286: Chapter 286 Signing the Contract! The Gap Between the Moonlit Tides? The Nine Hells of Barto!

In the parlor.

The four of them took their seats.

Aurora sat in the chair next to Rowan.

Cliff, Natalie, and Grace sat in the guest chairs.

After the maid poured black tea for each guest, she quietly exited the room and pulled the door shut.

For a moment, the hall fell into a brief silence.

Natalie picked up her teacup and took a light sip, her gaze passing through the steaming mist as she carefully examined the young Count opposite her.

He was even younger and more handsome than she had imagined, and his strength was truly terrifying; no wonder her daughter...

Thinking of this, she didn't continue, just took another sip of tea.

Grace narrowed her golden vertical pupils slightly.

She could feel the power within Rowan that hadn't fully receded yet.

Sure enough, it was... an Red Moon Proxy!

A faint arc curled at the corner of her mouth, and she thought to herself:

"This aura... interesting..."

"It seems even richer than the legends say... Not just a simple Red Moon Proxy?"

Cliff simply marveled.

Before coming here, he had thoroughly investigated the life and background of this Count Golden Flame.

A border minor noble with a mediocre background.

Rose to power during the heresy case of the previous Count Golden Flame, the Farrell Family.

Ultimately, relying on the support of the Church of Dawn and the Latour Ducal Mansion, he secured the position of Count Golden Flame through a vote in the Imperial Senate.

The most eye-catching event was the Beauty Pageant he held immediately after taking office, which caused a sensation in the North.

From any angle, this guy shouldn't have anything to do with power on the level of an Red Moon Proxy...

The silence in the hall lasted for a while longer.

Seeing the atmosphere in the hall turn somewhat subtle, Aurora spoke up:

"Ms. Grace, didn't you say you had something to discuss with My Lord personally? You can speak now."

Hearing this, Grace chuckled, then looked at Rowan in the main seat and said:

"Your Excellency Count Golden Flame, Lord Eronwell asked me to extend his sincere greetings to you."

She paused, then continued:

"Coming here this time, the first thing is to apologize to you."

"Previously, Lord Ferdinand, the Crimson Blood Earth Dragon in the Mess Mountains, conspired to launch a beast tide at the invitation of Duke Witton, attacking your territory and causing some loss of life and property."

"Lord Ferdinand feels deeply sorry for this and is willing to provide compensation. He has already constrained the beast tide to retreat deep into the mountains and guarantees that similar events will not happen again in the future."

"Lord Eronwell also hopes to re-sign the border treaty so that all matters can return to the status quo."

As she spoke, she took out a dragon horn, about half a meter long and dark red throughout, from her storage ring. Its surface flowed with a luster like blood.

She placed the dragon horn gently on the wooden table and pushed it toward Rowan:

"This is Lord Ferdinand's compensation. It is a dragon horn that naturally shed while he was undergoing a crucial metamorphosis."

"This is an extremely precious Tier 7 transcendent material, possessing great value whether used for alchemy, enchanting, or crafting magical weapons."

Rowan's gaze landed on the dragon horn, feeling the unusually pure energy fluctuations radiating from it.

But he did not accept it immediately; instead, he frowned slightly, looked at Grace, and asked:

"Border treaty? What is that?"

"I have never heard of a similar treaty between the Mess Mountains and Gino County before."

Hearing this, Grace took a sip of her tea and explained unhurriedly:

"The border treaty is a protocol signed between the Mess Mountains and the major surrounding powers. Its main purpose is to constrain the high-level powerhouses on both sides to avoid all-out war caused by individual conflicts."

"After all, the higher the level of the powerhouse, the more terrifying the destruction caused by their actions."

"If a Sky Knight-level entity were to go all out at the border, it would be enough to cause permanent changes to the landscape."

"Without the restraint of such a treaty, the border area would have long since been beaten into ruins."

She set down the teacup and looked at Rowan:

"Previously, in the Will Province area, it was Duke Weiduns Estate that signed with the Mess Mountains on behalf of the Will Province."

"Now that Duke Witton is gone, this treaty naturally needs to be resigned."

Rowan understood after listening.

The essence of this treaty was essentially mutual restraint, protecting each other's lower-level forces from being affected by indiscriminate attacks from high-level powerhouses.

As a lord, he naturally had things he needed to protect.

For example, border cities like Black Mountain City, and there were many others on the border of Gino County.

Maintaining a low-intensity, controllable attrition and training was beneficial to both sides; it could train troops without causing real damage to their foundations.

If high-level powerhouses acted recklessly, that balance would be completely broken.

So, should he sign it?

He thought about it, and the answer was yes.

This treaty was beneficial to both sides.

He had no reason to refuse.

Therefore, his gaze fell on the blood-colored dragon horn. Accepting it meant that the matter of the previous beast tide was over.

He didn't hesitate for too long and reached out to pick up the dragon horn. It felt warm and heavy in his hand. The pure energy contained within it made his internal blood core jump slightly.

It really was a good thing.

Seeing Rowan accept the Crimson Blood Dragon Horn, the smile on Grace's face deepened.

She took out a parchment-like contract from her storage artifact, gently unfolded it, and laid it on the table.

The text on the contract was written in the Ancient Common Tongue, the handwriting clear and neat, with no ambiguity.

And at the end of the contract, there was already a signature.

The strokes were vigorous and powerful, carrying an elegant feeling at the turns as if the wind were flowing, emitting a strong wind elemental aura.

Rowan's gaze lingered on that signature for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.

It seems that Eronwell, the legendary dragon deep in the Mess Mountains, should be a wind dragon.

He didn't say anything more and signed his name at the other end of the contract...

The contract was established!

Seeing Rowan accept the dragon horn and sign the contract, Grace's demeanor relaxed significantly, and her posture became more leisurely.

She took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, then said:

"Then, let's talk about the second matter."

She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly:

"Has My Lord ever heard of the Gap of the Moon-Chanted Tide?"

"This is a rare phenomenon that only occurs when special celestial events like the Three Moons Shining Together and the Red Moon Resurgence happen..."

Hearing this, Rowan frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and shook his head:

"I have not heard of it. This is the first time I have heard this name."

Seeing this, Grace was not surprised.

She had also investigated this Count Golden Flame's background before coming, knowing that he came from a minor border noble family with very shallow foundations, and his family heritage was almost negligible.

Although she didn't know how he suddenly rose to become an Red Moon Proxy, it was reasonable for him to have gaps in his knowledge in certain secret fields.

She set down the teacup, straightened her body, her expression becoming more serious, and began to explain:

"Then, I will start from the beginning."

"For the sake of convenience, let's temporarily call the world we are in the Prime Material Plane."

"On the periphery of the Prime Material Plane, many other planes are attached."

"Some are vast and complete worlds, while others are broken and narrow spatial fragments, floating on the edge of the Prime Material Plane like bubbles."

She stretched out a hand, a faint silver light glowing at her fingertips, and gently drew a circle in the air:

"Normally, the spatial structure of the Prime Material Plane is extremely solid, like a hard shell, isolating other planes and not easily intersecting."

"Only in specific areas, or when certain special situations occur, will the barriers between these planes loosen or even overlap."

She paused, her voice lowering a little:

"And the Gap of the Moon-Chanted Tide is that kind of special situation."

"The Red Moon Resurgence and the Three Moons Shining Together—changes of this level will make the spatial structure of this large area of the North unstable."

"At that time, the Prime Material Plane will overlap with some other planes, forming temporary passages or rifts."

She looked into Rowan's eyes and said the key information word by word:

"According to the currently confirmed observation results, among the planes that will overlap with the North at that time, one that has been confirmed is the eighth layer of the Nine Hells of Baator, Cania."

"That is the plane where the Archdevil of Gluttony, Mephistopheles, resides!"