214: Chapter 214 Caroline's Recovery Status! A Sudden Situation in the Territory!

One week later.

Gino City, Golden Flame Castle.

Top floor bedroom, by the floor-to-ceiling window.

Rowan looked at the woman sitting opposite him, quietly sipping tea, and couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration.

Blood Rose Knight, Garuvi Lance.

After a week of recuperation, the fatigue and dishevelment he had seen when they first met had completely faded. In their place was a sharpness honed by experience, and the whole person exuded a unique temperament that was both heroic and charming.

Rowan silently re-scored her in his mind: 94 points.

This score was well-deserved!

He collected his thoughts and asked, "Miss Garuvi, how is your injury?"

Hearing this, Garuvi put down the teacup in her hand, a faint smile appearing at the corners of her mouth:

"It's much better. The foreign battle qi in my body has been mostly worn away, and the external wounds have basically healed. It shouldn't be long before I'm fully recovered."

She paused, then said softly:

"I must thank you for your help, Rowan. If not for the potions you provided and this quiet environment for recuperation, I'm afraid I wouldn't have recovered so easily."

Rowan smiled and was about to reply.

Just then.

There was a hurried knock on the room door.

He turned his gaze toward the door and said,

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and Sibyl, a senior maid in the castle, entered.

She was usually responsible for coordinating internal and external affairs and had a calm demeanor; she rarely showed such obvious panic.

She walked quickly into the room, not even bothering to pay her respects, and spoke directly:

"My Lord, something has happened."

Rowan's gaze narrowed slightly.

He had known Sibyl for a long time, and he understood her character well. Something that could make her lose her composure like this was definitely not a small matter. He didn't urge her, just signaled with his eyes for her to continue.

Sibyl took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady:

"Something has happened to Lorn Town."

"This morning, when a caravan passed through Lorn Town, they found the town in dead silence, with no response to knocks."

"After they pushed the doors open to check, they found that most of the people in the town were dead."

"The manner of death was strange; it didn't look like an ordinary bandit attack or a beast incursion."

"What?!" Rowan's expression changed slightly.

Lorn Town, he knew this town.

It was an agricultural town under the direct jurisdiction of the Golden Flame Territory, with several hundred households, most of which were serf families belonging to the Golden Flame Earl Manor.

In other words—

These were his assets!

A fierce look flashed in his eyes, and he asked, "Have you sent people to investigate yet?"

Sibyl shook her head, her expression grave:

"I went to ask Ms. Helena. She said that for some reason, the frequency of malicious incidents has been increasing lately, and the manpower of the City Guard and the church's Temple Knight Order is already stretched thin."

"There is no spare manpower to investigate Lorn Town for the time being. So Ms. Helena asked me to come and ask for your instructions on how to handle it."

Hearing this, Rowan roughly understood what was going on. The Red Moon was about to revive, and he had been hearing faint whispers these days as well...

After thinking for a moment, he stood up and said, "I see. I will go and take a look myself."

Sibyl was slightly stunned, but immediately nodded: "Yes, My Lord. I will have someone prepare the carriage."

After speaking, she turned and walked quickly out of the room.

Rowan watched Sibyl's figure disappear at the door, then turned his head to look at Garuvi, who was still sitting on the sofa, his tone carrying a trace of apology:

"Sorry, there's a sudden situation in the territory, I need to go handle it myself."

"Rest assured in the castle, if you need anything, just order the maids..."

"I'll go with you," Garuvi suddenly spoke, standing up: "Coincidentally, I also want to go out for a walk. How about it?"

Rowan looked at her bright, beautiful eyes, thought for a moment, and then nodded:

"Okay. Then let's go together."

A moment later, a streamlined team set off from Golden Flame Castle, along the main road leading to Lorn Town, heading northwest.

...

Lorn Town.

Rowan pulled on the reins, stopped on the dirt road at the entrance of the town, swept his gaze over the scene before him, and his expression sank bit by bit.

The small town now had no trace of life, only an atmosphere of deathly silence.

Various debris was scattered on the streets.

The doors and windows of many houses were wide open, yet no figures could be seen.

The air was filled with a faint smell of blood, which made one's chest feel stifled.

He dismounted, handed the reins to the guard behind him, and walked slowly along the main road in the center of the town.

Garuvi, whose face had been disguised, also dismounted, following silently by his side, her eyes scanning the surrounding environment vigilantly.

The further they walked toward the center of the town, the thicker that annoying aura became.

Corpses began to appear on both sides of the street.

Some fell at the doorways, some curled up in corners, some half-slumped on windowsills, as if they had suddenly collapsed while fleeing.

Most of their complexions were an abnormal gray-white, their lips purple, eye sockets sunken, exuding an indescribable eeriness.

Rowan squatted down and checked the condition of several corpses.

No obvious external injuries, no signs of poisoning; it looked like symptoms of exhaustion after some kind of life force was instantly drained.

He stood up, his expression becoming even more grave.

He judged—

This was the work of some professionals!

It could never be those half-baked ones who awakened after luckily hearing the whispers of the Red Moon.

A flash of thought crossed his eyes.

Just then, he felt the blood ash bone conch inside his silver star ring vibrate extremely slightly.

The vibration was extremely weak, not stemming from the conch itself, but as if something was resonating with it in some corner of this town.

Rowan remained calm on the surface, but his footsteps quietly adjusted direction, following that faint resonance, walking toward the southeast of the town.

Garuvi noticed his subtle change.

But she didn't ask, just followed silently by his side, keeping a distance that would allow her to strike at any time.

Passing through several alleys, Rowan stopped in front of an old well.

It was an old well built of bluestone.

The edge of the well was covered with moss, looking like it had a history of decades.

But what caught Rowan's attention was the extremely faint aura emanating from the depths of the well.

It was exactly the same as the dry well he had seen in the Mist Forest.

This was the aura of a Blood Origin branch node!

He bent down, reached his hand over the well, and closed his eyes to perceive for a moment.

Then, he opened his eyes, his expression changing slightly.

A Blood Origin branch node had indeed existed under this well, but the internal energy had been completely drained by someone. The entire node was completely exhausted.

Just then, a burst of chaotic footsteps came from behind.

Rowan turned around and saw his personal guard, Anna, leading seven or eight terrified serfs walking towards them.

Most of the survivors were old men, their faces full of terror and exhaustion.

When they saw Rowan standing by the well, they stepped forward one after another, then knelt down on the ground in unison:

"My Lord! You have finally come!"

"Everyone in the town is dead... all dead... only us few old men are left..."

"It's too terrifying... it's too terrifying..."