A sorcerer? I am a Warhammer psyker.

Therefore, we don't need that many people.

"Four people are enough."

"Elder, please help me select suitable candidates from within the family for the other three."

"By the way, I need talented people, not just pretty faces."

Isayama Kenmei specifically reminded him that he wasn't there to choose a concubine, so he didn't need a pretty face.

Kenmei Isayama's River of Death has a two-stage effect: it grants greater power to a select few he favors.

This power is derived from the [Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique].

"I will baptize them."

Chapter 161 Death Emerges from the Six-Colored Floating Pattern Machine

"Lord Xianming." X4

The three men and one woman kneeling before Kenmei Isayama were selected from among the thousands of sorcerers in the entire Kamo family, and were qualified and capable of becoming his personal guard.

From left to right

The first one is a handsome, tall and slender man with long golden hair who looks very elegant. He is wearing a white kimono and his name is Kamo Ward, a current first-class sorcerer.

His ability is a derivative spell of the Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique - Dragon Blood Spell, which uses blood to dramatically enhance the body to achieve an effect similar to "dragon power". He is skilled in swordsmanship. Don't be fooled by his seemingly frivolous appearance and thin body; once he activates the spell, he becomes a berserker.

The second man was a thin man with prominent cheekbones, tattoos on his eyebrows and the corners of his eyes, and a strand of white hair hanging down from his medium-length black hair to his mouth. He had an unusually solemn expression. His name was Kamo Akajuro.

A current quasi-first-level sorcerer, whose ability is a derivative sorcery of [Crimson Blood Manipulation], [Crimson Blood Hands], which allows him to gather his own blood into more than a dozen extremely flexible and hard giant hands, mercilessly tearing apart his enemies.

The third was a white-haired man with a buzz cut who looked cold and had dark skin. His right eye appeared to be blind. His name was Kamo Rije Barrow, and he was wearing a cloak and a tight-fitting suit for quick movement.

This guy's name sounds strange because he's a hybrid of the Kamo family and an ancient family of sorcerers from North Africa.

An unregistered sorcerer of the Sorcerer's Guild, whose ability is the [Blood Annihilation Arrow] spell, which uses his own blood to create a bow and arrow that can cause piercing splash damage.

The fourth one is the granddaughter of the Third Elder, Kamo Shutara Senjumaru, who was recommended at the beginning. She has medium-length black hair with a side part and bangs, and wears an elaborate gold hair ornament. She is dressed in a gorgeous black haori, which does not show her hands. She gives people the impression of an exceptionally cold and proud older sister.

A current Level 1 Spellcaster, the Great Mori of the Kamo family, she is responsible for the attire of the Kamo family's high-ranking members during major festivals. She inherited the same Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique as the Third Elder, which manifests with needles. However, her needles are not for acupuncture, but for weaving. She can bind cursed spirits with blood threads and then pierce them with blood needles.

"Berserker, Blood Hand, Bow and Arrow, Needle?"

Kenmei Isayama looked at the four people kneeling on one knee with their heads bowed.

All their spells, battle records, and abilities are displayed in this data.

The fact that these four individuals were able to develop their own derivative techniques from the [Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique], which has such a low ceiling, is already a testament to their exceptional talent.

Excellent. As a team of four, it forms a system that integrates tank, marksman, controller, and damage dealer.

But it's still weak, too weak!

Even if they had formed a small team in their previous lives, Kenmei Isayama could have easily killed all four of them single-handedly.

As long as what they create using the Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique is liquid, they cannot escape the fate of being frozen. The domain of ice is enough to freeze all their attacks in place and render them useless.

The Kamo family's [Crimson Blood Manipulation Technique] characteristic already determines that if they encounter an enemy who knows high-temperature and low-temperature techniques, it's practically like encountering their natural enemy.

Kenmei Isayama had very high expectations of them. For the guards of other family heads, that might have been enough, but for him, it was far from sufficient!

“I’ve reviewed your data and you are excellent. If you were to form a team, you could kill even the highest-grade cursed spirits.”

Isayama Kenmei's words brought smiles to the faces of all four of them. Being chosen to serve the Lord was an unparalleled honor.

"but.."

Kenmei Isayama's next words condemned them to hell.

"You are far from being good enough as you are now."

This almost broke the defenses of those who considered themselves the most qualified to stand beside the great patriarch. They all stared wide-eyed in disbelief at their patriarch from below.

"Lord Xianming..."

"You seem to be in a hurry. Let me finish."

Isayama Kenmei's words and the gaze directed at him immediately brought Kamo Akajuro, who had been rather impatient, back to his senses.

His body felt as if it had been doused with icy water from head to toe, and his voice was trembling.

He lowered his head, not daring to look at Kenmei Isayama again.

"I'm sorry, my lord."

Of course, Kenmei Isayama wasn't a great villain; he didn't need to break their defenses before rescuing them.

"The Grand Elder should have already told you that being selected in the initial screening is just the first step in becoming my personal guard."

Kenmei Isayama explained

"As for if you are all screened out, it will make no difference to me."

"After all, it doesn't really matter to me whether the guard has four or not."

"The most important thing is the second step. Only if you can pass my test can you barely be considered qualified to stand by my side."

It's impossible for them to die from the test; their lives are already tied to the River of Death. As long as the River of Death doesn't dry up, all the Kamo family's sorcerers can be resurrected from it.

But there is a kind of pain that is worse than death; when you experience it, you think it would be better to just die.

With a wave of his hand, Kenmei Isayama created a wine glass that appeared in front of each of the four of them, floating still in mid-air.

It was filled with some unknown, blood-red, crystal-clear liquid, but it felt lifeless, like a stagnant pool, which was very ominous.

Moreover, as soon as this eerie thing appeared, they all felt the air become unusually thick, and a faint, terrifying malice appeared on them, making it difficult to breathe.

"This is the water from the source of the Blood Lake at the deepest part of the Dead River."

Isayama Kenmei didn't know the origin of the "Blood River," only that it was a mutated product resulting from the mixing of Saint Gilles' blood and Crimson Blood, which allowed him to draw upon the power of the Blood River.

Of course, just having one cup isn't enough; you have to add some toppings.

"Lord Xianming!"

When Kenmei Isayama cleanly and decisively cut his wrist, blood gushed freely from his artery, causing the four of them to gasp in surprise.

"It's alright, this is a necessary process."

The river water in the Dead River does offer some benefits to those who have become blood slaves, but these are limited, such as increased spell power and defense – the most basic enhancements.

But if you add Isayama Kenmei's blood, it's completely different. His blood is the key to unlocking the Blood River, the second stage of liberation. That's true enhancement. It directly affects their core techniques, helping them evolve and modify them.

It is even possible to obtain an even more terrifying source of power.

The origin implies infinity.

They will obtain the most terrifying power from the infinite power of transcendence.

Actually, the best understanding is still...

It is equivalent to the most basic "ascension ritual".

Kenmei Isayama is like one of the four evil gods, performing ascension rituals on his subordinates, bestowing blessings upon them, and granting them greater power.

At that time, these people will be equivalent to his great demons, and they have an advantage over the demons under the command of those evil gods: they are extremely loyal and will not be easily swayed by a few words to betray him.

Kenmei Isayama lost about 100 milliliters of blood, which was then divided into four equal parts and placed into the river water that filled about one-third of the tall glass.

The moment the two came into contact, it was as if a catalyst had been added; the liquid in the glass began to boil, but all of this was for the better. The once stagnant water seemed to come alive, gradually transforming from a blood-red liquid into a dazzling crimson gold.

Four golden goblets were neatly arranged in front of the Kamo family members, seemingly possessing an unparalleled power that was bewitching them.

"Lord Xianming, watch closely, I am the first one."

To Kenmei Isayama's surprise, he was the first to grab the entire wine glass and drink it down in one gulp.

It wasn't the Kamo Akajuro who had rushed to question him earlier, but Kamo Rijie-Barrow.

That's the one with slightly dark skin; it's the product of a union between the Kamo family and a family of sorcerers from North Africa.

The one who seemed the calmest was actually the first one; even Kenmei Isayama hadn't expected that.

谏

Shan Xianming was somewhat amused and exasperated. Was this considered a preemptive declaration of loyalty?

After all, he said that drinking this stuff would be extremely dangerous, a kind of torture that is hard to imagine.

Wasn't it the same with Kenmei Isayama before? He drank the blood of Saint Gilles and lay there for a full day and night to digest it. The pain he suffered during that time was unimaginable; it was truly dangerous, and if he hadn't survived, he would have died.

The path to gaining power is inherently arduous, especially if one gains power prematurely, as it inevitably involves settling all the hardships and suffering in the process in a single second. One can only imagine how terrifying the experience would be.

Yes. The glass fell to the ground, making a crisp shattering sound.

It was the glass in Kamo Rijke-Barrow's hand. He drank it all in one gulp, but then couldn't withstand the terrifying power. Almost instantly, his eyes were covered by a blood-red cross. His blinded eyes were now emitting a golden light.

It looked like they were removing necrotic tissue, which was quite horrifying.

Painful screams filled the room. It was heart-wrenching; what kind of pain could possibly be so intense that even this seemingly tough man couldn't bear it?

Kenmei Isayama raised an eyebrow, and suddenly saw that all his deep pain seemed to disappear in an instant.

Kenmei Isayama immediately raised his arm, and soon a small cage made of cursed power appeared on Kamo Rijie-Barrow's body.

The next second, Kamo Rijke-Barrow exploded completely. Flesh and bone, as if hit by a cannonball, were shattered into pieces. The glass that Isayama Kenmei had constructed was covered in his flesh, bones, and splattered blood everywhere.

The large cloud of blood mist formed from the explosion of a living person looked extremely gruesome.

This person is as dead as can be.

Soon, a small window appeared in the shadows near Isayama Kenmei's feet; this was the projection of the Blood River.

From the projection, a bloody, skinless hand, as if peeled away, clung to the edge of Kenmei Isayama's projection. It gripped the hand so tightly, as if grasping at a straw, that its bones trembled.

This is the story of the Blood Slaves, from their death to their resurrection.

Soon. A complete skeleton.

There was a figure standing on top, without a trace of flesh or blood, crawling out from the crevice.

But having crawled out and died once, do you think he wasn't in pain?

On the contrary, this process will continue several times. It is a process of destruction and regeneration. The body's transformation continues, penetrating into every single cell.

This happens simply because the very essence of the cursed power has been altered, involving numerous modifications—so many that they repeatedly damage the human body's structure. Without these modifications, the ultimate goal cannot be achieved.