# 1628
Chapter 1622: New Reserve Team
"The【Covenant】is a sacred and unbreakable oath. Once a【Covenant】is established, the agreed-upon content will inevitably come to pass. This is the highest-level oath a Lady Saint can perform. The consumption is immense, and it cannot be invoked casually," Charles explained.
"The markings on your body are composed of three lines, meaning Lady Saint consecutively established three【Covenant】oaths with you… This is practically impossible."
The other knights' gazes toward Lin Qiye shifted—from their initial shock to bewilderment, and gradually transforming into reverence.
"【Covenant】…"
Lin Qiye murmured the name, looking toward where the stone table had been, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Earlier, the light released from Chloe's body should have been the process of her establishing a【Covenant】with Lin Qiye… Yet Lin Qiye had no awareness of this whatsoever. He had simply fallen asleep, and when he woke again, these three markings had appeared on his chest, with no异样 whatsoever in his body.
He and Chloe were clearly meeting for the first time. No, strictly speaking, he had only seen her. Why would she establish three【Covenant】oaths with him?
What were the contents of these three【Covenant】oaths?
Just as Lin Qiye's confusion deepened, Charles spoke once more, "Due to the tremendous consumption, the existence of any【Covenant】represents Lady Saint's trust and recognition of the bonded party.
You have three【Covenant】oaths on your body, which means Lady Saint has almost entirely transferred her power into the markings on you… When the fulfillment date specified by the【Covenant】arrives, it will automatically activate and unleash unimaginable power.
Likewise, you, who possesses three【Covenant】oaths, are the person Lady Saint values and trusts most."
Charles thrust his rapier into the ground and knelt halfway, one hand placed over his chest, speaking solemnly, "The Knights of Holy Judgment have been decimated. We have nowhere to go… From this day forward, I, Charles, pledge to follow you, my lord, and serve you unto death."
The other knights snapped to attention, all facing Lin Qiye and kneeling, their voices grave:
"We pledge to serve you unto death!"
"Serve me?" Lin Qiye found the scene before him perplexing. "Isn't the one you worship Lady Saint Chloe? She's missing now. Why aren't you searching for her? Why serve me instead?"
"Lady Saint has not gone missing. When she established the【Covenant】with you, she had already awakened… We do not know why she chose to feign slumber, but I believe Lady Saint must have her own plans. However, since she established three【Covenant】oaths with you, one of her intentions was for us to regard you as her presence incarnate and follow by your side."
Lin Qiye exchanged a glance with Shen Qingzhu, both expressions somewhat peculiar.
These knights had survived the deadly battle against Migo, placing their strength among the very pinnacle of the Knights of Holy Judgment. They averaged "Klein"-level combat power, with Charles's strength being sufficient to rival a Human Apex. Abandoning them in the mist would truly be a waste.
Lin Qiye had considered bringing them back to Great Xia, even already contemplating how to coax—oh, persuade them to return to Great Xia's territory—but the scene before him had thrown his plans into disarray.
"At present, Great Xia does happen to have a team designation that remains vacant…" Shen Qingzhu mused.
Ever since the "Cold Storage" plan was initiated for【Nightfall】and【Mask】, the designations 004 and 005 among the special squads had both become vacant. 005 was reserved for the Sixth Reserve, while 004's designation had remained empty to this day.
Although the training camp sent new recruits to the Night Watch every year, the quality of those recruits fluctuated annually. Cultivating another batch of top-tier newcomers like Lin Qiye and Fang Mo to reorganize a squad couldn't be accomplished through time and resources alone—it would also require considerable luck.
These knights plus Charles made exactly nine people. If the Knights of Holy Judgment could directly fill the vacancy of 004, they could share a substantial portion of the burden from other squads, including【Phoenix】.
Lin Qiye's gaze swept across these knights, as if seriously contemplating something. Now that he was the Director of the Special Operations Department, while possessing power, he also needed to approach matters from a leadership perspective.
Charles and the others' strength was beyond question, but did they possess the same loyalty toward him and Great Xia as they did toward Chloe? Could they adapt to the environment of Great Xia?
After much deliberation, Lin Qiye finally spoke:
"Very well, then. You shall come with us… From this day forward, I hereby appoint you as the Seventh Reserve Team, with a one-year probationary period for formalization. If after a year you meet my requirements, you will be officially promoted to Special Squad 004, under my direct command."
Charles and the others froze. They didn't understand terms like "reserve team," "004," or "probationary period," but that didn't prevent them from comprehending his final words.
"All shall follow my lord's arrangements." The knights bowed their heads reverently.
"Once we return to Great Xia, stop calling me 'my lord' so formally." Lin Qiye shook his head. "From now on, simply call me Director Lin."
"Yes."
…
The Mist.
On the other side.
Intense spatial distortions rippled across the sea's surface as a figure draped in a tattered black robe stepped out from within.
An Qingyu beckoned, and a floating stone platform carrying a slumbering red-haired girl descended slowly through the air. As the platform's base touched the sea surface, it was deconstructed and reorganized into several meters of massive floating ice.
Standing atop the ice, An Qingyu gazed down at the still-sleeping red-haired girl, his gray eyes flickering with faint light.
Though the girl slumbered, she seemed perpetually guarded by wind and fire. Breaking through those defenses to claim her life would not be an easy task. Under duress, An Qingyu could only bring her here, platform and all.
"Truly a miraculous ability… If only I could dissect it." An Qingyu murmured to himself.
"Is that so?"
A voice suddenly materialized in An Qingyu's mind. His pupils contracted sharply as he spun to scan his surroundings!
Upon the desolate sea, beyond the endless mist and churning waves, there was not the slightest trace of another figure. An Qingyu's gaze swept inch by inch across the water, finding no source of that voice.
It was as if realization struck. He frowningly turned to look at the platform—Chloe still lay quietly upon the white silk, but those originally closed eyes had quietly opened of their own accord. A pair of ruby-like eyes gazed up at An Qingyu with a smile.
In the next instant, a pale white palm shot forward like lightning, pressing against An Qingyu's chest!
BOOM—!!
A tremendous force erupted from that palm, shattering An Qingyu's chest entirely. His form rocketed backward, and amid the chaos, a white phantom trace slipped through Chloe's fingertips and钻进 into his wound.