"Lord Bai Luo?"
Soon after, Hong Maru and the other three followed Egui Peng into Lord Bai Luo's wooden house, kneeling respectfully on the ground.
The four originally wanted to ask Bai Luo the reason for calling them.
However, as soon as they looked up, they noticed the change in Bai Luo from before.
'This?!'
'Such a powerful aura!'
'Lord Bai Luo, how did he suddenly become so much stronger?'
Lord Bai Luo's evolution left Hong Maru and the others deeply shaken.
They knew that after a monster broke through a bottleneck, it would undergo a transformation called evolution.
However, Bai Luo's evolution was too quiet.
The four had just seen Bai Luo not long ago.
Now, after only an hour or two, Bai Luo's aura had risen from his initial B-Rank to his current level.
10,000 and 9,999 magic essence, only a difference of 1 point.
But this 1 point brought a tangible sense of oppression to the Great Ogre Clan.
"Oh, sorry, sorry, I almost forgot."
Bai Luo restrained the magic essence that he still couldn't control well due to his evolution, and then maintained his presence at the level of a B-Rank monster.
This made the Great Ogre Clan feel much better.
At the same time, they also thought of the reason for Bai Luo's sudden increase in strength.
'Was Lord Bai Luo always hiding his strength?'
'No wonder!'
Hong Maru secretly thought, 'How could such a catastrophic magic be released by a mere B-Rank monster?'
'If he was hiding his aura, then it's not strange.'
Becoming more convinced of his idea, Hong Maru began to ponder Bai Luo's true strength.
A-Rank?
This was certain, the oppressive feeling of the magic essence he just released had already reached A-Rank.
However, Hong Maru felt that this should not be Bai Luo's full strength.
'Could it be that Bai Luo is Special A-Rank?'
As soon as this thought emerged, Hong Maru could no longer suppress it: 'That's right, even Egui Peng has A-Rank, so Lord Bai Luo, who she follows, must be an even more powerful existence.'
'Special A-Rank.'
This was the strongest existence Hong Maru could imagine.
Beyond that were the legendary Demon Lord Seeds.
"Don't be nervous. I called you here to discuss something with you."
Bai Luo soothed their emotions, then said gently, "I want you to become my retainers. Are you willing?"
"Retainers?"
"Ah, just like Peng Peng."
Bai Luo pondered for a moment, then explained in a way they could understand, "You can think of it as followers, or 'vassals'."
With the Unique Skill Capturer, and Bai Luo's current strength being above the four, he could actually forcibly capture them.
However, firstly, Bai Luo did not like to force others.
Secondly, he also hoped to gain truly loyal subordinates.
"Retainers are different from ordinary followers; they are more like my companions."
Bai Luo did not tell the four the benefits of being retainers, but simply described the relationship between them.
In Bai Luo's opinion, retainers and he should not involve any elements of self-interest.
Saying something like 'Become my retainer, and you can become stronger' in advance would only tarnish the oath and make it less pure.
"I am willing!"
The first to speak was not Hong Maru or Cang Ying, but Zhu Cai.
"It is my honor to be able to become a companion with Egui Peng."
Zhu Cai: "And at that time, if Lord Bai Luo hadn't acted, I would have already died in the mouth of that Insect Monster."
"I cannot repay the kindness of saving my life."
"This humble girl is willing to serve by your side."
After speaking, Zhu Cai elegantly bowed to Lord Bai Luo.
"Uh..."
Lord Bai Luo hesitated a little, but he did not refuse.
No matter the reason, Zhu Cai's desire to repay the kindness was sincere, and that was enough.
"Ahem, well, you don't have to be like that."
"Become my retainer, and we will be family from now on."
Saying that, Bai Luo smiled, "Then, welcome to the family."
"That's too cunning, isn't it?"
When Shi On saw that Bai Luo was truly willing to accept Zhu Cai, she apologized to Hong Maru, "I'm sorry, Young Master, I also want to become Bai Luo's retainer."
"I understand."
Although Hong Maru was called the Young Master by the Great Ogre Clan and was the future heir of the village.
But this was only in name.
At least Shi On and Cang Ying had not yet formally sworn allegiance to Hong Maru to become his vassals.
To be precise, the four were childhood friends who grew up together, rather than master and servant.
Shi On's reason for choosing to follow was the same as Zhu Cai's.
At that time, the two girls were in despair, and it was Bai Luo and Egui Peng who acted, allowing them to survive.
The kindness of saving a life was greater than anything.
Now that Bai Luo wanted to recruit them, what reason did Shi On have to refuse?
What's more, Bai Luo also said.
He wanted trustworthy companions, not servants.
This sincerity alone was enough to move many people among the Great Ogre Clan, let alone Zhu Cai and Shi On, who had received Bai Luo's life-saving grace?
"May I ask, Bai Luo, what do you plan to do?"
It was the usually taciturn Cang Ying who spoke; he was not actually resistant to following Lord Bai Luo.
The Great Ogre Clan originally operated as mercenaries throughout the Jura Great Forest.
Becoming Bai Luo's vassal was essentially no different from being a mercenary.
The latter was temporary, while the former was a permanent job that required absolute loyalty from beginning to end.
Bai Luo's strength, Egui Peng's power.
This perfectly aligned with the monster's need to choose a strong individual to follow.
Of course, if it were only these, then Grummid, the Demon in the original work, would not have suffered a setback with the Great Ogre Clan.
What truly moved Cang Ying was Bai Luo's description of the meaning of 'retainer'.
Not servants or subordinates, but family.
If Bai Luo was like this, Cang Ying was willing to serve him as his lord and offer him his loyalty.
"As for future plans..."
Bai Luo said, "Probably to accumulate strength and then become a Demon Lord Seed."
Demon Lord Seed!!
Upon hearing these two words, the four present simultaneously showed expressions of shock.
"You, do you really have such ambition?"
Cang Ying's expression was solemn, but his tone was incredibly sincere: "I am willing to become your shadow and help you achieve the great feat of becoming a Demon Lord Seed!"
To find a lord of such caliber, and to die for him, this was simply the future Cang Ying had dreamed of!
"Shadows and such..."
Seeing Cang Ying's serious expression, Bai Luo could only nod and say, "Alright, then I'll trouble you from now on.".