I Am Here Specifically to Save You, Mr. Laud!

Under the guidance of the boatman, Lynn left the bustling dock and walked through several streets, stopping in front of a dilapidated, long-abandoned shack north of the city.

"Please come in, Lord Labul, Mr. Laud is waiting for you inside," the boatman said, gesturing with his hand.

Lynn nodded and pushed the door open. Only then did he realize that the dilapidated appearance outside was merely a disguise; the interior of the house was a world apart.

The surrounding walls were all built from heavy stone blocks, and the mirror-smooth walls were adorned with many valuable oil paintings and sculptures. A faint, elegant perfume filled the air.

In stark contrast to this elegant environment, burly men holding large axes stood on either side of the room, staring menacingly at Lynn as he entered, as if he were a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Lame Laud stood before a long table. He appeared to be in his fifties, with white hair, a thin and hunched physique, and most strikingly, a wooden prosthetic leg.

The moment he saw Lynn, Laud's anger flared. He spoke with great annoyance, "Labul, are you insane? I told you, never cause me any trouble recently... But today you got into a fight with Bob at the port over a shipment of goods. Do you know that the Holy See might have noticed us? Two batches of ships have already been seized in the last three days..."

Laud cursed him heartbrokenly, but soon noticed something was wrong with Labul. Under his accusations, there was no trace of fear or panic. Instead, the man was stepping closer and closer to him.

"Wait... you're not Labul!" Laud's mind raced, and he immediately realized this. His expression turned to horror as he retreated several steps, looking at the guards beside him and shouting, "Stop him!"

Those who could enter this room were Laud's trusted confidants, handpicked by him. Upon hearing the order, the burly men guarding the perimeter did not hesitate. They raised their large axes and swung them down at Lynn.

[Initiating overload mode, duration: three seconds!]

Just before the axe blades reached him, Lynn silently chanted in his mind.

In an instant, all the positions and movements in the room transformed into data, appearing in his mind.

Lynn casually sidestepped an attacker's lunge, snatched the large axe from his hand, and kicked him away. He then spun around, using the axe handle to heavily strike a hapless guard in the stomach. Afterward, he charged forward with the axe, quickly knocking down the remaining guards.

During this brief moment, Laud had already vaulted over the obstructing long table. His wooden prosthetic leg moved with astonishing agility, creating a whistling sound as he covered more than ten meters in just a few steps.

Lame Laud... was actually running incredibly fast!

This bizarre sight caused Lynn to pause for a moment, but he quickly reacted, raising his hand. Several crystalline ice blades materialized in the air.

At the same time, Laud felt the menacing aura from behind him, but he ignored it, as the secret passage was right in front of him, within reach.

However, the ice blades were faster. They struck his wooden prosthetic leg from behind, causing Laud to lose his balance and fall to the ground in a most undignified manner. Immediately after, another [Blade of Ice] flew over and pinned his robe.

"Keep running!" Lynn approached, saying coldly. He had gone to great lengths to see Laud these past few days and had no intention of letting him escape.

However, Lynn soon realized that his words sounded a bit like a villain's. He quickly changed his tone and explained, "Actually, I'm here to save you, Mr. Laud!"

Feeling the chill emanating from all around him and looking at the 'kindly' Lynn, Lame Laud swallowed hard.

Fine, he'd believe him for now!

After a period of friendly exchange, the previous minor misunderstanding was resolved. Laud called a few subordinates to tidy up the somewhat messy room and then invited Lynn to sit down.

"Esteemed Wizard, you've come to see me specifically. Do you have any instructions?" Laud asked cautiously.

"Of course, I'm here to save you!" Lynn said without hesitation. "From what I know, the Holy See has secretly dispatched three thousand guards to Harbor Town, likely targeting the [Ship Gang]!"

"That may not be the case..." Laud shook his head. He had indeed received this news but did not agree with Lynn's assessment. "Just three days ago, Archbishop Laud of Nordland Territory attacked Ur Town with his men. They encountered a powerful Wizard and only managed to repel him after paying a heavy price. These three thousand guards should be to guard against that Wizard."

As he spoke, Laud suddenly looked at Lynn, a guess beginning to form in his mind.

"That's right, I was the one who fought with that Archbishop earlier!" Lynn nodded, not hiding anything.

Seeing Lynn admit it, Laud couldn't help but gasp inwardly. According to the intelligence he had received earlier, although Bishop Antioch had successfully repelled the Wizard, he himself had suffered an incurable grievous injury. Rumor had it that the site of their battle was burned to a barren wasteland, and the terrifying flames had not yet extinguished... This showed the power and strangeness of that Magic... Could the person sitting in front of him be a Great Wizard?

No, that's unlikely. Laud quickly dismissed the thought. He had witnessed the power of a Great Wizard before; a full-powered spell could even temporarily freeze the Maelstrom, known as the 'Eye of Death,' a natural disaster. If he possessed such power, then Archbishop Antioch would have been the one to flee back then.

Given this, Laud immediately concluded that this person must be a powerful Third-Ring Wizard!

Lynn, unaware of Laud's thoughts, continued to explain, "If you think the Holy See's grand mobilization is just to target me alone, then you're too foolish. Antioch's true goal is to find the route to the Land of Wizards. Otherwise, why would the Archbishop personally come to Harbor Town?"

"Additionally, I received another piece of news: on his way to Harbor Town, Antioch captured several Wizard Apprentices."

"They are all disciples of Coru and know that this route is related to the [Ship Gang]. The Holy See hasn't made a move yet, most likely because they haven't been able to extract enough information from them."

"We don't have much time left!" Lynn said solemnly.

(PS: New books are hard to come by, so I'm asking for everything!)