Chapter 539: Should Have Stayed In Bed

It was a little past 10 o’clock at night, with the sun having gone down over an hour ago, and Commander Isaiah Gibbs was just turning in for the night, which was unusual for him as he would usually have been fast asleep already.

As the highest-ranking military officer in Sabre Point, Isaiah naturally had many matters which needed his personal attention as well as a huge number of responsibilities he had to attend to daily, but despite that, he always somehow found a way to be in bed no later than 9.

If you asked the man himself, he would tell you that going to bed early allowed him to wake up refreshed at the crack of dawn so he could face the next day’s challenges with a clear head.

If you asked his subordinates and they were feeling generous, they would say their commanding officer was an efficient worker who always kept a tight, regular schedule.

If, however, you got them a bit drunk and asked again, most would say that Commander Gibbs loved lazing around and sleeping as much as possible.

As for what the truth was...

Anyways, unlike many senior officers in the Darr Kingdom’s army, Isaiah much preferred using clever strategy and tactics to outwit his opponents, rather than brute force.

This was perhaps the biggest reason he was assigned to his current inglorious post.

Sure, Sabre Point was an important outpost where a not insignificant number of the Darr Kingdom’s ships were built and maintained, but in peace-times, there was really no reason for a Commander of Isaiah’s age, strength, and experience to be stationed here.

Many thought that Isaiah was in Sabre Point as some form of punishment, and that was mostly correct as the man had pissed off no small number of his superiors for various reasons, but Isaiah also had no objections to his situation.

If anything, he quite liked Sabre Point because nothing really happened here, allowing him to laze his days away in peace and quiet.

Today, with the arrival of Prince Landon and a Rockwell Kingdom navy ship, Isaiah had to put in a bit more work than normal, assigning extra guards, organizing additional patrols, and sending off several reports to the main army’s headquarters in Gateway City, but once that was done, the lazy Commander thought his job was over and he could return to his normal sleep schedule.

For the first part of the evening, things played out exactly as he expected, but no more than an hour after his head hit his beloved pillow, Isaiah was jolted awake when several powerful bursts of World Qi washed over him.

Leaping from his bed, Isaiah, still in his pajamas, raced out of his room, leapt to the roof of the fortress, and turned his eyes in the direction of the Town Lord’s Manor.

Seeing smoke rising from multiple fires at the home of his old drinking buddy, Isaiah immediately shook off the last remnants of drowsiness and shouted, "Enemy attack! Lock down the fortress!"

Hearing their usually lax Commander suddenly yelling fiercely at them, the soldiers of the three Regiments assigned to Sabre Point’s main fortress all began scrambling to their posts.

"All Commanders assemble at the main gates! First Regiment and medical team, form up behind them!" Commander Gibbs continued to shout orders as he jumped down from the battlements and sprinted back to his room to grab his armour.

The Sabre Point Garrison hadn’t seen a full mobilization like this outside of emergency drills in over a decade, so their response time wasn’t exactly stellar; still, within 20 minutes, all 7 Initiate-Realm Cultivators on the base and roughly 1,000 Mortal Realm soldiers had gathered together in a neat formation.

Now fully dressed and equipped, Isaiah Gibbs ordered a quick-march to the Dunne Family Manor.

.....

Upon arriving at the local Lord’s home, Commander Gibbs scanned the complex with his Soul Sense, looking to see what kind of enemy he was dealing with.

What his scan revealed, however, nearly gave him a heart attack.

The 40 Mid-Rank and above Initiate-Realm masters he sensed would have been more than enough to decimate the force he brought with him, but it was the overwhelming aura of a High-Rank Adept that really frightened him out of his wits.

Commander Gibbs’ mind immediately began to spin, wondering if he should order a retreat back to the fortress, not that the walls there would likely offer any protection, but before he could make any hasty decisions, he noticed something was off about the situation.

The masters inside couldn’t possibly have missed their approach, yet they weren’t taking any aggressive action. If anything, most of them seemed to be busy tending to a number of flickering Life Auras gathered in what Isaiah remembered was the main hall of the manor.

It seemed things were much more complicated than he originally thought.

Nevertheless, realizing that ordinary soldiers probably wouldn’t be of any use if a fight broke out, Commander Gibbs swiftly ordered, "Secure the perimeter, then wait for further instructions."

"Yes, Sir!"

As his subordinates got to work, Isaiah turned to his fellow Initiates, who all also knew what they were up against by now, and smiled wryly, "Sorry. If I’d known, I would’ve just stayed in bed."

A few smirks appeared on the faces of the Darr Kingdom Commanders, each of them understanding their superior was half-encouraging them, while also half telling the truth.

Isaiah was an odd-ball, but he was well-liked amongst the garrison, so no one here was going to blame him for bringing them to this potential death-trap.

"If you’re done quivering, you should come inside so we can talk," a firm yet somehow refreshing female voice reached all of their ears at that moment, causing the Spirit Initiates all to shudder, Commander Gibbs especially.

He hadn’t heard this voice in over a century, yet he knew he would never be able to forget it as the last words it had spoken to him, at the point of a pitch-black spear, were ’surrender or die’.

Still, despite bringing up an old trauma, Isaiah and the rest of the Darr Kingdom Initiates actually saw this as a good sign. Since she was willing to talk, that meant there was a chance they would live to see the sunrise tomorrow.

Keeping their weapons sheathed, but gripping their handles tightly, the Sabre Point Garrison Initiates entered the manor proper.

.....

Even before hearing that hauntingly familiar voice, Commander Gibbs had a decent guess as to who it was he would be meeting tonight, not that knowing was of much comfort.

If anything, it just made Isaiah even more nervous.

Upon entering the main hall, and laying eyes on the flaming-red hair that still sometimes appeared in his nightmares about that day more than 100 years ago, Isaiah audibly gulped.

Releasing his hand from his sword, knowing it would be of no use to him, he proceeded to give a formal salute, "Greeting, General Celestina Balfour. I am Commander Isaiah Gibbs of the Sabre Point Garrison."

"En, greetings, Commander Gibbs," Celestina replied politely before narrowing her eyes and studying Isaiah’s face, eventually asking, "You look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

"I’m surprised you remember someone as insignificant as myself, General Balfour," Isaiah stated with complete honesty.

Compared to the Red-Haired Monster, he really wasn’t anyone of note even now, much less back when they had last encountered one another and Isaiah was noting but a newly promoted Low-Rank Spirit Initiate.

Figuring he should explain himself, so as not to cause any misunderstandings, Isaiah wryly stated, "We have indeed crossed paths once in the past. It was my unit that was guarding Gateway City’s eastern gate when you and your elite forces last paid the Darr Kingdom an... unexpected visit."

Raising her brow, Celestina searched her memories and indeed vaguely recalled seeing this man on the night she had launched a surprise attack on Gateway City at the start of the last great war.

Had it been some other battle from so long ago, she may have forgotten such minor details, but that night had been the one where she was forced to confront Reisha, so it was particularly memorable for her.

Shaking off such distracting thoughts, Celestina motioned for Isaiah and his subordinates to stand at ease while commenting, "You seem like a reasonable man, Commander Gibbs, so I hope we can clear up any misunderstandings there may be about this... unfortunate situation, before matters escalate beyond our control."

"I would certainly appreciate if that were the case, General Balfour," Isaiah wholeheartedly agreed, primarily because if things did escalate, he wasn’t sure if he or any of his subordinates would be leaving here tonight.