189: Chapter 189 Entering the Forest! The Energetic and Beautiful Young Wizard Aurora!

The forest path was rugged and unsuitable for riding horses.

Rowan and his party dismounted and entered the forest together with the six-person squad.

In the six-person squad, a silent young man wearing glasses walked at the very front.

He held a palm-sized instrument with both hands to lead the way, while the others followed behind him.

Aurora had walked up to Rowan's side at some point.

Her steps were light and natural, as if she were just walking beside him unintentionally.

Her long hair fluttered gently with her movements.

She turned her head slightly, glanced at Rowan, and then spoke:

"This forest is truly eerie." Her tone carried a hint of relaxed amusement, "But it's fortunate we met you; otherwise, it would have taken us outsiders quite a bit of effort just to find our way."

As she spoke, she was also subtly observing Rowan.

It was her first time seeing such a handsome noble.

His features were refined, his posture was upright, and he carried an air of comfortable composure about him.

Rowan was happy to oblige, activating his [Charm] skill directly, and casually chatted along with her words:

"This forest is called the Mist Forest, and it's notoriously sinister. It's said that some people have heard a woman's weeping in the fog, followed the sound, and never came out again..."

"Ah?!" Aurora exclaimed, looking at the man beside her.

But after meeting his smiling eyes, she suddenly realized something.

She lowered her gaze, her cheeks heating up slightly.

Rowan observed her reaction and chuckled inwardly. This was the domain where a succubus excelled.

Then, his voice became a bit clearer as he got to the point:

"Miss Aurora, what did you mean by the Mist Witch and illegal research earlier? Could you enlighten me? This territory has been suffering for some time, and as the lord, I am eager to resolve this disaster for my people."

Rowan looked at the young woman with a sincere gaze filled with compassion.

Seeing this, Aurora was somewhat moved.

She had seen too many noble lords who indulged in pleasure and didn't care about their people; a responsible lord like Rowan was rare.

More importantly, he was so handsome!

Thus, she composed herself and explained seriously: "The Mist Witch is a dark wizard. His real name is unknown, but he is on the academy's wanted list."

"About three years ago, he created a large-scale fog plague in a small town near Ascalon, resulting in thousands of deaths."

"Subsequent investigations revealed that he was using living people to conduct some kind of forbidden bloodline experiment, attempting to create so-called perfect magical beasts."

When Aurora said this, her tone carried a hint of disgust: "Most of those experiments failed, but the failures were terrifying enough—they are the carcasses of the magical beasts we saw outside."

"They were injected with a special extract made from human blood, which makes them extremely violent and causes their power to surge, but at the same time, they are highly likely to lose their sanity, leaving only the instinct to kill."

She paused, looked at Rowan, her beautiful eyes filled with seriousness:

"Deep in the forest, there should be a special ley line node. If he is allowed to continue his experiments deep in the forest, he might create a true monster."

"By then, it won't just be this territory; perhaps all of Gino County will face a threat."

Rowan listened to her account and nodded thoughtfully.

"I see." He said slowly, "Your academy is quite responsible to have been investigating for so long."

Aurora smiled, looking a bit embarrassed: "Actually, it's also a mission... After completing this operation, we will be able to obtain the qualification for the Advanced Demon Hunter Wizard assessment. However..."

She blinked her eyes: "Even without this mission, if we encountered such a thing, we wouldn't just stand by and watch."

The two of them walked and chatted like this.

Rowan would occasionally throw out a few questions to guide the direction of the conversation, while inserting witty remarks at just the right moments, making Aurora giggle repeatedly.

Her laughter was crisp and pleasant, causing several teammates to look over from time to time.

In their impression, Aurora was not like this at the academy.

Cassius walked in the middle of the squad, his expression becoming increasingly ugly.

He looked at that excessively handsome noble man and his smiling junior.

The anger in his heart burned brighter and brighter.

He had known Aurora for several years and had never seen her smile at him like that.

That woman, although usually friendly to others at the academy, always maintained a perfect sense of distance and never easily got close to anyone.

But today?

She had only known this noble for less than an hour, yet she walked so close to him and smiled so sweetly!

Cassius gripped the staff in his hand and cursed inwardly: "Damn pretty boy noble!"

He began to calculate in his mind whether he should find an opportunity later to quietly kill the other party; after all, he had quite a bit of research into such obscure sorcery.

Just at this moment.

A sudden change occurred!

From the bushes on the left side of the road, a sudden rush of rustling sounds emerged!

Immediately after.

Three black shadows lunged out from the thick fog simultaneously!

They were three magical beasts the size of buffaloes, covered in dark cyan scales, with interlocking fangs in their mouths and saliva flying everywhere.

Their eyes also displayed that unnatural dark red color, filled with crazy murderous intent, and they emitted low roars directly at the squad!

"Defensive formation!"

Portia drew her sword immediately and shouted sharply.

At this moment, Cassius turned around abruptly, his gaze staring straight at Rowan, his tone unquestionable:

"You, go and deal with those magical beasts!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the air suddenly froze.

Rowan's eyes turned slightly cold.

Aurora's expression also changed instantly.

She looked at Cassius sharply, her eyes full of disbelief, and was about to say something.

Seeing this, Rowan thought about it and realized this was a good opportunity!

He didn't need to bicker with a dead man, but he needed to maintain his demeanor in front of the beauty.

If he could make the young woman feel indebted, that would be even better. Thus, he raised his hand and gestured:

"Portia, take a few people to handle it."

Portia received the order, nodded, and without even glancing at Cassius, she led three City Guard knights directly to meet the three magical beasts.

The battle ended very quickly.

Just as Rowan had perceived, those magical beasts looked fierce, but in reality, they were just at the level of a newly promoted Official Knight, which was not worth mentioning for a Senior Knight like Portia.

Amidst the flashing of blades, the three magical beasts fell one after another.

Seeing this, Aurora breathed a sigh of relief.

She turned her head and looked at Rowan, the expression in her eyes becoming increasingly soft.

This poise, this composure, added a few more points of favor for him in Aurora's heart.

She couldn't help but think secretly in her heart: "This noble, he is not only good-looking but also has a kind heart."

Thinking of this, the corners of her mouth curled up into a bright and charming smile unconsciously: "Thank you, Lord Rowan. Your people are truly skilled."

Rowan chuckled: "It's only right. Since we are cooperating, we naturally have to do our respective parts."

Cassius looked at the two chatting and immediately realized he had done a stupid thing just now.

Now—

What had he become in the eyes of his junior, Aurora?

A narrow-minded, unreasonable villain?

Thinking of this, he almost crushed the staff in his hand.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

It's fine.

There is still a chance.

In the following journey, they encountered magical beasts a few more times.

This time, Cassius did not say another word.

The staff in his hand was raised high, and his magic power turned into streaks of sharp attacks, smashing fiercely towards those magical beasts.

Wind blades tore the bodies of the magical beasts into pieces, and blood and internal organs were scattered all over the ground.

Lightning blasted the bodies of the magical beasts until they were charred and shattered, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of burning flesh.

He even deliberately slowed down his movements to ensure that every attack was bloody and violent enough to make anyone who saw it terrified.

However—

When he turned back with a chilling aura, his gaze subconsciously searching for that honey-gold long-haired figure... he was stunned.

Aurora was not looking this way at all.

She was still standing beside that noble, her head tilted slightly, listening to him talk about something.

Her face wore that sweet smile, nodding gently from time to time, and occasionally covering her mouth to giggle.

Seeing this, Cassius silently withdrew his staff, turned, and walked back into the squad without saying a word.

He began to sulk.

That pretty boy noble had stolen all of Aurora's attention just by his face.

Thus, that thought in his mind became clearer and firmer.

Later.

He would find a chance to figure out a way to kill that pretty boy noble directly.

Anyway, there are magical beasts everywhere here; no one will know what happened...

As for Aurora...

She might be sad, right?

Perhaps, this is exactly his opportunity...

Thinking of this, his mood inexplicably improved.

...