The surrounding slaves trembled as they watched the scene unfold.
Saved… they were saved!!!
Their eyes widened with excitement and disbelief.
"Freedom!"
"We're free!!!"
…
"Luo Luo!"
A middle-aged woman rushed forward.
"Aunt Zhao."
Lin Luoluo turned and called out softly when she saw her.
This woman, Zhao Mei, had looked after Lin Luoluo during their time building the walls.
"Are you alright, Luo Luo?" Aunt Zhao asked with concern as she looked at her.
"I'm fine," Lin Luoluo shook her head.
In the recent battle, she hadn't even been scratched. The highest-level warrior she had faced was only a sixth-tier warrior, which was nothing to her now—like crushing an ant.
"Have you become a high-tier warrior?" Aunt Zhao asked, her voice trembling with excitement.
The power Lin Luoluo had just displayed was overwhelming. No one without the strength of a high-tier warrior could have done what she did.
"I suppose so."
With a thought, Lin Luoluo suppressed the evil aura and killing intent of the Soul-Slaying Sword, replacing it with a more righteous energy.
This new aura was harmless to ordinary people.
"We can't leave… we can never leave…"
"As long as we bear the slave brand, we'll always be slaves."
Though the warriors had been slain, some of the slaves fell to their knees, weeping as they touched the slave brands on their flesh.
Those brands were impossible to erase.
Lin Luoluo glanced at them.
They couldn't remove the brands like she could. For them, removing the brand would be incredibly painful and difficult to heal.
Moreover, some of the brands were on their chests or even on their heads.
"Aunt Zhao, follow me."
Lin Luoluo had an idea and spoke softly.
…
Before long, Lin Luoluo had crafted a branding iron in the city.
"If the slave brands cannot be erased, then we will burn new marks on top of them."
"A mark of freedom."
Standing atop a high platform, Lin Luoluo addressed the gathered slaves with a commanding voice.
None of the slaves had run away, knowing that the slave brand would give them away if they tried to escape. If caught, the punishment would be even more brutal than before.
The crowd gathered closer, hope and fear mixed in their expressions.
"I'll go first," Aunt Zhao said after glancing at the crowd, stepping forward bravely.
Her slave brand was on her back.
She crossed her arms and revealed the brand—a cruel mark, the word "slave" seared into her skin.
Seeing it, a flash of killing intent passed through Lin Luoluo's eyes.
She vowed to send the ones who had branded these marks straight to hell.
Holding the heated branding iron, Lin Luoluo pressed it onto Aunt Zhao's back, directly over the old mark.
The searing pain caused Aunt Zhao's eyes to widen, and sweat poured from her forehead as she bit down, enduring the agony without a sound.
Once the branding was complete, a new, intricate mark had formed, overlapping the old one.
The new brand resembled a complex and beautiful Red Spider Lily.
"I'm next!"
One by one, people stepped forward.
Hundreds of people were branded in this way, replacing their slave marks with the symbol of freedom.
"Thank you."
They knelt on one knee before Lin Luoluo, their voices filled with gratitude and respect.
"Go now."
"You are free."
Lin Luoluo said softly, her tone calm and detached.
"Luo Luo, where will you go next?" Aunt Zhao asked, looking at Lin Luoluo with concern.
"I don't know."
Lin Luoluo shook her head.
"Aunt Zhao, return to the Tianba Empire. Perhaps we'll meet again someday."
She smiled faintly.
"But…"
"If you don't leave soon, reinforcements will come."
Lin Luoluo's smile faded, and her expression grew serious.
There was another city nearby, filled with warriors. The slaves here had been easy to control because very few of them were warriors, and the hundred or so fifth-tier guards had been enough to keep them in check.
But now, those warriors had all been killed.
"Luo Luo, take care."
Aunt Zhao knew that once Lin Luoluo made a decision, she wouldn't change her mind. She nodded and left with the rest of the slaves.
After everyone had gone, Lin Luoluo sat down at the edge of the road, the Soul-Slaying Sword planted before her.
Not long after, the sound of hoofbeats echoed through the air.
A large number of warriors, mounted on Scarlet-Blood Horses, charged toward her!
When the earlier battle had begun, one or two warriors had escaped to raise the alarm. Now, they had returned with reinforcements.
"Damn it!"
The leader, Shi Zhantian, saw the corpses littering the ground and roared in fury.
So many people, all dead!
At that moment, his eyes were drawn to the overwhelming killing intent in the air.
Looking ahead, he saw a young woman seated on the ground.
Before her stood a sword, radiating an incredibly fearsome aura.
"This time, there's quite a crowd. Two to three hundred warriors, and many of them are sixth and seventh-tier," Ye Fan remarked with excitement. "That'll be a lot of evolution points!"
"Was this your doing?" Shi Zhantian, holding a spear, pointed it at Lin Luoluo and shouted.
"Come," Lin Luoluo said softly, her eyes fixed on them.
She stood, raising the Soul-Slaying Sword, pointing it directly at the approaching warriors on their horses.
"Capture her alive."
Shi Zhantian's eyes were cold, but filled with greed. The woman before him was too beautiful. If they could take her alive…
At his command, the mounted warriors charged at Lin Luoluo.
"Die."
Lin Luoluo's voice was calm as she swung the Soul-Slaying Sword, unleashing a terrifying blast of white flames.
Boom!
The flames struck the front line of warriors, exploding on impact.
[Killed fifth-tier warrior. Gained 500 Evolution Points.]
[Killed fifth-tier warrior. Gained 500 Evolution Points.]
…
In an instant, a dozen warriors were dead.
Before the others could reach her, Lin Luoluo charged forward.
[Phantom Dance]!
With a sweep of her sword, dozens of afterimages appeared.
The warriors, along with their Scarlet-Blood Horses, were sliced into countless pieces.
Shi Zhantian's eyes widened in shock as he watched.
It was too fast.
He could only see a blur of sword light and afterimages as warrior after warrior fell into a pool of blood.