In the dimly lit basement.
A dark red orb of light hovered in mid-air, continuously casting a blood-red glow downwards, making the entire basement's lighting appear somewhat gloomy and adding a touch of terror.
On the massive white metal operating table, the former number one Great Knight lay sprawled across it.
His eyes were tightly shut, his eyelids still twitching. Even in his unconscious state, he seemed to be enduring some unimaginable torment.
And across his body, the black brand now seemed to come alive, constantly writhing and contracting, slowly bulging outward. With each pulse, it emitted a dark red light.
"The ancient Branding Swordsmen inscribed wizard runes and arrays onto their bodies, storing particles of natural energy within themselves, and then releasing it all at once during critical moments, transforming into spells of astonishing power! Furthermore, due to the constant modification of the body by the massive amount of energy particles within, the physical capabilities of Branding Swordsmen far surpass the limits ordinary humans could imagine, reaching a bizarre and unfathomable level!"
His understanding of Branding Swordsmen was now so thorough that Leilin could undoubtedly be called the foremost expert on the entire South Coast.
Holding a white scalpel and forceps in hand, Leilin took one last look at the still unconscious number one.
"It's a bit rushed, but there's no other choice!"
Leilin sighed, somewhat reluctantly. In truth, the Chip's plan required multiple experiments on these five Great Knights to gather precise parameters before the final energy node inscription could be performed.
But time was no longer on his side.
The sudden news of an impending great war had thrown Leilin's original plans into complete disarray.
Originally, once the Branding Swordsman experiment succeeded, Leilin estimated he would have surely completed his second Bloodline Leap. With a tremendous boost in strength then, he could have likely rivaled even a Second-rank Wizard!
And a Second-rank Wizard was the level of a Headmaster at a major wizard force like the Black Bone Forest Academy!
If he could have just waited patiently, quietly accumulating his strength, Leilin could have soon reached the peak realm that most wizards on the South Coast could only dream of touching their entire lives!
But all of this had been ruined by that damn news of war.
Leilin now had no choice but to accelerate his research progress, hoping to replicate a Branding Swordsman before the great war arrived. He didn't need to fully recreate the power of the ancients; even achieving fifty or sixty percent of it would be enough to keep him alive amidst the chaos.
After letting the tangled thoughts pass, Leilin took a deep breath.
Instantly, his mind sank into complete calm, and all the various distracting thoughts vanished.
A trace of cold light flashed in his eyes. With the Chip's micro-management assistance, Leilin directly drew the silver scalpel across number one's chest...
...
"ROOOAR!!!" With a thunderous roar, a massive Venomous Flying Dragon dove down from the sky. When it was still over a dozen meters from the ground, it suddenly spread its wings!
Whoosh!!! The enormous green bony wings blotted out the sky, casting a huge patch of dark shadow on the ground below.
After spreading its wings, the Venomous Flying Dragon's diving speed dropped sharply. In a gliding state, it covered another dozen kilometers in the air before landing steadily on the Four Seasons Garden headquarters' landing platform.
Thud! Thud!!! The massive claws struck the platform, the talons carrying immense kinetic force leaving marks several centimeters deep on the hard surface.
Swish!!! A wizard wearing white robes, adorned with plant decorations, jumped straight down from the back of the Venomous Flying Dragon.
"Lord Leilin!!!"
The surrounding Four Seasons Garden apprentices hurried forward and bowed in greeting.
After Leilin descended, two burly men clad in iron armor also climbed down from the dragon's back. Slung over their shoulders were enormous steel swords that looked like door panels.
"These are my two retainers. According to Academy regulations, I have the right to bring two attendants into residence! Register them for me," Leilin said to an apprentice nearby. "Also, feed Hulk well. Increase the number of red bread pigs to two. It's recently entered its pre-maturity gorging period and needs a lot of food..."
"Your wish is our mission, Lord!" The apprentice bowed deeply and simultaneously directed the other servants behind him to begin washing and cleaning the Venomous Flying Dragon.
At the same time, the apprentice quickly noted something down, soon handing two iron tablet-like tokens to the Number Two and Number Three behind Leilin.
These iron tablets were entirely black. On their surface was a crimson runic seal. Its shape was an inverted triangle within a circle, with a coiling runic black snake in the center.
This was precisely the form of Leilin's secret method imprint.
"These are your passes. Keep them safe, or getting replacements later will be troublesome! Also, because we are now in a state of emergency, some areas are off-limits. Otherwise, you'll be arrested by the security group on charges of espionage!"
The apprentice's expression was very serious, which made Leilin's heart clench slightly as well.
"Of course!" Leilin nodded, then departed with Number Two and Number Three.