Endless World: The Rise of Leonard Lawson

Leonard's eyes were rather cold when he glanced at the numerous ragged women being held behind rusty iron cages. There were even some still hanging in the air, their arms and legs displaying signs of extreme bruising.

Needless to say, they were supposed to be put down after a certain time frame.

But given the disastrous incident above the basement, nobody had returned to release them from the air.

While Leonard had long anticipated a very dark and grisly scene, Shirley's expression was on the verge of exploding.

She was someone who narrowly escaped this kind of fate.

Her anger was vivid as she ripped apart one of the whips from raw strength.

Only after ripping apart one of the whips did Shirley come back to her senses.

"I-I apologize, Master." She hurriedly tried to compose herself and apologized for her action to Leonard.

She recalled how Leonard preferred to keep the evidence in its place, so what she did was consider going against his decision and ideals.

Such actions were extremely unforgivable, especially when she was a servant.

"Why apologize to me?" Leonard asked curiously. His eyes glanced at her hands that were reddened and seemed to be dripping some blood from the brute force of ripping apart a tough whip.

"You should apologize to yourself for getting injured by an inanimate object." He continued and handed her a Restoration Potion.

Astonished by the potion, Shirley looked at him with wide eyes.

"I know you have mana, so there's no need to explain anything. Moreover, it's better to destroy them without injuring yourself." Leonard calmly said.

The fact that Shirley was able to utilize mana was a secret that she held.

One could say it was her last defensive resort in times of extreme crisis.

However, it was clear that her action in disabling the magic chains exposed her.

Shirley kept her head low, feeling guilty of concealing the matter about being able to use mana.

Anyone knows that if you could use and store mana, you were automatically different from the regular people.

Even if one couldn't control their mana properly, their destructive ability was far from what a regular person could do.

That alone made them dangerous!

"Every person has their own secret. I don't really care to learn about them unless they have any direct harm to me or my interests." Leonard calmly said and glanced at her.

"Unless you intend to harm me, you should keep your head high."

Almost immediately, Shirley raised her head and looked intently at Leonard. It was as if she were declaring her stance that she didn't intend to harm him.

Maybe there was that slight possibility when they first met.

After all, she knew nothing about him, and if he was forceful in wanting to ravage her, then she would do whatever it took to make him suffer.

However, the circumstances were no longer the same.

She could tell Leonard despised such scenery, going as far as exposing his true identity and subsequent motives to them. Not to mention, his attitude and behavior toward Irene were evident enough.

If Leonard were truly some lustful Crown Prince, then he wouldn't have refused Irene's repeated service. Hell, even Sophie's service was rejected when it was stated clearly that she was clean and ripe.

Some men preferred untouched women, so it could be a possibility. But when Leonard behaved the same for both touched and untouched women, it only made it obvious his mind and conscience were crystal clear.

"You can remove the chains from the cages. I'll continue to explore deeper." Leonard suddenly said.

"I cannot do that, Master." Shirley firmly refused the command. "Your safety is prioritized. The deeper sections could be laced with harmful substances."

A look of amusement appeared on Leonard's face. He didn't expect her to be this clever.

'Looks like you really can't underestimate anyone from the Rosalia Troupe.' He thought to himself.

Although it was very subtle, Shirley's words exposed her mindset and deduction that the Wrathbane Extract could stem from the Dark Chamber.

The Dark Chamber was an extremely secretive and private place.

It was the perfect base to conduct experiments under the guise of women being thrown here for further training.

To summarize, even if some suspected something was amiss and wished to enter the Dark Chamber to investigate. They would first be greeted by the level 1 women—the same kind who were extremely obedient after the constant brainwashing and torture.

Granted that investigations were usually conducted by men, these people could easily use the women to entice and distract them.

"You've worried too much, Shirley," Leonard said.

"I have many means of protection. Besides, leaving you alone here might be better for your rescue operation." He added, his eyes shifting to the trembling women.

Their fearful expression when seeing a male was like a catalyst for them. The ones who were long used to such treatment were listless and held little to no reaction.

But the ones who had been recently sent here were very reactive and frightened by the upcoming phase.

They also remained unaware that the people outside had long been killed.

The outbreak of the berserk people didn't intrude on the Dark Chamber thanks to the very magic chains that confined them.

It was truly an ironic moment!

What shackled them in the first place was also the protection they received.

In the end, only these labeled level 1 women managed to survive the catastrophe, while those of higher level women were subsequently drained of their blood and died horrifically.

Shortly after being convinced by Leonard and knowing the other women were hiding away from his sight, Shirley ultimately agreed to the order.

What else could she do?

She was the servant and couldn't possibly disobey Leonard's command.

Moreover, Leonard wasn't just her Master; he was also the Crown Prince of Aldros.

Even a random noble had to adhere to his command, lest they get implicated in some serious repercussions.

"Please stay safe when advancing forward, Master," Shirley advised solemnly.

"Fret not, I'm not trying to forfeit my life here," Leonard said, his mouth slowly curled upward in an evil grin. He had no intention of dying anytime soon. If anything, the people involved with this area would be dying.