Caged Bird

"Don't you all remember who you are? Before becoming Wizards, we were all sons and daughters of Nobles in the Secas Empire!" Will shouted loudly.

Buck and the others exchanged glances, falling into silence.

They understood Will's experience; this feeling of falling from heaven to Hell was indeed unbearable.

Amidst the silence, Lynn suddenly spoke. "You must understand, Will, the Holy See will never change its judgment of us because of our status..."

As a monotheistic religion, what was the most important tenet of the Holy See?

It was creationism, of course!

The legendary Lord [Ella] created everything in the world and bestowed the dew of life, bringing vitality to the once dead and barren land. Because of this, everyone should obey the rule of the Holy See.

Wizards, who attempted to decipher the laws of the world and gain power from them, naturally became mortal enemies of the Holy See.

After all, this was shaking the very foundation of divine authority's rule!

"This time is different!" Will said excitedly, looking at everyone present, his entire demeanor frenzied. "Joanne, Carl, Buck, the Holy See's primary target isn't us. As long as we sincerely repent, Bishop Antioch and Duke Nordland will surely forgive our sins!"

"You're crazy, Will!" Joanne sighed. "From the moment we chose to become Wizards, there was no turning back."

Once they chose to become Wizards, Magic Power would flow through their bodies forever. In the Secas Empire, this was a symbol of demons and shame.

If Count Isk knew his second son had become a Wizard, his first reaction would be to distance himself as much as possible and disown Will...

This meant they could never return to their previous lives...

"I'm not crazy, I know exactly what I'm doing!" Will said with a cold laugh, turning to glance at White Dove, who had been silent the whole time. His right hand, behind his back, took several magic stones from a hidden pocket in his robe and suddenly scattered them towards Joanne and the others without warning.

"Joanne... be careful!" White Dove screamed loudly. With her Psionics vision, she could clearly see a hidden Rune inscribed on each magic stone.

At the same time White Dove's voice rang out, several magic stones exploded in mid-air, sharp fragments raining down like a swarm of locusts...

The gray-haired Witch's expression remained unchanged. She raised her right hand, her fingers tapping lightly as if playing a piano. Runes on the gloves covering her slender fingers lit up one after another.

A faint flame appeared at her fingertips, and then the sparks rapidly expanded. In just one second, a scorching tongue of flame engulfed everything in front of her!

This was a first-tier high-level Magic—[Flame Touch]!

The moment Will threw the magic stones, he had already planned his escape route. He rolled away in a disheveled manner, dodging the scorching flames, and was about to leap out of the wide-open window.

But Lynn's movements were faster. A diamond-shaped ice blade, arriving just in time, pierced Will's ankle. His body, which had leaped into the air, instantly lost balance and fell to the ground.

A bone-chilling cold spread up from his ankle, and Will's right leg immediately lost all sensation. Leaning against the wall, he was about to say something in panic when a slender [Magic Missile] flew directly past and exploded in his eye socket.

Scarlet blood mixed with brain matter splattered down, dyeing the wooden floor crimson. Lynn immediately turned to look in the opposite direction as Joanne questioned in disbelief.

"What are you doing, White Dove?"

She had deliberately reduced the power of her Flame Touch so they could keep him alive and interrogate him for information.

"It was too late, I could only kill him first!" White Dove cried out, clutching her head in fear. "Outside... there are at least a hundred Guards outside, we're surrounded!"

Hearing this, Joanne immediately ran to the window and lit up the dim night with a Fireball.

In the burst of flames, Lynn saw from afar teams of Guards in armor, carrying crossbows at their waists, silently moving through the dense forest and speeding towards them.

The person at the forefront held a scepter and wore a white, gold-trimmed robe. From hundreds of meters away, illuminated by the firelight, he met Lin En's gaze.

"It's Bishop Antioch of the Nordland Territory! We're finished, we're dead!" Barton recognized him at a glance and fell into despair.

He hadn't expected the Bishop of Nordland Territory to personally mobilize to capture a few Wizard Apprentices.

Lynn glanced at the dim alchemy array on the ground. They should have stopped the magic from activating just now, which meant...

Everyone's gaze turned to White Dove in unison.

"It wasn't me... it wasn't me!" The thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl shook her head frantically, her face filled with panic and uncertainty.

The chaotic situation and the approaching Holy See pursuers made Joanne, who was already mentally strained, feel dizzy. Biting her lip, she forced herself to calm down and said in a deep voice.

"Listen, everyone, things aren't that bad. There's a wide drainage channel in the manor's basement that leads directly to the river outside. We can escape from there!"

As she spoke, Joanne turned and looked at Lynn with pleading eyes, asking him to keep a close watch on White Dove. She didn't know who else she could trust anymore.

One minute ago, in the dense forest outside Ur Town, over a hundred Guards in uniform were advancing slowly, concealed by the shade of the trees.

Pastor Aaron, accompanying the troops, looked at the distant towering castle and asked in confusion.

"Bishop Antioch, according to the plan we made earlier, shouldn't we wait until these Wizard Apprentices reach Harbor Town before making a move?"

For this [Caged Bird] plan, they had mobilized a large number of personnel to monitor the entire Ur Town, preparing to use these Wizard Apprentices to track down and send all the sinners in the Nordland Territory who had abandoned the Lord's faith to Hell.

Their proactive move now undoubtedly ruined all the efforts they had made before.

"Aaron, a qualified hunter not only needs to know how to set up intricate traps but also how to grasp the right moment to cast the net," Antioch replied in a deep voice. "A sturdy iron cage might hold a clumsy Ostrich, but if a Griffin is mixed in, it can break free from the cage and tear the hunter to shreds..."

"Remember, excessive greed will only make you lose everything you have."

The essence of the [Caged Bird] plan was their absolute control. No matter how these Wizard Apprentices struggled, they couldn't escape the net they had cast.

However, Blainey's death made Antioch sense a hint of unease. The fact that there was an Official Wizard among Coru's apprentices had completely disrupted his plans.

Having dealt with these Demon's Followers countless times, Antioch knew very well how troublesome Official Wizards were. Their Witchcraft was bizarre and varied, and one could easily die on the spot if not careful.

In the great battle in the Nordland Territory, if Coru hadn't stayed behind to cover an apprentice's escape, it wouldn't have been easy to capture him.

(PS: Ostrich, a type of herbivorous animal from another world, can be understood as... an ostrich.)