Traveling through the game world

Barn, one of the Four Sword Saints, may have a special worship of power, and can be somewhat extreme at times, but overall he's not a bad person, especially since he values ​​the friendship among the four Sword Saints. Of course, he's even more loyal to the Delos Empire.

Looking at Lian Yang in front of him, Barn had a sudden thought and asked, "Lian Yang, what do you think of the Delos Empire?"

Lian Yang found Barn's question somewhat strange, but still replied, "The current strongest nation on the continent, the Empire, has a very powerful emperor. Although there are quite a few so-called revolutionary armies rising up within the country, I think it's meaningless. An empire's strength means it must expand its territory; otherwise, wealth and luxury will quickly corrupt the imperial nobility. Overall, I believe the Delos Empire has a brighter future than the Dark Elf Kingdom."

Upon hearing Lian Yang's answer, Barn immediately followed up with, "What are your thoughts on the Delos Empire attacking the Dark Elf Kingdom and the Void Kingdom?" This was already part of the Delos Empire's strategy, but Barn didn't mind revealing it to Lian Yang. Everyone knew of the Delos Empire's ambition to unify Arad.

Lian Yang firmly stated, "If there is only one country on the continent of Arad, then it will enjoy a long period of peace." Lian Yang only said half of his sentence; the other half was that if only one country remained in Arad, then the Delos Empire would soon split up or even perish.

After hearing Lian Yang's words, Barn's eyes lit up. "Kid, do you want to join my Iron Wolf Knights?" While territorial expansion is inevitable for powerful nations, in the eyes of most people on the Arad continent, the Delos Empire is not just. Of course, it's more a case of those in power using the will of the people to their own advantage.

But to Barn's surprise, he heard a completely different opinion from his old friend's apprentice. It was praise for the Delos Empire, and Lian Yang even affirmed the Delos Empire's ambition to unify Arad. This immediately filled Barn with joy, and he extended an invitation to Lian Yang to join the Delos Empire.

Lian Yang wasn't surprised to hear Barn invite him to join the Iron Wolf Knights. In truth, even without meeting Barn, Lian Yang would have sought an opportunity to join the Delos Empire. Having imperial status would make everything much easier for him in the future. After all, the Delos Empire was the continent's leading superpower.

Looking at Alice and Baron beside him, and receiving their approving glances, Lian Yang carefully considered his words before saying, "We all greatly admire the Iron Wolf Knights you lead, but our current strength is far too weak. Furthermore, we want to continue searching for the secrets behind the Black Nightmare." Among ordinary people, the Black Nightmare is taboo, but for those at the highest levels, especially those with elite military power like Baron, it is a pressing issue.

Earlier, Lian Yang had already discussed joining the Delos Empire with Alice and Baron. Baron, whose sense of good and evil was rather vague, didn't care who he joined. Alice, from the Celestial Realm, didn't care about any of the forces in Arad. Joining the Delos Empire would ensure that their future adventures wouldn't face too much external resistance, which was the biggest persuasive factor for Alice. As for Celia, as long as she could participate in the adventures, she didn't care which faction she joined, since she wasn't responsible for combat.

After a moment of contemplation, Barn finally made his decision and asked in a deep voice, "What if I give you the status of an independent squad, allow you to be affiliated with the Iron Wolf Knights, and grant you the authority to act freely?" Barn was now going all out, not just out of a desire to attract talent, but also because he wanted to at least nominally bind Agamemnon to the war machine of the Delos Empire.

Of the Four Sword Saints, Buwanga is the chieftain of the Bantu tribe, essentially the head of the clan. Xilan is a member of the Void race, with intricate ties to the royal family; though holding no official position, he is the undisputed protector of the Void race. Each of them represents a distinct faction. Only Agamemnon is a truly free individual. However, in terms of pure strength, it's difficult to definitively say who among the Four Sword Saints is the strongest, but it's certain that two Sword Saints are stronger than one.

Therefore, for Barn, recruiting Lian Yang into his knightly order was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it also carried profound political significance. While the four most powerful swordsmen on the Arad continent were very close friends and unlikely to fight, there are never true friends between nations, unless their interests are infringed upon. The Delos Empire, possessing two swordsmen standing at the pinnacle of the continent, would undoubtedly have a greater voice among the various powers in Arad.

Lian Yang turned his head and saw that Baron and Alice gave him a reassuring look, and even Celia's look didn't object. Feeling that he was getting close to Baron's bottom line, Lian Yang nodded and said, "Can all four of us join the Iron Wolf Knights?" Baron and Alice were undoubtedly Lian Yang's brothers, comrades and right-hand men, while the knowledgeable Celia was a true strategist.

Barn nodded. "Alright, I'll grant you the right to name your own squad and give you a ten-person team. You can recruit members as you see fit, but be careful not to let any Revolutionary Army spies infiltrate." For Barn, as long as Lian Yang was in the Iron Wolf Knights, it meant that Agamemnon was nominally tied to the Delos Empire's war machine, since Agamemnon, who had no children, only had Lian Yang as his disciple. No one believed that if Lian Yang had any problems, Agamemnon wouldn't help his only disciple. As for the ten-person quota, that was even easier; unless he recruited ten Sword Saints, it was just a small gift for the junior. Or rather, just an extra.

Taking ten badges of the Iron Wolf Knights from his backpack, Barn solemnly handed them to Lian Yang and continued, "From today onwards, you are members of the Imperial Knights. Always remember the honor and creed of knights!" It must be said that although Barn was a sword saint, he firmly believed that loyalty was a knight's virtue, and therefore he was infinitely loyal to the Delos Empire. He didn't even care about things that might bring him infamy.

Wearing the Iron Wolf Knight badges they had just received, Lian Yang and the others solemnly swore an oath: "We will fight for the honor of the Empire!" Lian Yang's slogan was very loud, but it was not sincere.

Joining Barn's Knights was merely a stepping stone for Lian Yang to enter the Delos Empire. With the identity of a Delos Empire knight, Lian Yang could maximize his benefits without following the main storyline. This is because some knightly storylines require obtaining certain identities through prerequisite quests to continue. Having the identity of a Delos Empire knight, however, would allow him to avoid many troublesome prerequisite quests.

As for Barn? He was Agamemnon's close friend and treated Lian Yang as a junior, but his decision to have Lian Yang join the Knights was purely for a spur-of-the-moment political purpose. He didn't care about Lian Yang's loyalty. As long as Lian Yang didn't help the Revolutionary Army against the Empire, Barn wouldn't care what Lian Yang did under the banner of the Delos Empire.

After the seemingly solemn oath was completed, Barn reverted to his carefree demeanor: "Kid, what's your knight squad going to call itself? I need to report that back to you." Independent knight squads are a very special formation, so each independent knight squad has its own unique name.

Lian Yang said decisively, "Let's call it the Hope Squad." Lian Yang chose this name because the entity that brought him here was called the Hope System, and the Hope System gave him hope of finding his beloved.

Having successfully nominally bound Agamemnon to the Delos Empire, Barn, brimming with pride, said, "Hope? What a fine name. From now on, your squad will be called the Iron Wolf Knights, the Hope Independent Squad! Go collect your equipment! It's all official attire." He waved his hand gleefully, dismissing Lian Yang and the others to collect their gear.

As a game dimension, Arad is essentially a player where everyone can level up and equip various gear. Due to the powerful attributes of virtual equipment, the Iron Wolf Knights' so-called equipment consists mainly of formal attire worn on various official occasions. There are also combat suits that provide battlefield friend-or-foe identification. Of course, there are also some virtual equipment crafted by artisans of the Delos Empire, but these are mass-produced and considered basic, even by Yang and his group, taking up too much space.

After receiving their uniforms, Lian Yang and the others couldn't wait to put them on.

Seeing Lian Yang and Baron dressed in the Iron Wolf Knights' everyday knight uniforms, Alice, who was also wearing a uniform, couldn't help but tease, "I never noticed before, but I didn't expect Lian Yang and Baron to be so handsome!"

Lian Yang always wore the same jet-black robe without changing it, which at first seemed quite dashing to Alice, but after a while, Alice thought he looked like a crow. The lazy Lian Yang, however, didn't care about Alice's opinion at all and continued to do as he pleased, always dressed in black.

Baron, needless to say, had a sexy physique and a classic fit male body. At first glance, he was undeniably eye-catching. However, even he couldn't resist walking around shirtless all day long. After a while, Alice simply grew tired of seeing him.

However, since we are now in the Iron Wolf Knights, the military has always required uniform attire. Even Lian Yang cannot easily change this rule.

And so, the two eternally unchanging individuals appeared before Alice in military uniforms. And you know what? This occasional change of clothes was quite a refreshing sight for Alice. Her eyes lit up as she stared at Lian Yang and Baron.

Feeling uncomfortable under Alice's gaze, Baron even wondered if Alice's sexual orientation was normal. However, considering that he couldn't stand Alice's unusual tastes, he changed the subject, saying, "But Alice, you look really good in your military uniform, don't you?" He was referring to Alice, but Celia was also dressed in a military uniform, looking quite dashing.

Upon hearing that she looked good in her military uniform, Alice's eyes lit up. She pouted and said, "When have I ever looked bad!" Then, she abruptly turned around and pulled Celia, who was about to run away, into her arms. "Celia, my little beauty, I still think you look best today. Want to give in to your older sister today?" Teasing Celia had practically become one of Alice's hobbies.

Ceria, held in Alice's arms, looked utterly helpless: "I knew I couldn't run away again! And Baron, you tricked me! How awful!" Over time, Ceria grew accustomed to Alice's fondness for beautiful women, and even began to suspect that Alice's eagerness to go to the ruins of Huttonmar was a ploy to get closer to Paris. After all, Paris was also a great beauty.

The journey from the plundered town to Dark City wasn't too far, and Barn simply led his knights at a normal marching pace. They arrived in Dark City in just a few days.

Looking at the bustling crowd, Lian Yang exclaimed, "This is the center of the Arad continent right now! It's so prosperous!"

Standing at the gates of Dark City, ignoring Lian Yang's sigh, Barn said to himself, "I still have some matters to discuss with the Dark Elf Kingdom. From here, begin your adventure! But be sure to return when the Empire needs you!"

Nodding, Lian Yang bid farewell, saying, "Then goodbye, Commander Barn."

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