259: Chapter 259 Crimson Moon's Whispers! Blood-Red Catastrophe! Lone Guard! The Merchant Guild Arrives!

Bren Town. A small town on the edge of Gino County.

In a humble tavern at the center of town, a few townspeople were sitting around a greasy wooden table, drinking.

In the back alley of the tavern, Knight Raymond, the captain of the Bren Town guard, leaned against the wall, his expression shifting uncertainly.

He was in his forties and had served as the guard captain for over a decade without ever making any major mistakes.

But at this moment, a hazy voice was echoing in his mind.

The voice was low and filled with temptation, as if it came from the distant horizon, yet also as if it were resonating directly from the bottom of his heart.

The content of the voice was a certain simple ritual.

Listening, listening... Knight Raymond's breathing became heavy, and cold sweat seeped from his temples.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to drive the voice away, but not only did it not disappear, it became clearer and more concrete.

It began to tell him methods, steps, and paths that would allow him to obtain power.

That knowledge burrowed into his mind like a venomous snake, coiling deep within his consciousness.

He suddenly raised his head, and a flash of abnormal red light flickered in his eyes...

Finally, he made up his mind!

A moment later, a shrill scream tore through the night sky of Bren Town.

Blood began to spread across the town.

Knight Raymond stood in the center of a pool of blood, the blade in his hand still dripping, his eyes flashing with a fanatical and crazed light.

Following the guidance of the knowledge in his mind, he began arranging the fallen corpses into a crude ritual formation, then slit his own palm, dripping blood into the center of the formation.

His lips moved, chanting ancient syllables whose meanings he did not fully understand himself.

As he chanted, wisps of dark red life energy began to drift from the corpses, slowly converging toward him as if pulled by an invisible force.

He felt a warm and powerful force surge into his body, and his aura climbed steadily.

He closed his eyes, intoxicated by the pleasure brought by that power.

But just as he absorbed that life energy, a portion of it was silently drawn away, merging like a trickling stream into the invisible curtain of blood-colored light in the sky...

The same scene was playing out in every corner of Will Province.

In Yabu City, a wealthy merchant, under the inducement of the Red Moon Whispers, killed all the servants in his household...

In Aksai City, a mob of rioters stormed the mansion of a wealthy merchant, holding a bloody carnival, while the City Guard remained indifferent...

In a small village at the foot of the Mess Mountains, a village-wide brawl broke out, with blood flowing like a river.

Some people realized something was wrong and began to pack their belongings, wanting to escape this land that was descending into madness.

But when they reached the main road leading to the neighboring province, they found that the intersections had already been blocked by squads of soldiers.

Those soldiers were expressionless, holding spears and crossbows, blocking every major road leading to the outside world tightly.

Those who wanted to escape could only return in despair to their own towns or villages...

Soon, some people discovered that in the nearby area, only the surroundings of Gino City remained relatively calm.

Consequently, a large group of people flocked there, and the area around Gino City became increasingly crowded.

Three days later. Golden Flame Castle, the Female Official Council Chamber.

The long table was strewn with various documents, ledgers, and letters. Several female officials were buried in their work, the tips of their pens rustling across the paper. Occasionally, someone would exchange a few whispered words before quickly returning to their respective tasks.

The Female Official Cabinet now consisted of eleven members, two more than the original nine. Flora and Vanessa.

Flora sat by the window, with a book recording various supplies in the territory spread out before her, diligently taking notes.

As Rowan's alchemy apprentice assistant, she learned potion preparation in the laboratory during the day, and in the afternoon, she would attend the Female Official Cabinet's daily affairs in the council chamber, gradually familiarizing herself with the castle's operational processes.

Meanwhile, Vanessa sat at the other end of the long table.

A stack of reports concerning the settlement of refugees outside the city was piled in front of her. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her fingers tapped lightly on the paper, making her appear somewhat distracted.

She had ultimately decided to temporarily abandon her own territory!

After witnessing several small neighboring territories fall into civil strife and collapse one after another, she realized that with her current strength, she could not hold onto her territory at all.

She had no choice but to bring her loyal core staff to Gino City, while she herself moved into Golden Flame Castle.

As for her family, the Bryce Family, after the fall of the Golan Fortress in the west, they had ultimately chosen to head to the southern territory to rely on a distant relative among several options.

The option on her side had been abandoned.

But she was not prepared to follow them.

She knew very clearly—there was no place for her back in the family.

Once the family went to the south, they would be landless nobles, barely able to take care of themselves, so how could they have the energy to look after her?

Rather than going south to live under someone else's roof, she preferred to follow Rowan; at least here, she could still demonstrate her own value.

She pulled back her thoughts, looked at the pile of reports regarding refugee settlement outside the city, and rubbed her temples with a headache.

Ever since more and more people gathered outside the city, the affairs of the Female Official Cabinet had become increasingly busy.

The City Guard had selected many promising individuals with good aptitude from those refugees, expanding the scale of the City Guard.

Lady Lillian was also frequently sending beautiful young girls into the castle, adding new flowers to the garden.

But correspondingly, expenses in all areas had also increased significantly...

The daily expenditure was no small sum.

Fortunately, the revenue was also increasing rapidly.

Among those fleeing to the city, many carried bank drafts and hard currency.

And if they wanted to enter the city, it was inevitable that they would have to shed a layer of skin.

City entry fees, temporary residence permit fees... Although the various types of charges were not harsh, they added up, bringing in a considerable income.

At this moment, a senior maid walked quickly into the council chamber, came to Melissa's side, and whispered, "Lady Melissa, Commissioner Veronica of the Purple Gold Merchant Alliance has arrived and is waiting in the first-floor reception hall."

Everyone in the council chamber looked up at Melissa.

Melissa put down her quill, reported to Helena, then stood up, smoothed her dress, and walked quickly out of the council chamber.

Rowan had already delegated the power of commercial trade between the castle and the outside world to the Female Official Cabinet, and she was the supervisor in charge of this area.

Rowan was only responsible for providing the list of required materials and supplies, while the specific procurement, negotiation, and execution of the trades were all completed by her and the Female Official Cabinet together.

She walked down the stairs toward the first-floor reception hall, her mind deep in thought.

As the order in the North collapsed further, many merchant alliances that were originally active in the North had either closed down or retreated to the south.

However, the Purple Gold Merchant Alliance had maintained this trade channel with Golden Flame Castle, which surprised her somewhat.

After all, the headquarters of the Purple Gold Merchant Alliance was in Weixino City in the East, yet they were willing to maintain trade relations during such chaotic times, and had even increased the volume of trade.

The motivation behind this was something she couldn't quite fathom.

However, regardless, the cooperation between the two sides was beneficial to Golden Flame Castle.

The Purple Gold Merchant Alliance could provide many scarce materials that could no longer be bought locally in the North, while Golden Flame Castle paid with magic crystals and specialties from the North.

The trade volume between the two sides was indeed growing larger.

She walked to the door of the reception hall, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.