Carlos's attention zeroed in on the last two abilities that obviously fused with the Ghostly Dark Steed, his eyes scanning the ethereal mount with growing anticipation.

"Umbral Iron Bone Armor is clearly the upgraded version of Umbral Iron Bone, with sick defense capabilities that would make any warrior jealous. When Ginya killed the Umbral Iron Beast, it took serious effort and considerable strategic planning to bring it down."

"As for Ghostly Flame, it hasn't changed much in terms of raw appearance, but backing up weapons can let Dark Knights dish out crazy high damage to wraith-type monsters, the kind that usually give even experienced fighters nightmares."

"Now if the Dark Knights fire up full bonds... damn, the potential is staggering..."

Through three sublimations, Carlos increasingly felt how smart his choice of a clan sword with bonds in the first sublimation had been. The decision that once seemed like a gamble now proved to be pure genius.

When bonds kicked in, strength would spike to 40 points, lasting 5 hours, capable of steamrolling high-tier (spirituality 30-39) monsters.

In measly Dark Mist First Layer, looking around, even node bosses wouldn't match Dark Knights with full bonds activated.

"Go patrol nearby!"

After checking attributes, Carlos immediately had the first Dark Knight bail from the sublimation formation.

Behind were still 10 Purple Thornblade Shield Guards, 11 Redrose Shield Guards, 6 Tulip Shield Guards, and three retainers that could immediately sublimate.

"Go!"

The second Purple Thornblade Shield Guard walked in. Carlos summoned a Ghostly Dark Steed, starting a new sublimation ritual...

...

Third round...

Fourth round...

...

A day and night passed, with Carlos constantly chugging alchemical potions to recover mentally.

"Sublimate, just one more then I'll crash!"

Ninth round...

Tenth round...

...

"Not tired! Not tired at all, I can still sublimate!"

Twenty-first round...

Twenty-second round...

...

"Sleep? What sleep? Only a few left!"

Twenty-seventh round...

Twenty-eighth round...

Finally...

"All existing ordinary Shield Guards successfully sublimated!"

Carlos looked ahead with massive satisfaction at twenty-eight Dark Knights standing together in neat, deadly formation.

Ghostly flames swirling around, cold dark bone armor radiating chilling presence, long lances giving off bone-deep cold, silent frigid aura crushing everything around!

Redrose Dark Knights and Tulip Dark Knights had similar stats to Purple Thornblade Dark Knights—each one at Dark Mist First Layer's peak, seriously powerful.

Carlos's heart surged with excitement, but he knew this wasn't his limit yet. The three retainers hadn't sublimated, and he had 15 summoning slots unused.

"Skeleton Revival!"

"Skeleton Revival!"

"..."

Streams of undead energy fell into monster corpses as newly born skeleton soldiers creakily stood up.

Carlos summoned all remaining 15 skeleton soldiers in one go.

After summoning these skeleton soldiers, Carlos didn't even glance at them.

He directly ordered 11 Purple Thornblade Dark Knights and 11 Redrose Dark Knights

to each take a skeleton soldier monster hunting, soaking up death energy to quickly hit sublimation thresholds.

...

Creak! Creak!

Twenty-two Dark Knights took off with fifteen skeleton soldiers, heading in different directions.

"You guard the area."

Carlos set up the remaining six Tulip Dark Knights to rotate with the three retainers.

"Now it's your turn to sublimate!"

Purple Vortex, Red Spirit, and Ginya, getting orders, immediately returned eagerly to their master's side.

Seeing former weak comrades' auras suddenly getting close to their own, the three retainers also craved sublimation.

"Wow!"

"Roar!"

Red Spirit and Purple Vortex, left and right, both wanted to go first.

Ginya, packing human intelligence, quietly stood aside, watching master's somewhat troubled expression with secret satisfaction.

'Monsters are monsters, not knowing that not competing is itself competing.'

Ginya also wanted more power, but with human memories, she understood this order wasn't decided by arguing, but by master's choice.

Suddenly, Ginya noticed master's barely hidden weary eyes.

'Master hasn't crashed for several straight days. Even with alchemical potion supplements, his mind must be beat.'

She couldn't help speaking:

"Master, we're not in a rush about sublimation. You need rest."

At these words,

Purple Vortex and Red Spirit dropped their dispute.

"Roar!"

"Wow!"

The retainers' concern made warmth flow through Carlos's heart.

He originally wanted to tough it out completing the three retainers' sublimation before resting.

But when Ginya didn't mention it, it was fine—now that she did, irresistible drowsiness hit him.

"Alright, with your current power, there's zero danger in Dark Mist First Layer."

After Carlos spoke, his weary fatigue got thicker. Without time for more words, he crawled into the nearby tent and crashed immediately.

Soon, gentle snoring sounds came up.

Carlos was totally wiped out. He entered dreamland with a satisfied heart...

...

"Listen, master is sleeping."

"Wow?"

"Roar!"

Purple Vortex deployed Dark Purple Force Field, quietly covering the tent to block outside sounds.

Red Spirit's eyes rolled as it became a red light, seriously patrolling the area.

...

After several day-night cycles, Carlos finally woke up from sleep.

"Refreshing! Keep sublimating!"

Carlos was packed with energy, calling the three retainers over.

"According to birth order, one by one."

After thinking, Carlos simply went by their birth order—at least there was some logic to lean on.

"Roar!"

First!

Purple Vortex was pumped—indeed it was special in master's heart!

Red Spirit felt somewhat bummed, but seeing Ginya, it laughed "wah wah"—at least it wasn't last.

'Heh heh, childish!'

Ginya looked disdainful. Human soul granted it mature wisdom.

Someday, it would win everything!

Just wait and see!

Carlos's mouth twitched. The three retainers' obvious emotional swings made him inevitably worried.

This was only three—if later there were more retainers, that scene...

...

Sublimation ritual kicked off again. Retainers were basically Shield Guards after all, so sublimation steps didn't change much, just requiring way more sacrificial monster corpses.

Pale flames rose and fell several times. Soon, the three retainers mounted on Ghostly Dark Steeds were born!

As expected, compared to ordinary Dark Knights, their core power was more prominent.

Purple Vortex's surface fused with Umbral Iron, forming a layer of dark purple hard armor—neither iron nor bone, like tough leather. Finally covering its organs, it looked somewhat human. Congrats.

[Purple Vortex Dark Knight Retainer]

[Health: 700 (Constitution x50)]

[Strength: 30]

[Constitution: 14]

[Speed: 5 (infantry state)/40 (cavalry state)]

[Skills: Purple Thornblade Strong, Purple Thornblade Shield Tactics (1+3) level, Dark Purple Force Field (Strength 1+3), Black Vortex (Completed 3).]