Reborn as a side character with a system

The Two Hundred

Chapter 24 -

Morning came, pale and thin, filtering through the mansion windows like watered milk. Nolan stepped out of his chambers, boots clicking against the marble floor, his mind already drifting toward the day's plans. But something stopped him.

His eyes widened.

His soldiers stood in the grand courtyard, armor gleaming, weapons strapped to their backs. They stood in perfect formation, straight as spears, their faces hard and unflinching beneath the cold sun.

"Someone had informed them about the mission," Ralph muttered, appearing behind Nolan alongside Isabella and Hilda.

"You mean about the cave..."

"Not that one." Isabella cut him off, her voice crisp and efficient. "They heard about the inhabited forest we plan to make our land. They wish to lend a hand in helping."

Nolan stared at them, his gaze sweeping across the rows of soldiers. Young faces. Old faces. Scared faces. Brave faces. Each one different, yet all bearing the same look he had seen in the mirror once, long ago.

"Such unwavering loyalty..." He let out a chuckle, but there was no humor in it. "Alright, men! This mission will take a while to finish! A week! A month! Maybe even a year! Some of you might make it out alive, and some..."

He shrugged, the gesture casual, cruel, necessary.

"If any of you here have doubts, you have ten seconds to walk away. Starting now!"

Nolan began counting inside his head, his eyes tracking each soldier like a hawk tracking mice. Some stared at one another, muttering, gesturing, weighing their lives against their pride.

"Five seconds remaining!"

His shout cracked like a whip. Spines shivered. Armor rattled.

Two knights broke formation, heads down, boots dragging. Then ten more. Then twenty. The exodus spread like a disease, men peeling away from the ranks, disappearing into the mansion's shadowed corridors.

Nolan stopped counting. He simply watched them go, his arms crossed, his eyes closed, his head nodding slowly.

"Young master..." Isabella leaned close, her breath warm against his ear. "You shouldn't be promising them death. You should be motivating them."

"I know what I'm doing, Isabella."

His reply was flat, dead, his eyes snapping open to track the last deserter. He watched the man's back until it vanished around a corner.

Finally, everything came to a halt. No one else moved. No one else left.

Two hundred soldiers remained out of a thousand.

Nolan stared at them coldly, analyzing each face, each stance, each trembling hand. These were the ones who had stayed. The ones who had chosen to follow him into the mouth of hell.

"So this is all that remains..." He lifted his chin, looking down on them from the mansion steps. "Just the two hundred of you."

He paused, letting the silence stretch, letting the weight of their decision settle on their shoulders.

"Just mere Tier 4..."

Then a smirk formed on his lips, sharp and dangerous.

"Just perfect."

He walked forward, down the steps, into the formation. He stopped before one soldier, a young man barely older than himself, and pulled the sword from his scabbard. The soldier shook, his whole body trembling like a leaf.

Nolan stared at him with a side eye, cold and assessing. Then he turned away, raising the sword above his head so the sun caught the blade.

"Listen up! As I've already said, the journey will be a dangerous one. Meaning all of you remaining here have already sealed your fates in paper."

He let the words hang, heavy as stone.

"But under my guardianship, all of you will live. I swear that on my family name."

Ralph, Hilda, and Isabella exchanged glances behind him. Then they fell into step, following their young master as he led the way out of the courtyard, two hundred soldiers marching behind them in perfect rhythm.

---

Hours passed. The road gave way to dirt paths, then to wilderness, then to the edge of the world itself.

Nolan stopped at the tree line of the inhabited forest, his hand raised to shield his eyes from the setting sun. The trees here were different. Taller. Older. Their branches wove together so thickly that no light pierced through, creating a wall of shadow and mystery.

"To think it took us a day to reach here on foot," Hilda said, stepping closer to him, her breath coming hard from the march.

"We should set tents nearby and begin our mission first thing tomorrow." Nolan's voice was calm, but his eyes never left the darkness between the trees. Something watched from within. He could feel it.

"Set your tents! We begin our mission first thing in the morning!" Ralph roared, his command echoing across the clearing.

The soldiers scrambled into action, unpacking canvas and driving stakes into the earth. Nolan seated himself on a boulder nearby, his posture relaxed, his gaze distant.

To normal eyes, he looked like a young lord lost in thought, perhaps admiring the sunset. But beneath his calm exterior, his mind raced, his eyes scanning the translucent system window only he could see.

[Status Window]

Name: Nolan Weldon

Age: 18

Class: Mage (4 Element User)

Level: 33 (Tier 2)

HP: 1800/1800

Mana: 1500/1500

Abilities: Fire Lv.10 | Earth Lv.15 | Wind Lv.12 | Water Lv.20

Skill: Dagger Mastery Lv.19

Strength: 36 | Speed: 41 | Agility: 41 | Intelligence: 36

Free Tokens: 17

[Additional Abilities: Purple Flames Lv.1 | Ice Lv.1 | Nature Lv.1 | Spatial Warp Lv.1]

"Hmm..." His eyes traced the numbers, searching for changes, finding none. "My level hasn't risen ever since I came back from that training."

He dismissed the window with a thought, his gaze drifting to Hilda as she directed the tent placements, to Ralph as he strategized with the squad leaders, to Isabella as she knelt by the fire, stirring a pot of stew.

"Well, that's not a bad thing," he thought, a small smile playing at his lips. "My level is just perfect for this mission. After all, the beasts of this forest grow twice as strong if raided by more than 5 Tier 5 or Tier 6. And lucky me, I only have three."

His smile faded as his eyes returned to the soldiers, to the young men who had chosen to follow him into the unknown.

"Now the only thing for me to worry about is how long those Tier 4s will hold up in a fight. But with Ralph holding the front line, one thing's guaranteed. None will die."

He stood, dusting off his pants, and walked toward the fire.

Isabella looked up as he approached, her wooden spoon pausing mid-stir. The firelight painted her face in shades of orange and gold, softening the hard edges, making her look almost peaceful.

"Issabella..."

She set the spoon aside, giving him her full attention. "Yes, my lord?"

"I have a big task for you." Nolan's voice dropped, serious and low. "Do you think you can handle it?"

The fire crackled between them, sparks rising into the darkening sky. Isabella's eyes met his, steady and unflinching, and for a moment, the forest held its breath.