After Marcus said that, the room fell quiet again.

Not the awkward kind of silence where people avoided eye contact.

This one felt heavier than that.

The kind where everyone inside the room was thinking about the exact same thing but nobody wanted to be the first to say it aloud.

Outside the administrative building, the sound of rifle fire echoed across the Atlas compound. A burst of shouting followed soon after, mixed with boots pounding against dirt in steady rhythm. Somewhere farther away, an engine roared to life before settling into a loud mechanical hum.

Even indoors, Atlas never truly felt quiet anymore.

The place constantly moved like a living machine.

Soldiers trained outside from sunrise until nightfall. Supply crews pushed carts between warehouses. Trucks came and went through the gates almost every hour. Orders were shouted across the camp so often that they had practically become background noise.

Cedric Valehurst slowly turned his head toward the nearby window, watching several Atlas recruits jog across the yard with rifles hanging from their gear. Their movements looked disciplined. Sharp. Almost unnatural compared to the guards he was used to seeing in ordinary cities.

Honestly, the longer he stayed inside this compound, the more he understood why stories about Atlas spread so quickly across nearby kingdoms.

This place felt different.

Not like an adventurer guild.

Not like a mercenary company either.

Everything here looked organized in a way that made people uneasy.

Dangerously organized.

Marcus walked toward the operations table near the far side of the room and unfolded one of the maps Cedric had brought earlier. The paper spread across the surface with a soft rustle, revealing trade roads, forests, hills, and the outer districts surrounding Falmouth.

Marcus studied it carefully while the pilot and co-pilot stepped closer behind him.

Elaina moved beside Marcus quietly while Cedric remained near his chair, unsure if he should approach or continue standing.

Marcus glanced at him briefly.

"You can sit down, Cedric."

Cedric immediately sat again. "Right. Sorry."

Marcus rested both hands against the edge of the table as his eyes scanned the map.

"You mentioned the brigands mainly operate around the southern forests?"

Cedric nodded quickly. "Yes. Most attacks happen near those routes."

Marcus traced one of the roads lightly with his finger. "You sure they’re operating from organized camps?"

"We believe so."

Marcus looked up. "Believe?"

Cedric hesitated for a moment before sighing. "...No. We haven’t confirmed it yet."

Marcus gave a small nod.

That already bothered him.

Missing information was always dangerous.

The pilot leaned slightly over the table while studying the map. "How large is Falmouth exactly?"

Cedric looked toward him. "Around twenty thousand civilians."

The co-pilot let out a low whistle. "That’s bigger than I expected."

Marcus thought the same thing.

Not massive compared to major capitals, but still large enough that things could spiral out of control quickly if panic spread through the city.

Especially if brigands managed to breach the outer districts.

Marcus tapped one of the main trade roads again.

"These are your primary supply routes?"

"Yes."

The problem became obvious immediately.

Dense forest coverage.

Long stretches with poor visibility.

Sharp bends near elevated terrain.

Perfect ambush territory.

The co-pilot folded his arms near the doorway. "They’re funneling caravans into kill zones."

Cedric blinked before slowly nodding. "...That’s exactly what’s been happening."

Marcus briefly glanced at the co-pilot.

Good observation.

The pilot nodded as well. "And they probably know the terrain better than the city guards do."

Marcus looked back toward Cedric. "Your guards tried pushing into the forests already?"

Cedric rubbed his forehead tiredly before answering. "Twice."

Marcus already knew where this was going.

"They got hit?"

Cedric gave a slow nod. "Both times."

That explained the morale issue almost immediately.

Poorly trained guards entering unfamiliar terrain against enemies who knew the area better almost never ended well.

Marcus leaned back slightly from the table and crossed his arms.

"So here’s the situation."

Cedric straightened a little in his chair.

"Atlas can handle this."

Relief visibly appeared on Cedric’s face, but Marcus continued before the merchant could relax too much.

"But it won’t be cheap."

There it was.

Business.

Cedric slowly nodded. "I expected that."

Marcus gestured toward the compound outside the window.

"You’re not hiring ordinary adventurers."

Cedric glanced outside again.

Several Atlas infantry squads were still drilling in formation with M4 carbines hanging across their tactical gear. Even from a distance, their coordination looked unsettling compared to normal soldiers.

Nobody moved casually.

Nobody wasted motion.

Everything looked practiced.

Marcus continued calmly, "You’re asking Atlas to deploy personnel into hostile territory against organized raiders operating near civilian centers. That means defensive operations, caravan security, reconnaissance, and eventually offensive action once we locate their camps."

Cedric listened carefully without interrupting.

"That requires manpower. Equipment. Ammunition. Logistics." Marcus looked directly at him. "And if these brigands turn out more organized than expected, then the situation escalates."

Cedric frowned slightly. "Escalates how?"

The pilot quietly smirked near the wall.

Marcus ignored him.

"If they’re operating with military-level coordination," Marcus said calmly, "then I prepare for military-level resistance."

Cedric slowly leaned back into his chair.

The more Marcus explained things, the more Cedric realized Atlas approached problems completely differently from normal mercenary groups.

This was not a group of swordsmen taking jobs for coin.

This felt like an actual military organization planning an operation.

Cedric folded his hands together carefully. "What are your terms?"

Marcus liked direct people.

He briefly glanced toward Elaina before answering.

"Initial deployment fee. Ten million kinah."

The room immediately became quiet.

Cedric visibly froze for a second after hearing the number.

Even the pilot looked away toward the ceiling while trying not to react.

The co-pilot coughed once into his fist.

Marcus ignored both of them completely.

"...Ten million?" Cedric repeated slowly.

Marcus nodded once. "That covers deployment."

"That’s double my original offer."

"Yes."

No hesitation.

No apology.

Just a calm answer.

Cedric stared at him carefully while Marcus remained completely composed.

Because honestly, the number made sense.

Atlas was no longer some small adventurer party taking guild quests for spare coin.

Deploying trained personnel cost resources.

Ammo cost money.

Vehicles cost money.

Equipment maintenance cost money.

And Marcus had already stopped thinking small a long time ago.

Not after the Forest of No Return.

Not after expanding Atlas into something far larger than a mercenary group.

Drones.

Recon systems.

Rapid deployment capability.

Military hardware.

All of it required serious funding.

If Atlas wanted to keep growing, then Marcus needed contracts that matched the scale of what he was building.

Cedric finally exhaled slowly. "That’s... a massive amount of money."

Marcus nodded slightly.

"So is losing a city."

That answer hit harder than Cedric expected.

Because deep down, he knew Marcus was right.

If Falmouth collapsed, the economic damage alone would dwarf ten million kinah.

Trade routes would fail.

Supply chains would break.

Merchants would flee.

Panic would spread.

Marcus continued in the same calm tone.

"You approached Atlas because conventional forces are failing."

Cedric nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Then don’t expect conventional pricing."

Cedric fell silent after that.

He could not even argue anymore because Marcus was saying exactly what he himself had been thinking ever since arriving at Atlas.

Falmouth was running out of options.

The city guards were exhausted. Trade caravans were refusing to travel southern routes. Merchants had already started pulling investments away from the city out of fear that the roads would completely collapse within the next few months.

And once trade stopped flowing, cities started dying slowly.

Cedric rubbed his temple tiredly before letting out a long breath.

"When I first heard about Atlas," he admitted quietly, "I thought the stories were exaggerated."

The co-pilot snorted softly. "Most people do."

Cedric gave a weak smile before looking back toward Marcus.

"But after seeing this place myself..." His eyes drifted toward the training yard again. "I think the rumors actually undersell you."

Marcus did not answer immediately.

Honestly, compliments like that no longer affected him much anymore.

Not after everything Atlas had already become.

The strange part was how fast it all happened.

Just months ago, Atlas had been nothing more than an idea inside his head. Now there were hundreds of personnel inside the compound. Warehouses full of equipment. Organized training programs. Logistics divisions.

And somewhere inside the hidden sections of the base sat military hardware that would completely shatter the balance of power in this world if revealed publicly.

Marcus pushed those thoughts aside for now and looked back down at the map.

"We’ll need more intelligence before deployment," he said. "Detailed terrain information. Caravan attack reports. Guard casualty locations. Anything your city has."

Cedric nodded quickly. "I can arrange all of that."

"Good."

Marcus pointed toward several marked forest regions south of Falmouth.

"These areas concern me the most."

Cedric leaned closer to the map. "That’s where most caravans disappear."

"Exactly."

Marcus narrowed his eyes slightly while studying the terrain.

The forests were dense enough to hide entire camps. Multiple hills overlooked the roads, which made ambushes easy. Worse, there were too many escape paths leading deeper into the woods.

For ordinary guards, chasing brigands there would become a nightmare.

But Atlas was not ordinary.

Marcus briefly thought about the reconnaissance drones stored inside his system inventory.

Thermal imaging alone would completely change the battlefield.

The brigands probably believed the forests protected them.

They had no idea what Atlas was capable of.

Cedric noticed Marcus staring at the southern terrain carefully.

"You already look like you’re planning a war."

Marcus answered honestly.

"I am."

For some reason, that answer reassured Cedric more than anything else said today.

Because Marcus did not look nervous.

Focused, yes.

Serious, definitely.

But not afraid.

And right now, Falmouth desperately needed someone who was not afraid.

Several minutes later, Elaina returned carrying a stack of finalized paperwork along with a metal pen. She placed everything neatly across the operations table before glancing toward Marcus.

"The contract is ready."

Cedric straightened slightly in his chair.

Elaina slid the documents toward him first. "Please review everything carefully."

Cedric nodded before beginning to read.

The room became quiet again except for the soft sound of paper turning.

Outside, another burst of rifle fire echoed across the compound followed by a shouted command from one of the drill instructors.

Cedric paused briefly and looked outside once more.

Even after sitting here for nearly an hour, the atmosphere of Atlas still felt unreal to him.

The discipline.

The organization.

The sheer confidence of everyone inside the compound.

It felt less like a mercenary company and more like a nation quietly building an army behind closed walls.

After several minutes, Cedric finally lowered the contract.

"Everything looks acceptable."