Three days passed as Adam made all the preparations for the raid on the demonic forest. He drew maps, marked alternative routes, and designed contingency plans, one after another, until the sheet was saturated with notes.
He knew this would not be like the dungeon he had christened the Graveyard of Swords. This time, he would venture much deeper into the forest, into areas where the monsters reached rank III... or worse.
Reducing the probability of failure was the only thing he could control.
Even so, Adam wasn't fooling himself.
Nothing would turn out perfectly.
To think otherwise would be unrealistic.
Standing on the training ground, he surveyed the twenty knights he had selected for the raid. Some shifted their weight from one leg to the other, visibly bored. Others chatted quietly, with a casualness that Adam found uncomfortable.
They were not novices.
Precisely because of that, their attitude bothered him.
The Hall family maintained an army of one hundred soldiers. For a baronial house, that was a large number. Many noble families had only 20 elite knights.
Like them.
Adam inhaled slowly and stepped forward.
"Knights of the Hall family!"
The conversations ceased. Several eyes instantly fixed on him. Adam was already accustomed to that pressure. He had commanded more than two hundred soldiers in the past; twenty men in front of him were nothing.
"I have personally selected you to accompany me on the raid into the demon forest."
He sensed immediate tension. Some knights frowned. Others exchanged glances. Adam even detected a slight grimace of disgust on one of them.
Before anyone could speak, he raised his hand.
"I know what you're thinking."
His voice wasn't harsh, but it was firm.
"For many, this is nothing more than the whim of a young man who wants to test the demonic forest by putting their lives at risk."
The silence that followed was uncomfortable. No one denied it. No one confirmed it.
Adam understood them.
If he were in their shoes, with years of service, scars under his armor, and orders given by a sixteen-year-old boy, he would think the same thing.
"However"
He continued.
"The reason for this incursion is simple."
He paused briefly.
"In the demonic forest, there are Mana Dragon Lotus herbs."
The effect was immediate.
"What!?"
"Mana Dragon Lotus?"
"Isn't that just a rumor?"
The voices overlapped. Adam let them speak for a few seconds before nodding.
"You know my father doesn't believe in rumors."
That was the hook.
Adam was clear on one thing: Zephyr Hall would not mobilize resources based on mere gossip, and they knew it.
One of the knights stepped forward, frowning.
"Young master... are you sure we have enough? In the demonic forest, there are monsters of rank III, IV... even V."
Adam held his gaze without hesitation.
"We won't be going deep enough to encounter those kinds of monsters,"
He replied.
"And yes, we have enough."
He could take more men. But doing so would weaken the territory. Besides...
His father would also be attentive.
At least, that was his hope.
"Get ready,"
He concluded.
"We'll be leaving in an hour."
"Yes, young master!"
The responses were firm, but Adam noticed something else beneath the surface: tension, anticipation... and fear.
As he walked away to get ready, a thought crossed his mind with an uncomfortable weight.
This time, it wasn't just his life that was at stake.
I hope everything goes well.
...
An hour later, Adam was back at the training ground, watching the knights.
They wore black onyx armor, which did not shine in the sunlight and seemed sturdy enough to withstand attacks from the monsters of the demonic forest.
Adam, on the other hand, wore silver armor. On his chest was the Hall family emblem and a large red cape that fluttered in the wind.
His golden eyes scanned the knights, and a smile spread across his face.
"Let's go!"
He mounted his horse, the red cape of his armor fluttering like a flag, and left the mansion, followed by the knights.
...
The Hall territory lay on the border between the kingdoms of Kamelot and Aragon, as did the demonic forest. That area was known as Arkam, a place located further south of Revoun.
Adam remembered that, before his father became the owner of those lands, Arkam was nothing more than a small village—just a few dozen families who made their living hunting monsters that escaped from the demonic forest.
With the establishment of the Hall family, the place began to change. The town grew into a large city and, at least in appearance, achieved a certain prosperity.
According to his calculations, Arkam must have had around five thousand residents, perhaps a little more.
When Adam passed through the town's central square, he encountered some residents who greeted him enthusiastically.
Adam knew that respect wasn't for him. It was for his father. Many believed that, thanks to Zephyr's presence, Arkam had become what it is today.
Faced with the residents' enthusiastic greetings, Adam smiled and waved.
They were in a hurry, so they did not stay in the village to chat.
No one spoke during the journey, and the faces of the group grew increasingly serious the moment they entered the demonic forest.
Thin rays of sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, illuminating the forest with an ethereal glow.
From there, the group had to follow a narrow path, barely wide enough for a carriage to pass. Adam recognized that path: it was a shortcut leading to the eastern side of the river.
It was a little-traveled route. Adam knew why. The terrain was uneven, and although for trained horses it was nothing more than a stroll, the real problem was not the path itself.
There were monsters. Creatures more sensitive to mana are more dangerous than ordinary wild animals.
Following the narrow path, they soon heard the violent splashing of a nearby river.
Adam signaled them to slow down. Rank III predators inhabited the lake. It was not a place to let their guard down.
They stopped there to let the horses drink before continuing and set up a small makeshift camp.
Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes watched them from the shadows.