The interior of the lord's castle is simpler than imagined—this huge fortress seems to be built so tall and heavy only for the purpose of serving as a military blockhouse. There is little frills beyond the insignia and some decorative swords of martial spirit.
Under the leadership of Kaim, Hao Ren and Charlemagne walked along the corridor of the castle to the room where Grand Duke Owen was. The slightly gloomy corridor echoed the footsteps of everyone. There are only windows on one side of the corridor, and the skylight shines in through the tall and narrow window slits, falls on the decorative shield on the other wall, and forms a hazy halo on the surface of the latter. Flying in the halo, like light smoke.
The guards and maids along the way saluted respectfully in front of this special "visitor team", and retreated to both sides of the corridor. From their unconcealed panic expressions, it can be seen that although the Grand Duke Owen has awakened, The situation is definitely not good.
At the door of the Grand Duke's room, an old man in a robe with a white background and a blue border just opened the door and came out.
Cam stepped forward and nodded to the old man: "Scholar Holman, I have brought a distinguished guest whom the Grand Duke wants to see by name."
The old man known as Bachelor Holman raised his eyes and glanced at the group of people in front of him, his eyebrows twitched slightly, and his tone showed a trace of dissatisfaction: "I never heard that there are so many people—the Grand Duke's situation is very bad, Meeting so many people at once…”
"The Grand Duke asked to meet them by name," Kaim emphasized again. "Scholar, as far as I know, you are only responsible for treating the Grand Duke's injuries, not selecting the guests he will receive."
Maester Holman straightened his waist, full of spirit: "Reducing visitors is also a part of restoring health!"
As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, he heard a more moderate voice from the room: "Holman! I was only slightly injured, and I was far from dead! Let the guests come in—don't block the door !"
Maester Holman's face trembled slightly, he exhaled discouragedly, and silently retreated to the side: "You guys go in—keep as quiet as possible."
Grand Duke Owen was lying on the big oak bed in the center of the room, looking at the six people who entered the room with piercing eyes—the four of Hao Ren, plus the two brothers and sister Charlemagne. He is an old man with a physique so strong that it is doubtful whether he has barbarian blood. His thick beard and hair are full of northern characteristics. Although he is lying on the bed after being seriously injured, his huge figure that cannot be covered by the bedding still has full of courage.
Sunlight poured into the room through the window of the bedroom. The sunlight should have brightened the room, but for some reason, Hao Ren's first feeling after entering the room was darkness—the darkness was everywhere, and everything in the room seemed to be covered with darkness. A veil of shadow, even where the sun shines, the floor appears to be shaded by something dull and decaying.
There was another person in the room. It was a silver-haired woman in a white dress with an expressionless face. She stood beside the Grand Duke with her head slightly lowered. She seemed to be a maid who took care of the Grand Duke's daily life. She was surprised by the appearance of Hao Ren and his party. He just looked up slightly, then lowered his head again and did not move.
"Ah, you are here," the old man lying on the bed said with a smile after the door was closed. His voice was calm and powerful, and he didn't look like he was seriously injured and almost died according to the rumors. His eyes were on the Charlemagne brothers and sisters. He swept over Hao Ren and his party, and greeted like ordinary grandpas, "The prince and princess of Yisu—ha, I heard about your experience, it's not easy for you to get here, the country on the other side of the world Is the situation okay? And you... The mysterious person from the 'World Tree Temple'... It's really mysterious. I asked the best scholars to investigate, but no one knows the origin of the World Tree Temple. You really just appeared out of thin air. "
"Grand Duke Heywood Owen," Charlemagne stepped forward and bowed to the old man lying on the bed. Although he was a royal, he still spoke from the bottom of his heart when facing a legendary veteran like Heywood Owen Tribute, "I heard you were badly injured, but it's reassuring to see you back up."
"Aha, what a shit recovery," Heywood Owen laughed out loud, "It means he is still alive for the time being, and he still has time to meet you two little fellows, and... these mysterious friends who came with you. "
After speaking, Grand Duke Owen's eyes fell on Hao Ren—after all, leading two girls and a little girl, Hao Ren was the most conspicuous in the group of four: "I heard that you are dressed as if you are taking a walk. After passing the black pine forest, can you easily defeat Lord Gorgon?"
"It's just some special abilities," Hao Ren said with a smile, "We have eyes that can see through the fog of the black pine forest, and we also have a little experience in dealing with ancient weapons like Lord Gorgon. "
"Some small experiences..." Grand Duke Owen laughed out loud at this statement, "Haha, that's really an understatement—do you know how many people in this world can cross the black pine forest directly from the lost area like you? How many people can defeat those Gorgon lords—not to mention victory, a Gorgon lord can almost destroy an entire regular army, and you... tsk tsk, your World Tree Temple has a lot of history."
Charlemagne suddenly realized that the main focus of the old Grand Duke in front of him seemed to be on Hao Ren and his party (or on the "World Tree Temple"), so he couldn't help but said: "My Grand Duke, forgive me for interrupting—I I have an important mission with my sister, and I need to see Princess Constance as soon as possible, please ask her... "
"She's on the front line now, but she already knows you're coming," Grand Duke Owen said with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry, she will see you, and she will see you soon. Patience, young man, patience is the most important quality—after Yu has a good drinker capacity, understand?"
Charlemagne opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something more, but Awenna next to him spoke first: "We understand."
Then she whispered a few words in Charlemagne's ear, and the latter glanced at the silver-haired woman next to Grand Duke Owen in surprise, then nodded and said nothing.
"You, and your 'World Tree Temple'," Grand Duke Owen turned his attention back to Hao Ren and his party, "I don't think it's as simple as an 'independent monastic organization'?"
Hao Ren didn't know what the other party's intentions were, so he temporarily followed the topic and said, "What do you mean?"
"Aren't you..." Grand Duke Owen frowned, as if trying to organize his words, "Do you have any older legends or prophecies that allow you to re-enter the present world at a special time? For example, about the change of era... Ha, it stands to reason that a hermit organization like yours who suddenly appeared in this world shouldn't take the initiative to bring up this matter after seeing me?"
"Oh, it seems to be like this according to most of the books," Hao Ren patted his head, "Sorry, I have only been in this industry for a few years, and I don't have a lot of work experience. But having said that, I am talking about these things. Didn't you really think of a way to stabilize your state before? Seeing you like this... I'm afraid you won't live until tomorrow."
As soon as these words came out, Charlemagne and Evanna's eyes widened in surprise, and they looked at the Grand Duke of the North who was lying on the bed in disbelief, full of vigor and no signs of weakness. The silver-haired woman couldn't help raising her head, and quickly glanced at Hao Ren.
The Grand Duke of the North was stunned for a moment, then he laughed loudly: "Haha...you are really interesting, you are really interesting..."
"Grand Duke Owen, you..." Charlemagne couldn't help but said, "Now you..."
"As I said just now, I'm only alive temporarily," Grand Duke Owen looked at Charlemagne, "it's just that ordinary people's eyes can't see it."
Then he turned to Hao Ren: "You're right, I'm dying, but how did you find out?"
"Don't worry about it," Hao Ren said bluntly, "Let us see your wound."
"It might be scary," said the old general lying on the bed with a smile. "There are not only several ladies here, but also little girls. Do you really want to see it?"
"That's what I want to see," Leah stepped forward, pointing to the position on Grand Duke Owen's chest, "Open it, the bandages and ointments inside are useless at all."
Grand Duke Owen put away the smile on his face and nodded silently, while the silver-haired woman next to the bed stepped forward and lifted the quilt covering the Grand Duke with gentle movements.
There was no clothing on the old general's upper body, but a thick bandage wrapped around it, but there was no blood or anything like that seeping out from under the bandage.
The silver-haired woman did not disassemble them, but lightly brushed her hand over the bandages, and the thick bandages broke and opened, revealing the shocking truth underneath.
I saw that under the bandage, the large piece of flesh and blood on Grand Duke Owen's chest had already festered and mutated. A twisted and torn wound was located on his right chest, and the flesh and blood around the wound appeared black and purple and turned inward as if corroded by strong acid. It was sunken in, and the most frightening thing was that the wound and the festering flesh and blood around it turned out to be "alive"!
Those rotten and mutated flesh and blood wriggled as if they had an independent life, constantly expanding their festering range. At the junction between the rotten flesh and normal flesh and blood, those rotten parts even grew tiny spikes and teeth. objects, tearing and devouring the surrounding healthy flesh and blood.
Just looking at it, Aiwenna backed away with a pale face—but at least she didn't cry out.
After all, she had seen the honor of the Black Sword Knight after mutation before.
"It hurt a lot at first, but now I don't feel much." Grand Duke Owen looked down at his chest injury, "They are gradually replacing my body, and part of the nerves have been 'eaten' by them, which is a relief .”
"Didn't you try treatment?" Charlemagne said in a calm tone with a bad face.
"Try to cut off the rotten meat, but it will grow back immediately, and it will be exactly the same as before cutting it off. It doesn't work to dig out the whole wound. The corruption seems to be rooted not in the flesh, but in my body. In the soul," Grand Duke Owen said indifferently, "ointment, magic, and even the blessing of the elves have been tried, and this change is irreversible—only the secret technique of Bachelor Holman has produced a little effect, He cut part of my soul so that I can talk to you soberly. But this state should not last long. I can already hear some small voices buzzing in my head, that is Blasphemous words, like these granules and teeth, are slowly gnawing through the protective barrier of the mind set by Maester Holman... "