Creak~

 

The simple wooden door was pushed open from the outside, and the priestess girl walked in as if she owned the place. She casually observed the surroundings for a while, and a pensive look appeared in her gem-like silver-blue eyes.

 

After a while, Xiao Guang also entered from outside.

 

“Master, I have checked. There are no living creatures in the town, even places like pigsties and dog kennels are empty.”

 

The golden-haired dragon girl, who had just entered the room, reported the situation and added, “Just as you expected, all the items haven’t been touched. Some tables still have items like black bread, butter, milk, and thin porridge. Judging by the degree of oxidation, the collective disappearance should have occurred around 7-8 in the morning, several hours ago.”

 

“I see.”

 

Violet lowered her head and brushed off the thin layer of dust on the table. Behind the door of the room leaned an old iron hoe with a worn wooden handle, and on the wall hung a sickle, probably for cutting grass. From the traces, it seemed like they hadn’t been used in a long time.

 

In the inner room, simple bedding was neatly folded by the bed, with two pairs of cotton shoes that seemed to be worn indoors placed at the bottom. Another pair of muddy boots lay on the side of the outer door, next to the iron hoe.

 

In the kettle on the table, only one-third of the water remained, and there was an empty ceramic bowl beside it. In the cabinet nearby, there were sealed small bottles, and it was unclear what they contained.

 

“Xiao Guang, take a look at this room. Is there anything unusual?”

 

“Huh?”

 

The little dragon girl tilted her head in a cute and clueless manner, tentatively summarizing, “Rotten and older? And there’s a hazy feeling? Master, you know I’m not good at this kind of stuff…”

 

Indeed, Miss Dragon had always adhered to the principle of using her claws instead of her brain. If necessary, using her “mouth” was also an option.

 

Violet couldn’t help but laugh and cry, “You, this girl, should learn to think more. Otherwise, without me, if you’re sold to someone else, you’ll even need help to count money.”

 

In the past, Xiao Guang was just an in-game pet NPC, and the priestess hadn’t considered such matters. Now that the little dragon girl had become a real living being, it seemed necessary to provide some enlightenment and education— at least make her recognize the words of the Human United Kingdom.

 

The dragon girl didn’t mind, “Anyway, as long as I have my master, whatever my master asks me to do, I’ll do. It’s so tiring to think about this and that all day. Xiao Guang just needs to be with the master forever. Mmm!”

 

“Okay, okay, I know you like to be spoiled…”

 

Finally managing to push away the golden dragon girl who pounced on her like a little dog, vigorously rubbing against her and extending a wet little tongue to lick her own cheek, Miss Violet, aware of the long road of education ahead, knocked on the table, signaling the end of the playfulness.

 

Then, she briefly shared her discoveries.

 

“Firstly, this is a girl’s room, and she doesn’t care about the economic life in Bavo Town. She lives a very simple life.”

 

Violet pointed to the white cotton shoes under the bed and opened the wardrobe in the inner room, where a few plainly patched dresses were hanging.

 

“Furthermore, this room is different from other places in the town. Its owner disappeared a long time ago, or else there wouldn’t be a thin layer of dust on the table and floor.”

 

“Hmm… it seems so, but what does that imply?”

 

The little dragon girl had a look of apparent understanding, her clear golden vertical pupils blinking. This adorable demeanor was only displayed when she was alone with Violet.

 

“You’ve seen the surroundings, it’s clear that people in other parts of the town have just disappeared.”

 

“But why did an event happen here in this entire town in advance? And for such a long time, none of the other residents in the town noticed anything unusual about the owner of this room. Does that make sense?”

 

“Yeah, why is that?”

 

The not-too-bright dragon girl finally grasped Violet’s meaning.

 

This time, Violet didn’t continue to answer her pet’s questions.

 

“Take a look, what is this?”

 

Violet walked to the cabinet in the outer room, retrieved a sealed small bottle kept inside, and opened it, revealing a nearly solid dark red liquid.

 

Xiao Guang extended her nose to sniff. “…Blood?”

 

“Yes, all the bottles contain this substance. Why would there be a large amount of blood in a human’s house?”

 

The priestess didn’t continue the explanation.

 

“Let’s go, we should leave first.”

 

The master and servant stepped outside, and the once lively town now lay in silent tranquility. The only sounds were the rustling echoes of sand and fallen leaves stirred by the wind, creating an eerie atmosphere.

 

If it were an ordinary girl facing a scene resembling a horror game, she would probably have been scared to tears long ago.

 

However, Violet had once been a man and now possessed strength and mental fortitude beyond the imagination of ordinary humans. This small scene couldn’t stir much turbulence in her heart.

 

What concerned the priestess more was what had happened here.

 

The reason for choosing to travel with a merchant caravan was twofold. On the one hand, she happened to receive an invitation from Xavier, and on the other hand, Violet did want to find a quiet place to reorganize her plans.

 

She had stumbled upon a very interesting book.

 

After leaving Flame Dragon City, Violet had passed through several places with interesting legends. Unfortunately, most of them turned out to be rumors intentionally spread by tourist cities to scare people.

 

For example, the so-called mystery of the undying phoenix was, in reality, a type of flying bird creature with fiery red feathers.

 

The local government secretly imported it from abroad and bred it in a hidden facility. Periodically, they released it, deliberately allowing people to see it. After circling a large area, these magical pets, raised from a young age, would voluntarily return to their original place, awaiting the next “display.”

 

When Violet visited, it happened to coincide with a new round of the “Phoenix’s Appearance.”

 

However, such things… how should I put it? It might fool ordinary people, but the priestess can fly.

 

Because she was very interested, Violet immediately caught up with the large red bird in the sky with her pet, wanting to see what this world’s phoenix really was.

 

Then, that pitiful magical creature, only at the third stage, was directly frightened into fainting by the pressure of the little dragon girl. It fell from the sky, causing quite a commotion at the time.

 

Naturally, it couldn’t be the undying phoenix from myths. After a brief investigation, Violet learned the truth that had been sensationalized and left disappointed.

 

In other places, the situations were more or less the same, and in the end, only Flame Dragon City had true dragon remnants.

 

But this 【Forgotten Land】 was documented in a book called “Top 100 Unsolved Mysteries of the World,” a place with definite mysterious entities.

 

Sure enough, they encountered something strange.

 

While in the carriage, Violet and Xiao Guang felt a strange force, pulling at their bodies and even their souls, trying to take them to an unknown place.

 

Unable to grasp the situation, the two instinctively resisted this not-too-strong force. At that strange moment, they heard Mr. Xavier’s exclamation from outside, followed by the shouts of the captain of the guard.

 

Violet wasn’t entirely sure why they didn’t disappear along with the rest of the caravan, but it was likely related to their high level and geographical position.

 

As they approached the direction of Bavo Town, or rather, somewhere deeper, she felt a gathering magical force.

 

This fluctuation should be emanating from that mysterious entity.

 

Upon seeing the sight of Bavo Town, Violet couldn’t help but recall the legend of the [Forgotten Land], which was only a dozen kilometers away.

 

From the book “Top 100 Unsolved Mysteries of the World,” whose author was unknown, Violet found detailed descriptions of this mysterious city, which most historical records did not provide.

 

The Forgotten Land came into existence three hundred years ago. Before the unknown curse descended on that day, it was once a prosperous and wealthy city, though not as courageous as the current capital, Courage City. Still, it had a population of a million.

 

At that time, the Forgotten Land was called the Glory City.

 

However, one night, out of the blue, an astonishing force erupted over the Glory City. The pitch-black sky seemed to transform into an invisible giant vortex, like the devouring mouth of some terrifying creature, causing shock and fear even among the powerful in another large city dozens of miles away.

 

When people from the outside entered the city again after daybreak, it had turned into a lifeless dead zone.

 

A million people, along with the defenders, powerful individuals, and the military, all evaporated into thin air.

 

It was eerily similar to the current scene of Bavo Town.