Hearing Kouwei's plea, Shenglun unhurriedly lowered his head: "Do you truly understand the resolve required for those words? Though I do not yet possess my own personal knights, if you aren't afraid of serving the wrong master, I can swear an oath with you all."
"I, Kouwei Linglai, swear to give my life to my master!" "Bamijie Linglai, swears to give her life to her master!" "Weiwei Xier, swears to give her life to her master!" "Hemusi Susheng, swears to give her life to her master!" "Yagelin Xinde, swears to give her life to her master!" "Dingna Kalian, swears to give her life to her master!" "Bushini Xiulan, swears to give her life to her master!" "We beg Young Master to accept us!" the other women shouted in unison.
Sigh, I'll have to find time later to hold a formal conferment ceremony for them, he thought, the corner of his mouth curving slightly into a smile. Dismounting his horse, he drew the noble short sword from his waist. "Today, I answer your pleas in this place. With this brief ceremony, I bestow upon you all the title of my Seven Guard Knights!"
Upon hearing his words, the women dropped to one knee one after another, receiving Shenglun's sword tap in turn.
"From this day forth, we shall share glory and disgrace alike, swearing to claim supreme honor!" Shenglun held the short sword high.
"To serve our master!" the female knights echoed in unison.
"By the way, we do not yet know Master's noble identity. Could Master please grace us with your name?" Kouwei stood up and asked.
"Haha, my apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the son of the Divine Xi Empire's Iron-Blooded Prime Minister—Shenglun Shali."
Hearing his name, the women gasped in surprise. They had actually managed to align themselves with such a famous figure of the empire.
"My apologies, Captain Gutie. I'm sure you have plenty of complaints you'd like to vent, but indulge me just this once. When we see Father, please say a few kind words on my behalf~" Shenglun said to Gutie with a smile.
"Since it is Young Master Shenglun's command, I shall no longer interfere. However, I will be keeping a close eye on their actions going forward," Gutie replied helplessly.
"Alright, let me take you back to the city first. Fortunately, our estate is spacious enough, so housing the seven of you won't be a problem." Shenglun remounted his horse, and the squad proceeded toward the royal capital's armory according to their original plan.
The National Weaponry Forging Plant—an armory located in the eastern outskirts of the royal capital—worked day and night manufacturing and developing new weaponry. This was precisely the crucial trump card that kept the Divine Xi Empire undefeated in battle. Benefiting from the memories of his past life as a physicist, Shenglun had frequented the factory since childhood, regularly providing his wild and ingenious ideas to develop novel weaponry. Today, the empire not only possessed a complete array of standard cold weapons, but also warm weapons and magical auxiliary tools that were unique in the entire world. Through his extraordinary intelligence and contributions, he had earned the prestigious reputation of the Empire's Divine Craftsman.
"We have arrived, Young Master Shenglun," Gutie, leading the way, looked out at the behemoth before them. The entire factory spanned over ten thousand mu, consisting of a main research and development building and eight manufacturing plants. The flag of the empire fluttered atop the main building, solemn and magnificent.
"This is a classified state zone. Should we have the outsiders wait outside first?" Gutie glanced at the female knights behind them and whispered.
"Heh, everyone here is one of us—there are no outsiders," Shenglun said as he dismounted and led the group into the building.
"Good morning, Vice Chief Shenglun~" Upon seeing Shenglun, the staff inside stopped their work one after another to greet him.
"Good morning, everyone. Carry on with your work, don't mind us," he waved his hand with a smile and continued leading the group toward the R&D division.
Reaching the top floor's Weaponry R&D Department, Shenglun greeted the staff the moment he entered: "Morning, everyone." After exchanging brief pleasantries, everyone went back to their respective tasks. In this confidential facility, the female knights stared wide-eyed, taking in all the various weapons under development: automatic rapid-fire concealed tube arrows, larger Ultra-Sticky Spheres like the ones used against them this morning, artillery guns similar to those on Earth, and all sorts of cutting-edge gadgets they had never even seen before. Beholding these divine arms and sharp weapons, the female knights felt a wave of relief. No wonder the Divine Xi Empire could easily repel even the Kamu Kingdom—the Linglai Clan's own former homeland. Remembering how their clan had been betrayed and purged by their former nation, joining an enemy country suddenly didn't feel like a bad thing after all. Kouwei picked up a weapon, feeling secretly pleased.
"These are all things I participated in researching and developing. Lend me that sword of yours for a moment," Shenglun turned around and said to Kouwei.
"Oh, alright." She handed her precious waist sword over to Shenglun. Shenglun picked up a magnifying glass, examined it for a while, and then handed it back to her.
"It really is a fine sword, but there's still room for improvement. I'll craft a better one for you in the future," Shenglun said with a smile.
"Thank you for your kind intentions, Young Master Shenglun, but this sword was left behind by my late father—it is irreplaceable to me~" Kouwei took the sword back and replied.
"No problem. In that case, I won't force it on you," Shenglun pressed no further.