Chapter 429 - Commence The Operation

Meeting back up with Lyra, the two of them contacted Marek and Tesia telling them that Marcus had finished making the adamantine equipment for the great knights.

Naturally, both of them were surprised to hear this, expecting Marcus to have needed a bit longer to finish.

Still, they were quite happy that they could begin soon and said that they would contact all of the other captains and have them return as fast as possible so that they could begin the prison break.

"It will take at least three days for everyone to return. Until then the two of you are free to do as you wish." Marek said over the sending stone before cutting of the connection.

"Well looks like we have some time to relax so I am going to take a nap, and then go out to play with Roxene. What are you going to do?" Marcus said to Lyra.

Sighing she said, "I know that the chief said I could do as I pleased, but I do have work that I should do. I am one of the leaders here so I cannot be seen slacking off."

After that Lyra began walking back towards the mithril tower, but before she left Marcus called out to her and said, "If you change your mind, you know where to find me. Remember you are allowed to have some fun, and do not have to push yourself too hard."

Hearing this Lyra stopped for a moment but quickly caught herself and began moving forward once again.

Shrugging his shoulders, Marcus could not force his friend to take a break, so he went back to his room and jumped onto his bed, quickly shut his mind off going to sleep.

Sleeping for around four hours, Marcus felt back up to peek condition after having rested his mind.

'Roxene, are you ready to go out.' Marcus said to his companion.

And in response he received a resounding yes, as Roxene had begun to feel quite cooped up.

However, as he exited his room, he found that Lyra was waiting for him.

"Oh, did something important happen." Marcus said teasingly.

Of course, he could tell she was not here on business, since she was actually wearing casual clothing instead of her usual uniform.

"No nothing has happened. I have decided to take you up on your offer. So where are we going?"

Smiling Marcus told her that he was going fishing in a large lack he had found, since the last time he got interrupted.

Looking down at the ground a bit guiltily, Lyra knew that it was partially her fault that Marcus' last fishing experience was cut short.

"Hey, no need to worry. It is all fine now, so let us get going."

Then not waiting for Lyra to responded Marcus began walking towards one of the bases exits.

The two of them then flew to the destination Marcus had found and enjoyed a relaxing break at the lake.

They indulged in activities such as fishing, and swimming, just having a good time and forgetting about the war for a couple of days.

Though their relaxed fun was short lived, as Roxene challenged the master of the lake which was a massive snake that spat out poisonous water.

By some miracle she managed to beat the beast that was level forty-five, but in turn the other beasts and monster in the lake whipped up into a frenzy as they all vied for the open top spot.

So, their relaxing time turned into a no holds bar battle, where they began blowing away creature after creature until the lake had become filled with chunks of viscera and no longer resembled the tranquil scene it used to.

"I do not think I want to go swimming anymore." Lyra said looking out at the lake that was dyed red on the surface.

"Yeah, and I doubt that there is anything that will be biting anymore." Marcus said as he looked at Roxene who was scratching her ear as if she had not just caused a rampage.

'Oh, don't look at me that way. The two of you looked like you were having fun while blasting away those creatures as well. Anyway, I managed to level up twice, and the girl leveled up to fifty-five. Sitting around peacefully gets boring after a while, so I was just spicing things up.'

Shaking their heads, both Marcus and Lyra knew that trying to reason with Roxene right now was not going to get them anywhere.

"We need to get back to the base anyway. The others will be arriving tomorrow, and we need to be ready." Lyra said, pulling their focus back to the upcoming operation.

"Yeah, you are right. Let us head back." Marcus said before transforming into a caladrius.

The three of them then made it back to the base and waited for the next day to come, when all of the rebel captains would assemble to prepare for the prison break.

However, when the meeting began, one of the seats was empty, and when Marek arrive he had a somber expression on his face.

Seeing this everyone realized that something was wrong, and as soon as he sat down, he said, "I am sure that all of you have noticed that Larks is not here. It pains me to say but just an hour ago I received conformation that he is dead along with his entire squad. They were met with an ambush from Armand and there was nothing they could do. I am sure that many of you would like to hold a memorial for him, but right now we have to focus on our goals."

After saying that, Marek gave everyone a few moments to process what they had just learned.

Many of the other captains had been friends with Larks, so his lose was pretty devastating. But they were fighting a war, and there was no way everyone was going to get out alive.

They all knew this of course, but it still did not make the deaths any easier to digest.

"Now I we all must get ready for our assault on the Sky Citadel. This going to be a two-pronged plan, and if all goes well, we may be able to double our military strength."

Marek then went over the details of the plan, telling everyone about how Marcus would infiltrate the prison and begin freeing the prisoners while causing a riot to sew confusion.

During that time, he would also destroy the mana furnaces that powered the prison, which would allow a strike force from the rebels to attack from the outside.

"It certainly sounds good on paper, but it is not like Teivel, and the other guards are going to stay quiet. There is a good chance that everyone who escapes might just be killed, along with Jed here." Francis said voicing his concerns.

"Yes, you are right, I might end up getting killed, and all of the escaped prisoners could either die or be recaptured. But your chief thinks that it could work, and I believe that I can do it. The risks are worth the rewards." Marcus said, letting everyone know his stance.

He was taking the majority of the risk in this operation, so if he was on board how could others shy away.

If he failed, it would likely just be him dying and maybe some of the prisoners, and the rest of the rebels could simply leave without engaging.

Sitting back in his chair Francis was now satisfied after having made his point, and was willing to go along with whatever Marek was planning.

"Well, if we are all in agreement.. It is time to commence the operation to free the prisoners of the Sky Citadel."