"Not bad!" said Master Eileen as she approached. "I might seriously consider letting the three new sisters officially replace me as your master."
"That's not a funny joke," Jefferson replied, shaking his head.
"Joke?" Eileen slowly walked over, looked at Jefferson, and suddenly swung her left hand like lightning.
Jefferson instinctively shrank back, leaning his body, protecting his chest with his left arm and his abdomen and groin with his right hand.
"You see, that's progress," Eileen said, not actually striking him. "Haven't you noticed your strength has increased significantly over this month? Honestly, the speed at which your strength has grown is surprising, even to those of us who already knew you."
Jefferson inwardly rolled his eyes. He knew his strength had increased rapidly, but it was thanks to stealing a large amount of life energy during sex with the three sisters, not because of their rigorous training.
"You know, it's a good thing you had this month of hellish training. Otherwise, this mission might be a death sentence for you," Eileen said calmly.
"Isn't this just routine patrol?" Jefferson's heart raced. If even a patrol could be life-threatening, then being a knight was indeed extremely dangerous.
"If nothing were likely to happen, they wouldn't have sent us out here. Although our superiors haven't said anything, I have a feeling something is going to happen this time. Everyone else has already sensed it, but you remain oblivious," Eileen sighed lightly. She knew that the most deaths in war were among rookies, especially those on their first mission.
"The captain asked me to tell you that from today, you will stay with the quartermaster. Your task is to follow the quartermaster, obey their orders, and protect them," Eileen said solemnly.
Jefferson immediately stood up straight and replied, "Yes." Looking at his master, Jefferson felt grateful because he knew that this was more about protecting him than an actual order. In any team, the quartermaster was always the most protected. Following the quartermaster was like hiding in a safe.
"There is also an unofficial order," Eileen added, pausing and lowering her voice, "If things go wrong, you are allowed to retreat."
Jefferson was taken aback, but he quickly understood that this meant he was allowed to run away.
While he felt somewhat reassured, he also felt slightly belittled, as if everyone had assumed he was a coward.
Eileen smiled slightly and said, "I've told you everything you need to know. I'm going back to the car." Perhaps feeling pity for Jefferson, she added, "You can go back to the car too. The three sisters might scare you, but they know their limits. They won't really harm you during a mission."
"Really?" Jefferson trusted his master but was still wary of the terrifying three sisters. He decided to be cautious.
"You can ask them yourself," Eileen said, sometimes joking. She knew Jefferson now viewed the three sisters like a mouse views a cat, eager to escape.
Despite his lingering apprehension, Jefferson eventually returned to the car. It was warmer there, at least with the car roof shielding against the wind. With more people inside, the temperature was naturally higher.
The car also held his training armor. If he got too cold, he could crawl into the armor.
As an apprentice, Jefferson didn't have formal battle armor but used modified training armor. After receiving the mission, Christine had quickly reinforced the original training armor, giving it its current form.
Now, the armor resembled a complete human shape rather than just a skeleton.
The magical muscles were adjustable, and the current armor had as many as the energy core could handle. The surface now had real steel armor instead of lead weights. The helmet was fixed and included enhanced vision and hearing, night vision, and short-range communication—all the essential functions.
Even its appearance had improved significantly, resembling an ancient heavily armored warrior from a distance.
...
For three consecutive days, nothing happened, but Jefferson clearly felt the increasing tension within the team.
Being with Christine had its benefits. Christine was very patient and answered most of his questions.
That's how he learned why the rest of the team was so tense.
The farther they were from Brookfield, the greater the danger if something went wrong, and the lower the chances of returning safely.
Another problem was the food shortage. Although they had packed a full car with food, energy crystals, and spare parts, it couldn't keep up with the consumption of so many knights.
At midday, the captain got out of the car in front and came over to their vehicle, looking for the quartermaster.
"Christine, contact Brookfield City and tell them I plan to retreat to the nearest supply point. Have them send supplies over."
Everyone was delighted to hear this.
Christine followed the orders using a dedicated communication device in the car, which unfortunately could only be used by someone with telepathic abilities.
Jefferson still found it strange because knights could use the communication devices in their battle armor. Though Miss Christine had explained it once, he didn't quite understand. He only knew that one method was called high-frequency excitation, and the other was called mental telepathy transmission.
Everyone in the car held their breath, waiting for Christine's response. The longer they waited, the graver their expressions became.
Half an hour later, Christine raised her head and said solemnly, "I can't get in touch with Brookfield City."
"Jamming?" The captain, already cold as ice, now looked even more menacing.
"Can't be certain, but it's very likely."
A heavy silence fell around them. After a moment, the captain said in a cold voice, "Everyone out of the car. We're in big trouble."
At her command, everyone sprang into action.
The battle armors, which had been placed back-to-back facing the sides of the car for easy access, were ready.
The car doors flipped up, and ten sets of battle armor, including Jefferson's, immediately emerged from the car.
The sound of metal plates clashing together rang out, and their heavy footsteps on the iron-hard frozen ground were even louder.
"Quartermaster, equip everyone with the noise-dampening pads. From now on, we must operate in stealth mode," the captain ordered.
The noise-dampening pads were inner linings attached to the armor to minimize noise during movement. These pads were consumables and hindered movement, so no knight liked them except those specialized in assassination.
The car was driven to a concealed spot with easy access, and the team covered it meticulously with branches.
Christine sat in the last car, while Jefferson curled up outside, keeping watch. A few hundred meters away, Miss Eileen crouched on a high platform, vigilantly scanning the surroundings like an eagle.
Eileen wielded a ten-meter-long knight's lance. She was a standard attack-type heavy knight, so the scouting task wasn't hers.