The precious carriage moved swiftly along the narrow, winding streets towards the town's pier.
The Lord's attendants followed alongside the carriage. Unlike the unarmed commoners, the attendants were equipped with simple leather armor and carried basic iron weapons in their hands.
Lin Lan sat quietly inside the carriage, looking out at the scenery through the window.
Rows of wooden houses were low and shabby, with broken barrels and drying fishing nets scattered on the road, and the air was filled with a faint fishy smell.
The chaotic and panicked sounds quieted as the sound of hooves approached.
Many of the commoners hid inside their homes, with eyes full of fear peering from small windows, terrified of attracting the attention of the noble lord and being driven to the shore to face the terrifying black monster.
Lin Lan noticed that even her attendants were trembling.
Even while holding weapons, their arms shook; many of them had even developed beer bellies, panting heavily after running just a few steps.
A bunch of rabble indeed...
Lin Lan sighed inwardly.
But there was no other choice; although the original owner still retained the noble title, not a single Lionheart Knight was willing to follow him to this impoverished frontier of the kingdom.
Now, only some low-status attendants followed Lin Lan. This group of people loafed around during the day, never trained, and expecting them to have combat effectiveness was pure fantasy.
Even though they were completely incapable of offering protection, Lin Lan still planned to visit the site of the incident.
The reason was that a new prompt had appeared on her system panel:
[Please note, a shadow from the Apocalypse is pursuing your footsteps, intending to devour your soul and your cherished past dreams (dungeon items), Seagull Town will be completely destroyed in 180 minutes!]
[Two solutions have been provided for you]
[Solution One: Proactively head to the designated area to manifest the Dungeon Card and face the shadow of the Apocalypse under the gaze of the Red Moon]
(Choosing this solution may yield unknown rewards!)
[Solution Two: The best plan is to flee, abandon your territory, and quickly move away from the sea]
(Choosing this solution will result in the shadow swallowing all collected dungeon items!)
Lin Lan stared at the system panel's description of the solutions, rubbed her temples, and let out a silent breath.
Goodness, it really is coming for me...
One could only say that there truly are no pie-in-the-sky deals in this world; the golden finger of the 'Apocalypse Card Album' is not an endless treasure trove to be taken at will.
Clearly, there was a cost to using it.
Something had already set its sights on me...
Just then, a somewhat hesitant inquiry interrupted Lin Lan's thoughts.
"Lord Roland, why are you personally heading to such a dangerous place?"
The leader of the White Sails caravan, Charles, was sitting right in front of Lin Lan.
This dignified merchant was now drenched in cold sweat, and from the moment he heard the news from the shore, a look of unease never left his face.
"Because this is my territory."
Lin Lan's tone was cold, her expression as calm as ever, revealing nothing.
She was, of course, aware of the unknown dangers by the shore, and even though the description of the first solution was somewhat abstract, she did not hesitate to abandon the second option provided by the system.
Want to swallow the treasures I painstakingly gathered?
Hell no.
Though recalling Jay's description of the 'black monster' made Lin Lan feel a little nervous, years of experience dealing with workplace politics helped her maintain her composure.
Lin Lan silently observed the merchant in front of her.
Charles certainly knew something, but seeing his hesitancy to speak confirmed that he was surely up to no good.
While the 'Apocalypse Shadow' was indeed after her, Charles' action of concealing the truth and bringing calamity to Seagull Town was undoubtedly a fact on the surface.
This was an opportunity to hit him hard!
A villainous curve appeared on Lin Lan's lips.
Thinking of this, she adjusted her tone and said impassively:
"Charles, give me an explanation."
"Lord Roland, I…"
"You'd better tell the truth," Lin Lan interrupted coldly: "This is your last chance."
Charles opened his mouth, his expression fluctuating, unsure of how to explain this colossal mess to the Lord in front of him.
In his wildest dreams, he never thought that a celestial calamity, which should only occur in the deep sea, would land on shore!
This defies all logic!
If this news reached the Alliance's Truth Academy, even the chancellor dedicated to studying the sea would be shocked beyond measure.
Charles' heart grew bitter; under the threat of death brought by the celestial calamity, he finally abandoned his diplomatic tactics and decided to confess everything.
"It's 'Reality Collapse', Lord Roland, the cargo on my ship attracted a sea calamity."
At this moment, Charles slumped in his seat like a piece of limp clay: "You should understand the seriousness of this matter, shouldn't you?"
Lin Lan nodded gravely.
In fact, she didn't get it at all...
What the heck is Reality Collapse? How could cargo attract a celestial calamity?
Lin Lan pondered for a moment, deciding to probe: "Why did this happen?"
"I... I don't know…"
Charles' eyes completely lost their shine: "I clearly used a witch's magic to seal up the important cargo, successfully isolating it from the sea's sight..."
He murmured, "Why can the calamity find me again and again, even tracking me to the land?"
Lin Lan frowned slightly.
Putting aside the novel notion of a witch's magic, she detected a chilling realization amidst the merchant's narrative and the system's prompt.
——The sea in this world seems to be alive, possessing consciousness and certain 'predatory' behavior.
"What exactly are you transporting on your ship?"
Lin Lan locked eyes with him, inquiring carefully.
"It's the 'Deep Sea Treasures' I bought from the northern Gray Realm Auction. It's a miraculous furnace capable of swallowing magic power and forging steel materials at will."
Charles finally came clean: "I originally intended to transport it to Lion Heart Royal City."
It was utterly pointless to conceal the cargo now. Thinking of successfully shipping that oddly shaped silver furnace to the Royal City was undoubtedly like chasing a pipe dream.
This trip was doomed to be a financial disaster.
Everyone knows, crews marked by celestial calamities face grim fates.
Unlike the dejected merchant, a mischievous gleam appeared in the young Lord's eyes.
A miraculous furnace that swallows magic power...
Brother Charles worked so hard to deliver this to my territory, and I certainly can't betray his intentions so easily...
Even in the face of calamity, Lin Lan's mind busily devised mischief, and soon, Charles' voice drifted to her ears again:
"Lord Roland, our best option now is to leave this town, as quickly as possible…"
He said in a daze, "The rift phenomenon has appeared, and from now on, the collapse that will swallow the town could occur at any moment…"
"Then why did you still come along?"
"My goods… my goods are all on the ship…"
Lin Lan: …
Ha, greedy bastard.