It had been four days since Marcus and his men ventured into Daze Mountain's forest.
They had killed more than two dozen Beasts, most of which were of the same rank: Low-rank Feral Beasts.
And since the first day, Marcus hadn't returned to their camp. His knights had been on rotation, going and coming.
There was always a team in the camp, another that was out to hunt, and a third that was around to serve as the young lord's guard.
Even though Marcus had told them repeatedly that it wasn't needed, they insisted that he had some of them with him.
Despite the young lord being more powerful than them, their minds wouldn't be at rest if they left him alone in the forest.
Throughout these four days, Marcus didn't come across any Prowler-level Beasts.
He had killed three mid-rank Feral Beasts, but nothing stronger than that.
After searching the forest's periphery for four days, he hadn't come across any Beast above Feral.
It got to the point where Marcus started to feel frustrated.
He even considered searching for the Tapir herd, as that was the only instance when he sensed powerful beastly auras since coming into the forest.
But he soon shook this idea away when he recalled the tremors and destruction they caused in the forest.
Moreover, going after a single isolated Tapir was one thing, but against a horde? That was suicide.
Marcus was reclined on the branch of a tall tree, high above the ground and safe from the reach of any Feral Beast that might be passing by.
But that was highly unlikely, as they had recently found out that the Beasts avoided this part of the forest.
After searching for a while, they found out that the area was empty, devoid of any powerful predators.
The moon's light illuminated the forest and mountaintops, creating a surreal view that made one think that they were staring at a painting.
Rays of light slipped through the shifting leaves, lighting parts of Marcus's face.
The young lord had a frown on his face as he was being careful not to absorb the Mana in this place.
On the first night he spent within the forest, he had almost gone mad with temptation. The quality and purity of Mana in the forest during the nighttime was incomparable.
To the point where just breathing it had the effect of relieving one of fatigue.
It was so tempting that Marcus had actually opened up his Pulses to let the Mana in, but his title came to the rescue again.
Marcus would have avoided the forest during the nighttime; however, he realized that his [Lord With A Will] title and mental strength could grow under the pressure of temptation he received in this place.
Though the former hadn't gone up a level, he could sense that it was growing in this environment.
Unsure of what would happen to him if his lord with a will title grew again, Marcus was certain that it would open up another path of growth for him and his men.
Of course, there's also the danger of his stats becoming imbalanced again; this danger wasn't as terrifying as the thought of the upcoming battle.
With a light sigh, Marcus looked around to check on his knights.
Joshua was crouched on the branch of a tree a few feet away from Marcus, attentively looking around.
Even though the area was being illuminated by the moonlight, it was still nighttime. The darkness and creatures that liked to move underneath would always find a way to slip through.
However, under Joshua's gaze, daytime and nighttime were no different.
He could see just fine, even without using his bloodline ability.
To the left was Floki, also reclining on the trunk of a tree. He was positioned on a branch that was lower than the others.
Floki was also focused on his surroundings. He left one of his legs swinging as his eyes darted around from time to time.
And then there was Logail, on the same tree that Marcus was on, only a few feet below him.
Marcus could feel his Knight's sincerity in wanting to assure his safety, and it touched him.
But he also found it unnecessary.
Yes, there were a lot more Beasts active during the nighttime in this forest, but they were stationed away from the active regions.
The young lord shook his head once again. "If we don't find anything Prowler we can target by tomorrow, then I'll have to return to the camp."
"I can't let those boys get too depressed for long." He muttered.
Marcus was referring to the apprentice knights that Bradley had sent over.
When the knights were changing shifts, Brown had informed him of the ones that were able to awaken their Blood Force and the ones who failed.
Most of them were apprentice knights who were able to open their Heart's Pulse points in Marcus' previous life.
And the others were those who were successful and also unable to open their Heart Pulse in the previous life.
And then there were exceptions. Harey, Sonu, and Jonu.
These three were individuals who were able to open their Heart Pulse in the previous life, and in this life, they had just successfully awakened their Blood Force.
This news, Marcus wasn't certain if it was the best news or not, but it was a start.
Marcus truly didn't know if one would be able to cultivate Blood Force and Aspect, as they were two different types of energies.
What if these young apprentice knights wouldn't be able to open their Heart Pulse because they had awakened their Blood Force in this life?
Marcus recalled that he had stopped Lesley and Chase from wanting to cultivate the Five Elements Art in one of his previous lives.
And even in this life, he still wouldn't encourage them to attempt to cultivate Aspect in this life.
Mainly because Blood Force had permuted throughout their being for years. The introduction of a new form of energy could cause the energies to clash, and their bodies would eventually implode.
In the apprentice knights' case, it could still be possible, as they had only awakened their Blood Force. And if it wasn't, the clash of energies within them wouldn't be as catastrophic.
Or at least, it wouldn't cause them to lose their lives.
As for Marcus, he was almost certain that it would be possible for him to cultivate Blood Force.
Mainly because such people already exist: Battle Mages.
People like Veronica, who had the aura of Blood Force and Mana coming from her person.
Though they were rare and very costly to cultivate, they exist.
Marcus was a Mage before he included the cultivation of Aspects in his utility. In fact, apart from actively trying to open the surrounding Pulse Points around his heart, Marcus didn't have to do anything in particular about Aspects.
In other words, as long as he had Mana, he wouldn't run out of Aspect energy.
Which wasn't the case for his apprentice knights when they started cultivating Aspect. They had to actively seek the energy and store bits of it in their open Pulse Points.
Since Marcus began cultivating the Five Elements Art, Aspect energy has been passively building and strengthening his body.
Though he didn't know why, it had continued doing so since day one, albeit slowly and less noticeable now.
All of this, combined with the raw confidence in himself, Marcus believed that he could cultivate Blood Force.
"If that tomboy can do it, why wouldn't I be able to?"
Marcus whispered. Since the day he had first seen Veronica unleash her true powers, he had silently been comparing himself to her.
The young lord closed his eyes to rest a little, folding his arms across his chest.
Actively resisting the temptation of Mana in here was eating at his mental strength, despite the area's phenomenon of relieving fatigue just through breathing.
Just when Marcus had started to doze a bit, his instincts sent charges of alarm into his brain. A foreboding feeling covered his heart, waking the young viscount up.
His eyes shot open, and he sat up to look around.
Marcus's gaze darted around with concern; however, there was nothing.
Even his men didn't seem to have sensed anything off, and they were all wide awake.
Something is definitely wrong here.
He activated his Rippling World.
Within this mental, water-like world, there were only three ripples around Marcus, and he was certain that they were his knights.
Even with his Rippling World, there was nothing around; however, the unsettling feeling in his chest refused to settle, even worsening by the second.
"What's wrong?"
Marcus had started to consider the thought of leaving this area just to be safe.
Right when he wanted to deactivate his Rippling World, a very faint ripple, so faint and soft that he hadn't sensed before, caught his attention.
His eyes opened wide when the ripple hit him, and Marcus quickly jumped off the branch he was on.
"Retreat!"
The moment he said this, something struck the position he had been just a second ago, breaking the branch and a section of the trunk away.
Boom!
This commotion startled his knights, but they quickly recovered and regrouped around the fleeing Marcus.