Chapter 31: I came especially to save you, Mr. Laud!
With the boatman leading the way, Lynn left the bustling dock, crossed a few streets, and stopped in front of an abandoned house in the northern part of town.
"Please come in, Mr. Rabour. Mr. Laud is waiting for you inside," the boatman gestured.
Lynn nodded, pushed the door open, and walked in, realizing that the dilapidated exterior was just a façade. Inside, the house was completely transformed.
The walls were built with hefty stone blocks, smooth as mirrors. The walls were adorned with many exquisite paintings and sculptures, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance of perfume.
In stark contrast to this elegant environment were the burly men standing at either side of the room, holding large axes. They glared at Lynn as if they were eyeing a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Laud the Cripple stood in front of a long table, looking about fifty years old, with a head full of white hair, a skinny and hunched frame, and most notably, his wooden prosthetic leg.
As soon as Laud saw Lynn, his anger flared up, and he rebuked harshly.
"Rabour, are you insane? I should have told you not to cause me any trouble recently..."
"But today you fought with Bob at the harbor over a shipment. Do you realize that the Church might have noticed us? Two batches of our ships have already been seized in the last three days..."
Laud cursed bitterly, but he soon realized that something was off about Rabour. Despite his reprimands, Rabour showed no fear or panic. Instead, he was steadily approaching him.
"Wait... You're not Rabour!" Thoughts raced through Laud's mind. He instantly realized this and took a few steps back in terror, looking at the nearby guards and shouting.
"Stop him for me!"
The men allowed into this house were Loyalists chosen by Laud himself. So, at the command, the guards did not hesitate, raising their axes and chopping down at Lynn.
[Activate overload mode, time is three seconds!]
Just as the axe blades closed in, Lynn silently chanted in his mind.
In an instant, every position and movement in the room was transformed into data in Lynn's mind.
Lynn easily sidestepped a guard's surprise attack, snatched his axe, and kicked the man away. He then turned, swinging the axe handle to strike another guard in the stomach, sending him crashing into the ground along with the rest of the guards.
Taking advantage of the moment, Laud scrambled over the long table. His wooden leg moved faster than his real one, carrying him more than ten meters in a few steps.
Laud the Cripple ran incredibly fast!
Such a sight made Lynn pause for a moment but he quickly reacted. Raising his hand, several crystalline ice blades materialized in the air.
Simultaneously, Laud sensed the threat from behind but ignored it because the secret passage was right in front of him, within reach.
However, the ice blades were faster and struck his wooden prosthetic, causing Laud to lose his balance and fall. Another [Frost Blade] flew and pinned his robe to the ground.
"Keep running!" Lynn approached step by step, speaking coldly. He had put a lot of effort into meeting Laud, so he couldn't let him escape.
But Lynn soon realized that his words sounded a bit like those of a villain, so he quickly changed his tone and explained.
"Actually, I'm here to save you, Mr. Laud!"
Feeling the cold surrounding him and looking at the 'kind-faced' Lynn, Laud swallowed hard.
Fine, he chose to believe!
...
After a brief but friendly exchange, the small misunderstanding was resolved. Laud called his men to tidy up the house, then invited Lynn to sit down.
"What can I do for you, Wizard?" Laud asked cautiously.
"I came to save you," Lynn replied without hesitation. "From what I gather, the Church dispatched three thousand guards to Wuer Town, likely targeting the [Shipping Gang]!"
"That may not be the case..." Laud shook his head. He had received the same information but did not agree with Lynn's assessment.
"Three days ago, Archbishop Anluoke of Nordland Territory led a raid on Wuer Town, encountering a powerful wizard. They managed to repel the wizard only after suffering heavy losses. These three thousand guards are likely meant to defend against that wizard."
At this, Laud suddenly looked at Lynn with a suspicion rising in his mind.
"You're right; it was me who fought the Archbishop before," Lynn nodded, not hiding the truth.
Hearing Lynn's admittance, Laud was taken aback. From the information he had, although Archbishop Anluoke had managed to repel the wizard, he himself had suffered grievous wounds that couldn't be healed.
Rumor had it that the battlefield was incinerated, and the terrifying flames still hadn't extinguished...
This showed the power and peculiarity of that spell...
Could it be that the person before him was a powerful wizard?
No, that was unlikely.
Laud quickly dismissed the thought. He had witnessed the power of an influential wizard before. Their full spells could temporarily freeze the great vortex known as the Heavenly Disaster [Eye of Death]. If Lynn had such power, it would have been Archbishop Anluoke who fled.
Given this, Laud concluded that Lynn must be a powerful Third Ring Wizard!
Lynn didn't know what Laud was thinking and continued to explain. "If you think the Church's ostentatious show is just to target me, then you're sorely mistaken. Anluoke's real goal is to find the route to the Wizard Land. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come to Wuer Town."
"Moreover, I recently learned that Anluoke captured several wizard apprentices on his way to Wuer Town."
"They are Kro's disciples and know the route and [Shipping Gang] involvement. The Church hasn't acted yet because they haven't extracted enough information from them."
"We don't have much time!" Lynn said solemnly.
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