself and your training." Helen assured him.
Yes.
Training. He would focus on that.
And Marcius knew just the perfect way to start the training.
'I wonder if the Crismon Sky Seed is growing well.'
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Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone