Chapter 54: Seventy-Two Hours [ 2 ]
Raymond didn’t explain. Instead, he focused inward and summoned the System inventory. The familiar blue interface appeared across his vision, and the two lines he wanted stood clearly among the remaining items.
[ ×30 Bronze Summoning Tickets ]
[ ×10 Silver Summoning Tickets ]
He studied the numbers for several seconds. His first impulse was straightforward: use everything. Sixty-eight summoned Knights sounded much better than twenty-eight when thousands of Magic Beasts were marching toward his home.
But the same reason he had refused to overextend his scouts applied here as well. He didn’t know whether this tide was the worst thing winter would send at him.
The mandatory mission lasted four months, not three days. If he burned every hidden reserve before the first major battle, then whatever appeared afterward would meet a Raymond with no emergency reinforcements left.
Fifteen Bronze.
Five Silver.
Enough to substantially increase his current strength without emptying the inventory.
Raymond made the decision. "System, select fifteen Bronze Summoning Tickets and five Silver Summoning Tickets."
The interface responded immediately.
[ ×15 Bronze Summoning Tickets Selected ]
[ ×5 Silver Summoning Tickets Selected ]
[ Remaining After Use: ×15 Bronze / ×5 Silver ]
Raymond nodded to himself. "Deploy."
Twenty metallic tickets materialized in the open space of the administrative hall, fifteen carrying the darker bronze sheen Raymond had seen before while five gleamed with polished silver.
Boris took a startled step backward as the objects appeared from nowhere, while the summoned Knights remained completely calm.
Raymond stacked the tickets into two groups and gripped them firmly. He had long since become used to the absurdity of tearing solid metal like paper, but Boris still stared every time he witnessed a System manifestation. With a sharp motion, Raymond ripped the entire collection apart.
The hall exploded with light.
Twenty columns of bronze and silver brilliance erupted across the stone floor, forcing Boris to shield his eyes while the air grew heavy with concentrated mana.
The tables rattled, loose parchment lifted into the air, and the fireplace flames bent sideways beneath the sudden pressure. Human silhouettes gradually formed inside the pillars, first as shadows, then as solid armored figures.
Fifteen warriors appeared clad in dark Bronze-tier armor, while five larger presences emerged among them wearing the refined equipment of Silver Rank Knights. When the light finally dissolved, twenty fully armed warriors stood in disciplined rows across the administrative hall.
Raymond remained behind the table, looking over them with deep satisfaction.
Twenty additional fighting professionals.
No training period.
No morale problems.
No fear of desertion.
No need to wonder whether they would break when thousands of beasts appeared on the horizon.
The warriors simultaneously lowered themselves onto one knee, their armor striking the stone floor in a heavy, unified sound. "We greet the Lord!"
Boris stared at the new Knights before slowly turning toward Raymond. "My Lord... how many more of these people do you have hidden somewhere?"
Raymond gave him an innocent look. "Enough that you should stop worrying about it."
"That does not answer the question."
"It answers the important part."
Boris rubbed one hand over his face, apparently deciding he no longer possessed the emotional energy to challenge whatever divine nonsense his lord was involved with.
Raymond suppressed a smile and opened the military section of his System interface for a moment. His numbers had changed significantly.
Twenty original Bronze Knights plus fifteen newly summoned. Thirty-five Bronze Knights. Eight original Silver Knights plus five newly summoned.
Thirteen Silver Knights.
Forty-eight active summoned Knights in total.
And inside his inventory remained fifteen Bronze Tickets and five Silver Tickets.
Twenty emergency reinforcements.
Raymond closed the interface. "Now we have enough people to build a proper command structure."
The Silver Knights gathered around the table while Boris returned to the map. Raymond began assigning responsibilities with the same deliberate approach he used when organizing the civilian workforce.
Jonathan, the strongest and most experienced of the original Silver summons, would act as Raymond’s direct military deputy and command the central northern sector.
Garret, whose strength and defensive specialization made him ideal for holding ground, would take responsibility for the western kill corridor and its Bronze anchors.
Tristan, with his superior speed and assassination-oriented movement, would lead a mobile response group capable of crossing between sectors when dangerous individual beasts broke through.
The remaining Silver Knights were divided into paired strike teams positioned behind the main defensive perimeter rather than wasted holding ordinary sections of wall. Their job wasn’t to kill every creature that appeared. Their job was to eliminate the threats ordinary soldiers couldn’t handle.
Raymond looked toward Boris after finishing the Knight assignments. "You command the human forces. All original guards, Darric’s volunteers, refugee defenders, hunters, and archers answer through you. Don’t mix the Knights directly into your normal chain unless you need them. They’re our heavy weapons. You handle the people who actually need orders shouted at them."
Boris studied the organization carefully before nodding. "That keeps things simple. My men won’t have to guess which Knight outranks which guard captain in the middle of an attack."
Raymond nodded. "Exactly. If everybody reports directly to me, I’ll spend the battle answering questions instead of making decisions. You handle local forces. Jonathan handles summoned military deployment. Marianne handles civilian shelters and medical organization. Lily handles food, water, and inventory movement. Harlan, Gideon, and the agricultural team handle livestock and stored resources. If anyone has a problem, they take it to their immediate commander first. They come to me only when the problem affects the whole defense."
Jonathan gave a firm nod. "A clear structure will reduce confusion once communication becomes difficult."
Raymond looked around the table. "That’s the idea. I don’t want heroism. I want people knowing where to stand."
By midday, the entire town had started moving.
The first defensive project was the northern trench system.
Raymond’s Bronze Knights handled the work that would normally have required days of labor, driving heavy tools into frozen ground and tearing through packed soil with absurd physical strength while civilian crews followed behind to clear debris and shape the edges.