At the same time, inside the golden tower at the center of Red Kite City.
In a room untouched by sunlight all year round, only a few dim, gilded wall lamps were lit.
Crimson drapes hung from the vaulted ceiling, and several slender copper pipes extended from the walls, connecting to the shadows behind the drapes.
The Red Kite Lord curled up in the center of a purification magic circle.
Broad golden wings folded from her back, wrapping her body tightly and leaving only a pale face with faint golden markings exposed.
Her eyes were closed, her brow furrowed tightly as if she were enduring great pain.
Between the gaps in her wings, several dark red lines slowly spread upward from deep within. Hidden beneath the golden feathers, they crept forward like tiny rootlets, gradually contaminating her plumage.
Several robed clergymen stood around the magic circle.
They chanted prayers in low voices, continuously infusing mana into the array runes beneath their feet to maintain the fragile balance between vitality and purifying power.
Suddenly, one of the copper pipes hanging behind the Lord vibrated violently.
The green glow that had been flowing steadily inside the pipe rapidly faded, extinguishing completely in just a few seconds.
An edge of the magic circle dimmed accordingly, and the wings wrapped around the Red Kite Lord suddenly tensed.
More dark red lines emerged from beneath her feathers, crawling upward along her outer wings.
Her body trembled slightly, and a suppressed groan of pain escaped her throat.
The clergyman standing closest immediately noticed the anomaly and called out:
“The life supply has been cut off!”
“Which location?”
Another person quickly walked to the wall to inspect several crystals embedded at the joints of the copper pipes.
The crystal representing the northern district had already lost its light, and several ominous black-red fibrous threads had appeared inside it.
He immediately turned back and said, “It's the Old North Gate warehouse district.”
Just as his voice fell, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the hall.
An attendant passed through the drapes, walked quickly over to the crowd, and knelt on one knee.
“Lord High Priest, news has come from the northern district.”
“The Old North Gate cultivation ground was invaded. The internal devices have been destroyed, and the guards are currently tracking down the intruders.”
The High Priest standing in front of the magic circle glanced at its center.
The Red Kite Lord remained curled up inside her wings, but the dark red lines were still spreading upward relentlessly.
The corruption that had originally been suppressed at the base of her wings was becoming increasingly obvious. If she lost any more vitality, the balance in her body would likely collapse entirely.
The High Priest withdrew his gaze, his voice turning grim.
“Immediately notify the Golden Scale Merchant Guild and have them contact the Green Shade Merchant Guild. Transfer all remaining cultivated plants in the North Gate warehouse and dismantle any devices that can be dismantled.”
The attendant bowed his head to accept the order. The High Priest paused for a moment, then added:
“Take all the living plants. Do not destroy them on-site. Also, find out who entered the cultivation ground.”
“Do not alert the other factions in the city without authorization.”
“Yes, sir.”
The attendant left in a hurry, and the heavy drapes fell back into place, leaving only the increasingly rapid sounds of prayer echoing in the hall.
The High Priest turned around and looked back at the center of the purification magic circle, his eyes filled with worry.
The person in the magic circle was not only the Lord of the Red Kite City-States, but also the Spirit of Vowed Life, birthed through generations of prayers and countless wealth and effort by the Golden Scale Merchant Guild.
She carried the hopes of countless people for wealth and prosperity, born with a spirituality that far exceeded that of ordinary mortals.
The Golden Scale Merchant Guild had always believed that as long as she could condense her own true divine will and gain the recognition of the rules of the Divine Seat, she would have a chance to obtain the qualification of a Demigod Candidate.
When that time came, the Red Kite City-States would also have a Guardian truly of their own.
To suppress the decaying power within her, the guild had secretly maintained these cultivation grounds for several years.
But no matter how much vitality they funneled in, they could only temporarily prevent the contamination from spreading further. They had never been able to completely extract that Decayed Residual Root.
The North Gate warehouse was merely one of the cultivation sites, and a single disruption was not enough to make the magic circle collapse completely.
However, with every missing portion of vitality supply, the already fragile barrier inside the Lord's body would grow a bit thinner.
Once it lost suppression, the power of Decay would quickly consume her sanity.
If the Decay spread with the help of her power, the entire city-state might become a breeding ground to nourish it.
The High Priest did not dare to think further. He gripped his scepter tightly and urged the surrounding clergymen to quicken their prayers.
No matter what, they could not let the person in the center of the magic circle lose control.
The low, hurried prayers echoed continuously in the depths of the tower.
Outside the tower, the night quietly receded.
By the time Celine returned to the Rosalind manor, a layer of greyish-white was already dawning in the eastern sky.
The lights in the study of the main building were still on. Leora sat behind her desk with a coat draped over her shoulders, seemingly waiting for her return as well.
This saved Celine a lot of time.
Celine placed the logbook she had brought from the warehouse in front of Leora, and pointed out the fact that the Castro family had modified the warehouse without authorization during their management period and handed it over to a third party for long-term use.
After reading the logbook, Leora immediately had Alvan fetch the original contract and structural blueprints of the warehouse. In the name of the warehouse owner, she submitted an emergency review application to the Golden Scale Merchant Guild.
As soon as dawn broke, the Golden Scale Merchant Guild formally accepted the review.
After confirming that the guild's people would lead a team to the warehouse in the morning, Celine returned to the room Leora had arranged for her.
She briefly cleaned the dirt off her body and re-examined the wound on her arm.
The spot bitten by the Corrupted Life-Devouring Flower was no longer bleeding, leaving only a few dark red marks that had not yet fully faded.
Fortunately, the contamination had not spread further.
Celine changed out of her clothes stained with plant sap, organized the contents of the logbook in her mind once more, and then went to bed to get a brief rest.
...
In the morning, in the northern district.
Celine walked beside Alvan, following the Golden Scale Merchant Guild's review team through the warehouse district.
Walking at the very front was Alston Vere, an inspector from the contract department of the Golden Scale Merchant Guild.
He wore a golden scale badge on his chest and held the management contract and original warehouse blueprints submitted by the Rosalinds.
Behind him followed two scribes responsible for keeping records, as well as several guild guards to maintain order at the scene.
Outside the warehouse doors, Victor Castro had already been waiting for a long time.
He was the Castro family's business agent for the northern district, responsible for the family's warehouses, convoys, and managed assets in this area.
When Celine saw his face clearly, she recognized him immediately.
She had seen this man when she first visited the Rosalind manor.
Victor probably hadn't expected them to meet again under such circumstances either.
Hodge, who had received Celine yesterday, stood behind Victor. When he saw her appear with the review team, his expression visibly froze for an instant.
“Mr. Vere.”
Victor took the initiative to step forward, his tone very polite.
“This warehouse has been managed by the Castro family for many years, and there has never been any damage to the assets during this period. I wonder why the Rosalinds would suddenly request an emergency review?”
“Whether there's an issue, we'll know once we check.”
After verifying the authorization document signed by Leora, Alston announced publicly:
“The Rosalinds remain the legal owners of the warehouse and have the right to request an asset review before the handover is complete. As the managing party, the Castros must cooperate with the inspection.”
“Of course.”
Victor's smile remained unchanged, but his gaze swept past Alvan and landed on Celine once more.
This time, there was a clear hint of scrutiny in his eyes.
Only yesterday, Celine had inspected the warehouse district as the Rosalinds' representative, and that very night, the Underground Cultivation Ground was invaded.
Now that she had returned with the Golden Scale Merchant Guild for a review, Victor naturally wouldn't treat this series of events as a coincidence.
However, guessing was of no use.
Last night, she and Nolani had kept their cloaks on the entire time, never showing their faces to the guards. Victor had no evidence, let alone the courage to pursue the matter publicly.
The moment he questioned Celine, it would be tantamount to admitting with his own mouth that an unregistered underground area was indeed hidden beneath the warehouse.
Therefore, their gazes only met for a brief moment before Victor looked away as if nothing had happened and stepped aside to make way.
“Since the paperwork is in order, please.”
Rate on N.U.
