A trace of fear flickered across Damian's face.
"Many wizards have simply fled, and people are flooding the streets, buying up anything that can directly boost their strength—like they can't wait to spend every last Magic Stone they have..."
"This chaos only started to ease after the public center sent patrols out onto the streets..."
"Also, your friend Wizard Klio moved out this morning. Before he left, he left a message for you!"
"What message?"
"'Night is coming—be careful of everything!'" Damian blurted out a cryptic phrase that sounded almost like a proverb.
"What does that mean?" Leilin Farell frowned. "Since when did Klio start playing fortune-teller? He never likes to explain anything clearly!"
Leilin thought for a moment, then finally said to Damian, "Based on the information I've gathered, there's going to be a fairly major war..."
Although Damian had already suspected as much, hearing this confirmed news made his body tremble uncontrollably. He had been captured and enslaved because of a war, and although a Soul Brand had been placed on him now, that painful experience—just like the brand itself—was seared deep into his memory, something he could never forget, not even for a moment.
"Oh, right—call Number One through Number Five here!"
Leilin casually issued the order to Damian, who quickly suppressed his trembling and withdrew.
A few minutes later, five tall knights in armor, bearing fine steel greatswords, appeared before Leilin together, dropping to one knee in a perfect knight's salute!
"Master!!!"
Several centimeters of steel armor did nothing to hinder their movements, and every gesture of theirs carried an iron-blooded quality—the unmistakable bearing of battle-hardened, powerful knights.
"Rise," Leilin said softly, looking down at the five below him.
These five were, naturally, the five Great Knight-level slaves he had purchased at the slave market together with Damian.
After placing Soul Brands on them for control, Leilin could now order these five Great Knights to their deaths, and they would comply without the slightest hesitation.
They had originally each had their own names, but for convenience, Leilin had simply given them new designations—Number One through Number Five.
Leilin had invested considerable effort into these five Great Knights. Over the course of a year, he had continuously adjusted their physical condition, sparing no expense and consuming vast resources to prepare extremely rare potions for them to use.
Now, the energy fluctuations of these five test subjects, along with the Life Energy they involuntarily emitted, had already begun to exceed the Great Knight level, pushing toward a higher stage.
"The secret technique I taught you before—how's the practice going?"
Leilin asked casually.
"Reporting, Master! After practicing the secret technique and combining it with the potion from before, I and Numbers Two and Three have felt our Life Energy begin to rise steadily after a long time, and our physical capabilities are also continuously improving..."
The tall man on the far left stepped forward and said, "However, when Numbers Four and Five tried to practice the secret technique, they felt the brands on their bodies begin to tremble and emit extremely scorching heat, which interrupted their training..."
This Great Knight slave called Number One gave his report in meticulous detail.
Over the past year and more, Leilin had been continuously subjecting these five human Great Knights to a modified version of the Brand Swordsman transformation, refined by his Chip, and had now obtained considerable experimental results.
The so-called "secret technique" he had taught these five Great Knights was nothing more than supplementary material compiled and refined from the Brand Swordsman training documents.
"Is that so?" Leilin's gaze grew grave. "Take off all your clothes!"
Upon hearing their master's command, the five slaves removed their armor without hesitation.
Clang! The sound of metal armor striking the ground rang out, and in just over ten seconds, the Great Knights had shed all their weight, revealing completely naked bodies.
Numbers Four and Five—the two who were female Great Knights—showed not the slightest bit of modesty, laying bare their full curves and intimate areas directly before Leilin's eyes.
All five possessed Great Knight-level strength, with lines that were smooth yet full. Beneath every inch of muscle lay explosive power that was nothing short of astonishing.
Their entire bodies resembled flawless sculptures.
But certain things stubbornly persisted upon them, negating that sense of sculptural perfection.
Completely ignoring the two beautiful female knights among his subordinates, Leilin's gaze focused entirely on the brands that crisscrossed their bodies.
He examined them carefully.
Across his knights' bodies, deep brands covered every surface. These brands were entirely black, with twisted scars along their edges—as though they had been burned into living flesh with a searing iron.