Klaus finished reading, folded the note, placed it back in the box, and closed the lid.
His final retreat had been welded shut by the imperial decree, and there was no hope for reinforcements either.
No wonder the Holy Armor Army had gone through several rounds of transfers without receiving more troops. The Iron Guard Battalion was the same. This potion was the Empire's final bargaining chip.
Klaus recognized it. It was a potion created specifically for Fifth Order Transcendents.
Given to a Fourth Order Transcendent at the peak, it could allow them to step directly into the Fifth Order, but at the cost of locking away their future path. Given to a Fifth Order Transcendent, it could greatly extend their lifespan and stabilize their condition.
What Klaus had wanted to exchange for before was something similar to this.
But the Bronze City branch was simply too poor.
Compared to the Empire's prosperous territories, the Night Watcher branch earned pitifully few points each year. After saving for so many years, they had accumulated very little.
The bottle before him was not even the type he had wanted back then.
If the Guardian drank it in his current state, the pressure on Bronze City would indeed ease considerably. But what if Klaus drank it himself...
Klaus suddenly had an answer.
He did not send the potion directly to the Guardian. Instead, he tucked it into his coat. The Guardian's body could still hold on for now.
He gave the Pathfinder one last nod, then turned and strode toward the branch.
Behind him, the Main Tower of the Tower of Erudition stood silently in the night. The few remaining rings of glowing inscriptions on its surface flickered on and off, clearly unable to last much longer.
When Klaus returned to the branch,