Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

"So… will you be able to listen to me out there? I'm already the leader the others respect. Can you view me the same way?"

Mia sat across from the young teen she had met a while back on a quest. Originally, when she saw him while the commander pulled her group from the others, she thought that she would be able to make use of his excellent scouting skills, mana manipulation, and speed.

That alone was enough to want to bring him into the fold. However, after seeing how he had grown by just growing in a single rank cemented in her mind that she absolutely had to have him.

Lucius could not join them, though, if he was unable or unwilling to follow orders. While he had the potential to be a great asset, he also could be a massive hinderance under the wrong circumstances. His demeanor was different as well, which did cause some concern.

"I can."

"Good! Then glad to have you aboard! So, other than your newfound Thunder Magic, any other secrets you've got to share?"

"I'm able to activate both of my mark's abilities."

"Both?"

Laris chimed in, "According to his records, Lucius here possesses a Lethal Grade, Inverse mark. It has two opposing abilities."

Mia sat and listened as her new team member filled her in on the details of his abilities. His mark represented Celestia and the Abyss. One skill was the Heavenly Blade that greatly strengthened his blade and imbued it with a powerful energy that made cutting through armor seem like it was paper.

The other was Abyss Armor, a defensive skill. According to Lucius it was a lesser version of a different skill he could no longer use, but it essentially covered his body in an armor of dark energy while also providing a tendril of the same energy that he could manipulate as though he had another limb.

"That is very interesting!" Marie stated. She had been quiet and simply listening for a while, just like the others. Given all this new information, she could no longer contain her excitement.

Marie's antics made Mia shake her head. The woman was obsessed with magic and marks and because of that, she was extremely interested in what Lucius was telling them.

Laris looked like he was going to have an aneurism from trying to process all the information that the boy had laid out for them. After thinking through things, he finally calmed down and began to fill everyone in on the situation.

Alorek had made their attack a few weeks ago, without warning. Even though the Union forces had been prepared for an attack at any moment, the strength of the attack was much greater than anticipated and they lost a lot of ground in the initial assault.

Currently, they were in the Wisteria Concord's territory, since that was the member nation that shared a border with Alorek. Several spies employed by Wisteria had informed the garrison at Watcher's Rest that a similarly surprise attack happened on the Eroan border.

While Alorek was blatantly open with the number of troops they stationed next to the Wisteria Concord, they had secretly replaced an entire city of people with soldiers and mercenaries without notice of Eroa. Because of this, the Eroans were under-prepared for the additional numbers.

Unlike the Union forces, who lost several miles of ground as well as Urntote Tower, Eroa did manage to prevent any major loss thanks to their forces at Fort Sella. This was due to a powerful warrior named Kalivas being present among the forces at Fort Sella, as well as the sheer tenacity of the Gray Wolf Clan's soldiers.

Mia's force was going to be placed in charge of operating behind enemy lines. While Watcher's Retreat would maintain their defensive line as long as possible, their unit would strike supply caravans and try to take out any major targets.

Laris' forces were at a major disadvantage in other ways as well. Alorek's army was comprised of trained soldiers. Unlike the human kingdoms that simply threw Marked Ones into service, the beastman kingdoms incorporated their Marked Ones into training.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Mia asked after listening to the information intently.

"I have a few units set up like yours. What we are going to do is send in additional forces to the far side of the enemy's line in tomorrow's push. That should create enough of a distraction for the strike teams to sneak past enemy lines.

"Once there you will use these communication crystals to stay in touch with me. I will use them to issue orders and you will report your relative position at the end of every day."

He held out his hand and dropped a small, clear crystal attached to a metal earpiece. The metal part hooked around the ear, while the crystal itself was placed within her ear.

"That crystal will constantly absorb a minute amount of mana to maintain a connection with my control crystal back here. Touch it directly with your finger to allow it to absorb more mana and send me a message. You will hear my voice directly in your mind. Be warned, when sending a message, you must vocalize what you want to say."

"Thanks, this piece of kit will be useful. You said we leave tomorrow?" Mia asked.

The old commander nodded his head. They would not know who the other units were in the event of capture, so they would be completely reliant on their own abilities once across the lines. After the push is finished, Laris will update them on how many teams made it through.

Their first target was a series of supply caravans that made regular trips to the enemy encampment from their main headquarters just over the border. They were light on protection because of the safety of being behind their main force, so it was assumed to be a soft target.

They would likely be easy to handle for the first few engagements, so it was in their group's best interest to hit as many as they could and as fast as they could before security caught up.

"One last thing." Laris warned. "Eroa has a few units doing the same. One very specific command we have, direct from the Union's leaders… do not, under any circumstance, harm an Eroan or an elf. We do not expect any elves in the area, but those are orders. Anyone who disobeys is to be immediately executed."

Everyone nodded in understanding. Not hurting Eroans made sense, as they were allies, but the specific order to not harm elves was quite interesting. The look on the commander's face screamed that he had no intention of explaining why. It was even likely he did not know the full reason, but they had no choice but to do what they said.

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A/N:

Happy 100 chapters!! Celebrate reaching this point by gifting Powerstones and Golden Tickets! Also please share your thoughts and opinions with the story so far!

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