The Imprisoned Demon's Followers

Baron Pedrol saw that Lynn and Evina were too terrified to speak for a long while. After some thought, he spoke to reassure them.

"You needn't worry too much. According to Bishop Antioch, most of the Demon's Followers have already been executed. The Holy Church has even secretly deployed a three-thousand-man guard force to Harbor Town."

"Three thousand?" Lynn frowned. That was far too many.

Generally speaking, during peacetime, a small city like Harbor Town would only have a garrison of a few hundred men. The Holy Church would never secretly move so many troops here without reason.

Lynn could not help wondering whether Lame Laud's identity had been exposed and whether the Holy Church intended to wipe out the entire Ship Gang.

"Father, what does Bishop Antioch mean by this? Is there going to be a war?" Lynn asked tentatively.

Baron Pedrol shook his head. "It should have nothing to do with war. However, I do not know much either. I only heard that Bishop Antioch captured the Wizard Apprentice who escaped earlier while returning to Harbor Town. She is being held in Harbor Town now and is to be publicly executed after Moon Day!"

At that, Lynn's expression immediately became grave.

Could Joanne and White Dove have been captured?

Lynn could not help considering the possibility. When he had sent the two Witches away, they had both been in terrible condition. He could not even be sure whether they had been forced apart by the rushing current.

If the Holy Church had immediately organized a large-scale search after that battle, it was not impossible that they had caught them.

"Father, do you know who those imprisoned Demon's Followers are?" Lynn could not help asking.

The moment he said it, Lynn realized he had been too hasty and quickly added, "I heard that Witches are usually very beautiful. I wonder whether the rumors are true."

"Ridiculous! Who told you that?" Baron Pedrol rebuked him angrily. "They are nothing but rumors! Listen carefully: no matter what, you must not have the slightest connection with those followers of demons!"

In the Secas Empire, wizards were an absolute taboo. These followers of demons wielded all manner of strange witchcraft and stirred up chaos everywhere. They were living disasters!

Under Pedrol's furious scolding, Lynn could only swallow the questions in his heart for the time being. Clearly, this was not the time to ask.

After harshly berating him for a while, Baron Pedrol returned to the main matter.

"This time, two Priests died in the battle against those followers of demons. That is certainly regrettable, but it is also our opportunity!"

"In other words, there will be at least five openings in this year's Knight Assessment!"

At this, Baron Pedrol looked at Lynn expectantly. The official assessment would take place in another two months. If he could pass it successfully, the Pedrol Family might have a chance to rise again.

"After dinner, spar with Evina once more. Let me see how much you have improved over these past few months," Pedrol said bluntly.

Spar?

Lynn could not help turning to look at Evina, who sat across from him at the dining table.

The young woman wore a fitted black dress. Her slightly open collar revealed her fair neck and collarbones. Her shoulder-length hair was tied behind her head, with only a red ribbon hanging over her shoulder. She looked capable and neat, but her eyes were incomparably cold, her gaze as sharp as blades.

I should hold back a little later. Lynn thought silently. After all, according to Lott's diary, aside from a few years ago when he had possessed an overwhelming advantage in strength and stamina, he had never beaten Evina even once. On the contrary, the gap between them had only widened rapidly.

His best record so far had been losing within twenty-three moves...

"Here will do!" After dinner, Pedrol led the two of them to the training ground behind the manor and signaled for them to begin.

Lynn changed into a wooden training sword and assumed a standard sword stance.

However, the moment Pedrol spoke, Evina had already rushed forward at a rapid pace.

So fast!

Lynn's pupils contracted. He only had time to hold his sword horizontally in defense before Evina's wooden sword came slashing down from above!

Clang!

The wooden swords collided, yet unexpectedly produced a sound like steel striking iron.

The young woman twisted her body, her skirt swaying as a whipping kick flew toward him.

Lynn sidestepped to evade, but Evina was faster. With a spinning sword strike, she knocked the wooden sword directly from Lynn's hand. Without pausing, she raised her sword and chopped down toward his head.

The sharp whistle of wind beside his ear made Lynn sense danger. It also meant the young woman had not held back at all with this strike!

If it hit him, it would not be as simple as an injury...

[Raise right hand by 37 degrees, seize wrist, reverse grip and disarm...]

Lynn's gaze turned grave. Under the analysis of the intelligent brain, he almost instantly spotted the flaw in her sword technique. Facing the vertical chop from above, he neither dodged nor retreated, instead meeting it head-on.

"Enough!" Pedrol shouted, interrupting Lynn and Evina's spar.

The two on the field stopped at the same time. Lynn's right hand was extended forward, while the wooden sword hung above his head.

Pedrol first shot Evina a fierce glare, then turned angrily to Lynn. "Lott, what exactly is wrong with you? Focus when you fight! If you are still in this state two months from now, I am afraid you will not even pass the first round of the Knight Assessment!"

Lynn silently withdrew his hand, realizing that he had underestimated his opponent's strength.

Although Lott had called himself a Useless Person in his diary, he had in fact undergone more than a decade of relentless training. Evina, who could defeat him so easily, was only stronger!

"Get back into position and continue!" Baron Pedrol said darkly, his expression ugly to the extreme.

Evina did not move at all, as though she had not heard Pedrol's words. Lynn, meanwhile, took several steps back and deliberately widened the distance.

At the same time, the intelligent brain's prompt sounded in his mind.

[Activate overload mode?]

No!

Lynn rejected it without a second thought. This was not a life-or-death battle. There was no need to waste energy here.

Moreover, although the intelligent brain's analysis function was useful, how much of its effectiveness he could truly bring out ultimately depended on his own abilities.

Evina was not like Antioch or the Witch Hunter he had encountered before. She was far from strong enough to crush him.

She was the perfect whetstone...

The battle quickly began again. Relying on the foundation Carl had left behind and his experience from multiple life-and-death duels, Lynn successfully blocked Evina's surprise attack this time...