Reborn As Noble

The next day.

Afternoon.

Northern Armand Border Gate.

Javier let out a quiet sigh as he rode atop Buddy, the big Pekko bird striding confidently toward the high gates. Liana rode beside him on Pikko, her posture straight and composed, while Gloria flanked his left on Peanut, her calm gaze sweeping the length of the stronghold walls.

Behind them, Mimi, Delya, and Felicia followed, each astride their own Pekko, ears perked and eyes bright, their excitement matched by their mounts’ cheerful squawks and flapping wings.

At the gate, the Border Guard Captain stood ready, helmet tucked under his arm, armor spotless. As Javier’s group approached, the Captain snapped a sharp salute, fist pressed to his chest, head bowed low. The other guards lined up along the wall, discipline perfect.

”Young Master!” the Captain called.

Javier lifted a hand in a relaxed wave. ”At ease, everyone.”

”We were informed by the Estate about your arrival, Young Master,” the Captain replied, voice clear and respectful.

”Mm.” Javier nodded, slipping down from Buddy’s back. ”No need to worry. Just a routine check for my Puppet Knights and the wall. Nothing major today.”

”Yes, Young Master.”

Moving out onto the open field before the wall, Javier waved his hand. A large rune-engraved chest materialized in a shimmer of light.

He slid on his magic glasses as the chest’s lid creaked open. Swarms of repair drones zipped out, their engines humming as they shot off toward the puppet knights stationed along the battlements, ready to perform routine checks and repairs.

With another wave, twenty new puppet knights appeared in perfect formation, each shouldering a heavy tool bag. They marched up the stone stairs, their movements precise and mechanical, heading straight for the mana cannons and anti-air guns perched atop the wall.

While Javier monitored the process—Sky Eye feeds flickering quietly at the edge of his vision—he noticed Liana and Gloria standing nearby, never straying far from his side.

He glanced over, brow raised.

”Liana... Gloria?”

”Yes, Young Master?” they answered in unison.

”You two can relax a bit before we head out for Arjam. There’s no rush—take it easy, get some rest.”

Liana smiled and dismounted gracefully. ”Of course, Young Master.”

Gloria nodded, a gentle warmth in her eyes. ”We’ll stay close, just in case.”

As Liana led the others to a bench shaded by the wall, Javier nodded in satisfaction and turned his focus back to the work.

”Captain,” Javier called out.

”Yes, Young Master?” the captain replied, standing straight.

”No problems with the relay tower?”

”No, Young Master. All our communications are running smoothly.” The captain smirked with quiet pride as he tapped the mana talkie in his ear. ”We’ve had clear signals across the entire border.”

”Good.” Javier nodded, pleased. ”If anything happens, inform the Armand Estate immediately. We can’t afford any issues with the communication system, it’s vital for coordination and the safety of both our units and the people.”

”Yes, Young Master. Understood.” The captain bowed again, his confidence clear.

Javier gave one last approving glance along the stronghold wall before turning his attention back to the open field. He watched as the maintenance drones zipped along the battlements and the puppet knights moved in precise formation, inspecting mana cannons and checking every defensive post.

Inside his mind.

All the puppet knights already have self-repair functions. If there’s ever a problem with the mana relay tower, or with the knights themselves, they’ll just move and fix it on their own. The spare parts in the storage box nearby haven’t even been touched yet.

And for backups, I’ve got every mana missile launcher on standby. The Sky Eye system will send out automatic warnings and coordinate defenses if anything goes wrong.

I’ve set backup battle drones to deploy from the Armand Estate, all hidden behind my personal workshop, just in case.

And if it really comes to a crisis, I still have the main mothership stored away, the one I used back during the Celestial War. It’s big enough to deploy thousands of battle drones at once, all loaded for a true battlefield.

But that’s only if a full-scale war ever happens again.

Every puppet knight stationed at the estate can be activated if an enemy ever manages to infiltrate. Their first priority will be protecting my family and the staff. Under the workshop, and in a few secret places, I’ve already prepared emergency seals that can open my magic storage instantly, deploying all my latest inventions. Shirooni too... Everything is in place.

None of my puppet knights have ever been destroyed, not even during those two wars. But I’d be a fool not to prepare for the worst. Who knows what could happen? Even if no army in this world can match my current forces, thinking ahead is never wrong.

Javier’s thoughts drifted as he watched the automated repairs from the edge of the field.

Now the real problem is...

Who exactly are the Hand of Creation and the Power of Destruction users?

I already asked Father before, even showed him the parchment. All he said was, ”Don’t worry about it.”

Don’t worry? How am I supposed to ignore something like that?

Javier reached into his pocket and pulled out a small chunk of iron ore, activated his magic crafting skill. The ore floated up, shimmered, then melted into liquid, swirling and reshaping into a perfect cube before melting again, a restless dance in his palm.

According to the parchment, the Hand of Creation could make anything, just by imagining it. No limit. If it’s in your mind, you could bring it into reality.

And then there was the Power of Destruction, the berserk force that could destroy anything in its path, unstoppable and wild.

Shit.

What if one of them attacks Armand? Can my creations even hold up against that? What if the user of the Hand of Creation is evil, what if they can conjure up something powerful enough to destroy the world?

He stared at the liquid iron as it swirled in the air, unease growing in his chest.

If either of them turned their power against Armand...

He clenched his fist, forcing the metal to solidify and drop quietly into his hand.

No matter how much I prepare, there’s always something further beyond. Always something unknown.

He glanced back at the border wall, his defenses, his inventions, everything he’d built, knowing that sometimes, it was the things you couldn’t see coming that mattered most.

( End Of Chapter )