"My sword, my shield, and even my life will be used by you!"
"I will not hesitate to bring death and destruction to your enemies!"
"I will use everything I have to protect your will, your honor, and all that you hold dear, until my life burns out!"
Karl slowly turned around, holding the parchment he had just written.
This note was now emitting a soft and pure golden radiance, the light flowing over the inked words.
Making them no longer look like simple symbols, but an oath of essences with life and power.
"My warrior, stand up." Karl's approving gaze fell on Dalton.
Dalton rose as instructed, and his gaze involuntarily fell on the parchment in Karl's hand, emitting a strange golden light.
The light wasn't dazzling, but it penetrated his heart with warmth and solemnity.
Karl smiled slightly and raised the note in his hand, allowing its glow to fully appear before Dalton's eyes.
"In recognition of your long and unwavering loyalty and the firm oath you have taken, you are hereby granted this honor."
"Upon this, by the power of faith, are written your oaths, your prayers."
"From now on, these will be not just words from your lips, but a testament to the connection with your fate."
"They will bear witness to your bravery, your sacrifice, and every step of your journey, whether glory or thorns."
Dalton held his breath, his eyes full of shock and indescribable excitement, not fully understanding what "faith power" was.
But he felt the power contained in the note and the weight of his lord's words.
Immediately after, Karl extended his other hand, and at some point, his fingertips had twisted a small piece of scarlet sealing wax.
In his other hand was a seal with a simple shape and an open book engraved in the center, with a handle behind it.
Instead of melting the wax over a candle, his eyes quickly flashed red.
The sealing wax instantly softened and melted, dripping onto Dalton's right shoulder plate, near the book engraving.
Karl firmly pressed the clean seal in his hand onto the softened sealing wax.
Fsss... a very faint sound.
When Karl removed his finger, the seal was firmly attached to the bright silver shoulder armor.
The sealing wax was like burning blood, securing the clean seal, shimmering with a golden light next to the book engraving.
The moment the seal was completed, Dalton distinctly felt a soft, warm current rush from the mark on his shoulder and quickly pass through his body.
Though fleeting, it lifted his spirits, as if the fatigue and dust in his body had been washed away.
Immediately after, an indescribable sense of firmness and protection arose.
"Lord Karl... what is this?" Dalton couldn't help but speak, his voice full of surprise.
Karl nodded slightly and explained: "This is called the Seal of Purity. By the power of my faith, it binds you and your oaths."
"It can warn you when you encounter evil beings born of chaos and corruption."
"To some extent, it weakens the tainted power contained in their attacks against you."
Dalton processed Karl's words, his brows immediately furrowing, and his previous excitement turned into deep doubt.
"Lord Karl, what exactly do you mean by 'evil beings'?"
"Aren't our enemies just conflicts between human kingdoms or ordinary monsters?"
Karl's gaze deepened: "This is precisely the truth I am about to reveal to you today, Dalton."
"Our enemy has never been the conflicts within humanity or monsters; our true enemy is 'Chaos' itself."
"The Chaos I speak of is not merely chaos and disorder, but those that exist outside reality."
"Symbolizing evil gods and demons of chaos, destruction, corruption, and disorder, and the perverted power they spread."
"They covet our world and seek to drag everything into eternal madness and darkness."
"Your duty will be not only as my assistant and bodyguard, but as a warrior guarding the order to destroy these evil beings trying to penetrate and corrupt our world."
Dalton gasped—this news was too shocking for him.
Far beyond his understanding as an ordinary guard in the past, and even as Karl's assistant now.
Evil god? Demon? An external threat? This was like the most absurd epic story sung by a bard.
Karl saw his shock and slowed down, but the content remained heavy: "You don't need to feel too much pressure."
"Currently, we are only at the beginning. Very few truly understand and are willing to accept this responsibility and have the potential to bear it."
"Besides you, there is only Phillip. We still need time to gather our strength."
Over the next few minutes, Karl briefly told Dalton about the deeper crises of the world.
The potential threat of Chaos, the whispers in the minds of sorcerers, and the Conjunction of the Spheres that could come from other dimensions.
A few minutes later, Dalton quietly returned to the manor grounds through a secret passage in the temple.
The daytime sun still shone; the shouts of knights and the laughter of children came from the training ground, and everything seemed so ordinary and peaceful.
However, Dalton's heart felt as if pressed by a boulder, heavy.
These secrets he had learned from Karl's mouth suddenly made him feel his own insignificance and ignorance.
He had once thought that loyalty to a powerful lord, fighting on the battlefield, and protecting the homeland was the highest honor for a warrior.
But now he knew that in the face of those terrifying beings hidden behind the veil of reality, the wars of mortals were children's play.
Even those with a nearly divine being like Lord Karl admit that they dare not take certain enemies lightly.
Then a mortal like him would have to do everything possible to become stronger.
In a crisis that might come in the future, would it not be impossible even to protect himself?
Besides dying meaninglessly, there is no way to eliminate the evil, let alone solve the problem for Lord Karl.
An unprecedented sense of urgency and mission replaced the initial shock and anxiety, burning in his heart.
At the same time, Karl had already arrived at the training ground near the castle, standing high on the sidelines, his gaze sweeping over the field.
Dozens of knights and recruits were divided into several teams, undergoing basic training in swordsmanship, blocking, physical conditioning, and so on.