229: Chapter 229 Interrogation! The Whole Story! Reclaiming the Magic Crystal Mine!

On the road, Kieran and Alec finally saw the newcomer's attire and face clearly.

Alec's pupils contracted sharply, his voice filled with unbelievable horror: "Golden Flame... The Count!"

He could not understand it.

Rumor had it that Count Golden Flame was only at the Great Knight level, so how could he have rendered Kieran, also a Great Knight, unable to resist with a single arrow from afar?

This was far beyond his imagination.

Furthermore, how had the other party tracked them down?

And what was up with that arrow just now?

He hadn't seen how the arrow flew over at all, nor had he heard any sound of it breaking the air.

Rowan ignored his expression as if he had seen a ghost and simply said indifferently: "Deputy manager of the Valer Mine, Alec, it's you, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Alec's face turned ashen; his lips moved a few times, but he couldn't get any words out.

Rowan didn't mind and dismounted to begin the interrogation.

Very quickly, he understood the ins and outs of the matter.

After listening, he fell silent.

There was some information he needed to digest.

The Imperial forces were secretly retreating south?!

A moment later, he collected his thoughts, looked down at the two people on the ground, and had already made a decision in his heart.

These two could not be brought back alive.

Thus, he walked over to Kieran and crouched down.

Although Kieran had been stripped of all resistance by that single arrow, his consciousness remained clear, and those bloodshot eyes were still fixed firmly on Rowan.

Rowan looked at him, thinking of the corpses lying scattered all over the mine.

Then, the next second—a fair, slender hand irresistibly... reached into Kieran's chest.

Without any obstruction.

A vibrant heart was beating rapidly.

Kieran's lips trembled, as if he wanted to say something.

But the sensation of his heart being gripped by cold fingers was... chillingly cool.

All his hatred froze at this moment; the blood throughout his body, like hundreds of rivers returning to the sea, turned into streams of blood that uncontrollably surged toward the hand in his chest...

He felt the powerlessness and emptiness as his life and strength were being crazily drained away along with his blood...

Rowan only felt a pure and dense surge of life energy, like a bursting flood, flowing into his body along his arm and merging into the Myriad Manifestations Furnace.

The furnace shook violently, and the furnace fire surged, swallowing and refining all that immense energy.

"Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique Proficiency + 2304"

Rowan's expression changed slightly.

This number far exceeded his expectations.

He glanced at the corpse on the ground that was rapidly shriveling up, then thought of the method of promotion he had just learned from the interrogation, and his expression turned somewhat dark.

Then, he did the same and dealt with the Senior Knight, Alec.

"Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique Proficiency + 24"

It was better than nothing, one could say.

Finally, he removed the storage ring from Kieran's finger and scanned the inside.

It contained some magic crystals and finished magic crystal ore that had already been cut, roughly estimated to be around 400 standard magic crystals.

This quantity far exceeded the scope of normal production; in other words, the judgment Alec had just made regarding the Imperial Department of Resources secretly accelerating mining and preparing for a southward retreat was highly likely to be true.

He was silent for a moment, tucked the storage ring into his embrace, and then flicked a wisp of pale purple flame onto the two shriveled corpses.

The purple flames spread instantly...

A moment later, the flames extinguished, leaving only two piles of grayish-white powder on the ground.

A breeze blew by, and the powder scattered with the wind, blending into the mud by the roadside, as if nothing had ever happened.

...

Valer Mining Town.

Portia saw Rowan return alone, but she didn't ask anything, simply walking forward to report the current situation: "My Lord, the casualty count for the mine has been completed. Twelve City Guard members were killed in action, and four were seriously injured."

"Among the Imperial Department of Resources officials, the head official Jasper is dead, and six other officials have died."

"As for the miners, over twenty died, and another fifty-plus were injured."

"The underground magic crystal inventory has been looted, but the main structure of the mine has not been severely damaged, and it should be able to resume production after maintenance."

"In addition, Dispatcher Edgar stated that he can temporarily take over the management of the mine and strive to restore production order in the shortest possible time."

After listening to the report, Rowan looked at the small town not far away and said: "Let Edgar find a way to resume production as soon as possible."

He paused, then added: "As for other matters, don't worry about them for now. We are returning to Gino City."

"I will send others to handle the aftermath later."

Commander Portia nodded and replied: "Yes, my Lord."

...

On the way back.

Rowan had already realized what was going on with the Church's strange attitude during this period.

The order in the Northern Territory was collapsing!

But what could he do?

He thought about it.

It seemed there was nothing he could do.

He had underestimated the influence of the Red Moon's revival.

Take Kieran from before; as a mercenary leader, how could he break through to become a Great Knight?

Under normal circumstances, the price of a Tier 3 Knight Limit-Breaking Potion was... 800 magic crystals.

This was wealth a mercenary could never possess in their entire life.

Thinking of this, his expression changed slightly.

In Gino County, there were a number of people stuck at Peak Knight... including Commander Miles of the City Guard...

After all, 800 magic crystals; like Count Farrell, he likely couldn't afford that amount.

At least not right now...

If the other party heard the whispers of the Red Moon and wanted to seek another way out...

...

One day later.

Rowan submitted the investigation report on the Valer Mine incident to the Imperial Department of Resources and the Church.

The report detailed the entire investigation process.

Including the betrayal of the deputy manager, Alec, and the attack by an unfamiliar Great Knight.

Then, he began to wait.

Three days passed.

From the Imperial Department of Resources and the Church, only one reply letter was sent back.

Aside from that, nothing else.

No investigators, no reinforcements.

There was no substantial response whatsoever.

The wording of that reply was bureaucratic, the gist being: The events are acknowledged; please have The Count's estate handle all follow-up matters fully and restore production as soon as possible.

At the end of the reply, a piece of identity information regarding the unfamiliar Great Knight and a wanted poster were attached.

Rowan sat behind his desk and read through that reply and the wanted poster from beginning to end.

Kieran, leader of the Fierce Axe Mercenary Group in Aksai City, formerly a Peak Knight.

One night deep in the darkness, he suddenly went mad and killed all seventeen members of the mercenary group.

Subsequently, he used extremely cruel methods to slaughter all the villagers in a village outside Aksai City.

After the incident, he absconded and was listed as a wanted criminal, with a bounty of one hundred thousand gold coins, dead or alive.

After reading it, Rowan couldn't help but smile.

They had investigated the other party's identity information quite quickly.

But for a Great Knight-level wanted criminal, only a bounty of one hundred thousand gold coins?

It was just for show.

He casually set the reply and the wanted poster aside, leaned back in his chair, and began to ponder.

He had seen the attitude of the Empire and the Church very clearly.

They were both contracting their forces and becoming increasingly passive in dealing with affairs within the Northern Territory.

He knew he needed to prepare early.