Marcus spent the rest of his time trying to figure out which knowledge to focus on upgrading first.

  This became a dilemma for him when he realized that once a point has been allocated, it couldn't be withdrawn.

  So he had to be careful about what he picked.

  Choosing Arcane Knowledge would mean that he would gain more spells and understanding of Arrays.

  This would give him the ability to protect himself. After all, the only reason he was alive was that Reginald was scared off by the assumption of the presence of a Mage.

  However, as far as Marcus knew, Magic couldn't be used to develop Agard in the way he wanted.

  And if he chose Advanced Technological Knowledge, he would be able to develop Agard, beyond any other State in Ulha quickly.

  Perhaps, he could even fuse the two kinds of knowledge to achieve better results.

  But this was only an idea in passing that brought a smile to Marcus's face.

  When compared against each other, the Advanced Technological Knowledge was more diverse and methodical, to the point where it could be taught to others regardless of talent or the presence of mana.

  It contained;

  [Advanced Technological Knowledge (Lv1):

  – Agricultural Sciences.

  - Physics Fundamentals.

  - Chemistry & Metallurgy Basics.

  - Mechanical Engineering Principles.

  - Civil & Structural Design Concepts.

  - Energy Generation Theory.

  - Industrial Production Logic.

  - Military Engineering Awareness

  - Foundational Biology & Medicine.]

  And these were just entry-level knowledge.

  In fact, Marcus found it hard to believe that the knowledge he acquired from this was true.

  He was more willing to believe in magic than science. However, until he has tested this knowledge, he wouldn't write it off.

  Just as Marcus’s thought was delving deeper into the knowledge he had absorbed, trying to grasp their concepts–

  A guard’s voice cut through the air.

  “My lord, Joshua is returning!”

  Marcus raised his head.

  In the distance, a plume of dust rose violently along the road.

  Joshua was being pursued by 4 Flowing Knights on horseback with their weapons already drawn.

  Brown and the other guards were about to rush out when Marcus stopped them.

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  “Wait! Let me try dealing with them.”

  Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard this.

  Has the young lord ever experienced battle? Did he go through combat lessons?

  The answer to that was a glaring no, and yet, he wanted to handle four horsemen who were Flowing Knights on his own!

  As for Marcus, he needed to show some of his cards, to make these knights’ trust in him greater than ever.

  More importantly, he needed to solidify his authority with them.

  “My lord, Joshua is in danger, this is not the time for such jokes.” Brown immediately scolded.

  But Marcus ignored him, already focusing on the spell he wanted to cast.

  An Earth elemental spell that consisted of hand signs.

  In front of everyone, Marcus’s hands began to move, making weird signs.

  At first, his pace was slow, and he even made several mistakes, causing him to start again.

  However, after a few seconds, the speed at which his hands moved became alarming.

  The closer he got to completing the spell, the more mana he depleted from his reserves.

  The sensation of being drained hit his mind, but it wasn't strong enough to make Marcus stop.

  Before everyone's eyes, the surface of the earth, just right behind Joshua, changed.

  Dozens of spikes grew out of the ground and stabbed at the horses and their riders.

  It was so fast and unexpected that the riders and horses were unable to react in time.

  The spikes impaled all of them, earning guttural screams before bringing an eerie silence over the area.

  Blood flowed down the round circumference of the spikes, painting them red.

  Joshua, confused as to why he couldn't hear the sound of the horses chasing after him, whilst running, turned and was shocked.

  His eyes opened wide with fear and shock. As did the other guards.

  Even Bradley and Lamile had similar expressions on their faces.

  One thought ran through their minds; since when was the young lord a mage!?

  And how strong a mage was he to be able to impale several Flowing Knights at the same time?

  Though they were too caught up in the moment to think properly, Marcus was more or less scrutinizing his spell.

  ‘It didn't work as well as I wanted it to.’ His gaze went over the horses with pity. His control over the earth spikes went haywire after the shot out of the ground.

  Whether it was because it couldn't be controlled, or because he wasn't experienced enough, Marcus couldn't tell.

  It was at this point that he seemed to have realized a weak point, or rather, what the system referred to as rudimentary information of the knowledge it had granted him.

  As for the knights, they were necessary deaths.

  The trace of unease that flowed through Marcus vanished. Others could afford to wallow in guilt when they take a life.

  But he couldn't, especially one that would have cost the life of his own.

  And to be honest, this was Marcus's first feeling of true power. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't amazed or thrilled by the spell he cast.

  Marcus didn't just want a single spell to get so much of a rile off him when there were more piled up in his head.

  Moreover, he was aware that the reason why he was able to kill 4 Flowing Knights at once is because it was unexpected.

  Their entire focus was on Joshua, unaware that the knight had backup.

  Marcus could feel his fingers trembling. They all felt cramped up and they slowly began to hurt.

  But he clenched them, ignoring the pain.

  “Lord Marcus… are you a… mage?”

  Lamile asked the question that everyone wanted to know, even though they had all seen proof.

  Marcus replied with a nod.

  “Amazing! I've never heard of a Mage who’s also a noble, Lord Marcus, you must be a genius! What Mage rank are you?”

  ‘The system says that I'm a level 1 Mage, it should be equal to a rank 1 Mage, right?’

  “First rank I suppose, but now’s not the time for this.” Marcus dismissed the conversation as he turned his gaze towards Joshua.

  “What happened? How did those men get to chasing you?”

  Joshua was a bit too confused to speak at the moment. He was still trying to figure out who the mage who helped him was.

  But he shook it off quickly with a frown. “Lord Marcus, they have a few mutated dogs with them that seemed capable of smelling Blood Force.

  “I was able to sneak into the mine unnoticed, but the moment I activated my Blood Force, I heard them bark, alerting the men around.”

  Marcus nodded his head as he listened. The mutated dogs shouldn't be a problem to kill if there weren't a pack of them.

  “How many were you able to count?”

  “My lord, 10 Flowing Knights…” Joshua looked at the corpses behind and adjusted his report. 6 Flowing Knights now, and over 40 Awakened Knights. Apart from them, I was able to count up to 300 normal people in mine.”

  “Most of them are the slaves the Savani's brought in.”

  “No wonder they mostly looked like they were at the edge of death.” Joshua frowned.

  Did he feel pity for them? Definitely! However, he had been desensitized to such scenes over the years of Agard's degradation.

  “This number, is it going to be too much for you guys, or–”

  Before Marcus could finish his question, one of the guards who had been silent spoke up.

  A middle-aged man with a bald head. “Lord Marcus, we can do it!”

  This immediate response and enthusiasm caught Marcus off guard.

  He knew that showing a bit of potential would entice the knights to serve him, but he didn't think it would be this effective.

  That's because Marcus still underestimated what it meant to be a mage.

  Staring at the man and activating his skill, his info popped.

  [Logail Tush. Peak of the Flowing Knight rank. Possesses a study body that grants him the potential to reach Abyssal Knight rank. Requires body tempering supplements and body cleansing items to grow.]

  Marcus did all he could to rein in his surprise as he read.

  ‘How is his potential even better than Joshua's own! An Abyssal Knight under my name?’

  Marcus almost wanted to send Logail back to the estate in fear that the man’s glory could be cut short by a mistake that would claim his life.

  But he couldn't do that.

  As for the other knights, they didn't see it as a problem to take down this level of force.

  There were six Flowing Knights on the opponent’s side, and nine on their side.

  As for the Awakened Knights, unless they possessed special abilities, they weren't worried about them.

  Besides, they had a mage on their side.

  This was what they all thought.

  “Good! I hope today will be marked as the day Agard woke up. Prioritize your safety over all.” Marcus seemed to be talking to all of them, but he wasn't. “Let's take over this mine!”