Besides This, You and I Have No Other Choice! (Please Read On)

At Lynn's words, Laud's expression immediately changed. He silently cursed Coru for revealing such important information to a few apprentices and dragging him into this mess.

He did not think Lynn was deceiving him. After all, the Church's movements over the past few days had been an extremely obvious signal.

It was precisely because he had been worried about this that he had chosen to stay hidden and observe the situation from behind the scenes, ready to flee at any moment. Yet he had still been found.

"[Ship Gang] has operated in Harbor Town for many years. Your intelligence network should be well-informed. Do you know who the Church arrested?" Lynn asked expectantly.

Laud hesitated, then shook his head and replied helplessly. "The Ship Gang is being watched very closely right now. What I know is very limited. I'm afraid that Archbishop has sealed off the information. At present, only the Priests of Harbor Town have the authority to access such classified intelligence."

Corrupting and controlling a Priest was no easy matter. These people wielded powerful divine arts, usually possessed steadfast faith, and were not short of money. Every one of them was a tough bone to crack.

So even though [Ship Gang] had operated in Harbor Town for decades, he usually avoided these people and tried not to have any dealings with the Church's clergy.

Lynn could not help but frown. He had intended to obtain enough intelligence from Laud, but even the man himself knew nothing. This was completely beyond his expectations.

"Sir Wizard, are you planning to rescue those Wizard Apprentices who were captured?" Laud asked tentatively.

"That's right. This is important to you as well, isn't it?" Lynn said casually.

"I'm afraid that will be difficult. Harbor Town is full of guards now, and they may not even be held in the port prison. Even if you somehow manage to rescue them, you won't be able to escape Harbor Town." Laud shook his head in rebuttal. "Rather than take that risk, it would be better to find a way to kill them. That would be much easier!"

Since they knew [Ship Gang]'s secrets, all he had to do was make them disappear.

Generally speaking, killing someone was far easier than saving someone!

Lynn was not surprised by Laud's ruthlessness. In this dark otherworld, a human life truly amounted to nothing, especially when it involved the secrets of the Land of Wizards.

However, Lynn did not agree with him. He sneered and said, "Mr. Laud, don't tell me you're still fantasizing that after this is over, [Ship Gang] can remain safe and continue making money in Harbor Town?"

Since Antioch had chosen Harbor Town as his base, it necessarily meant that he had already uncovered some clues. Even if White Dove and Joanne died now, sooner or later he would trace it back to Laud.

After all, more than half of all cargo transportation in Harbor Town was connected to [Ship Gang]!

Laud's face turned exceedingly ugly. Naturally, he had considered this possibility; he simply had been unwilling to acknowledge it.

When all was said and done, he had spent a full twenty years in Harbor Town. All the effort of the latter half of his life was here!

"You're a smart man, Mr. Laud. Our only way out now is to sail across the Sea of Mists and head for the Land of Wizards. Otherwise, given what you've done, the Church will drag you out no matter where you hide!" Lynn said bluntly. "If you cross the sea now, you can still take away some of the wealth you've accumulated. But if you wait for Antioch to make the first move, I'm afraid you won't even be able to keep your life!"

Laud gave Lynn a deep look. He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he merely sighed helplessly. "It's too late to put out to sea now! Harbor Town has already begun strictly controlling cargo ships entering and leaving the port. Two large vessels were supposed to transport goods to the imperial capital today, but both were detained."

"So soon?" Lynn paused. The situation seemed worse than he had imagined, but he quickly calmed down and asked, "But you still have a way to solve this, don't you?"

During the past few days in Harbor Town, he had nearly been driven dizzy by all manner of true and false information in his search for this old fox.

If not for the terrifying capabilities of Shaping Magic, which had allowed him to disguise himself as a [Ship Gang] leader, he truly would have had no way to flush the man out.

Lynn did not believe that a cautious man like Laud had failed to anticipate the day when the port might be sealed and he would be trapped in town. Nor could he have failed to make any preparations.

Lynn quickly considered the various pieces of intelligence he had gathered over the past few days...

Since the harbor was in a semi-lockdown, the only ships that could freely leave port during this period were the warships responsible for patrolling the waters!

"Holy Spirit, Sky Vault, Watcher... which ship do you have men on?" Lynn asked curiously.

Laud's face twitched. He had not expected Lynn to guess even this. He even suspected that one of his trusted confidants had betrayed him. Left with no choice, he reluctantly admitted, "It's... Sky Vault!"

That was quite something!

Lynn was astonished by Laud's methods. The man actually had a way to seize control of a warship. He had only intended to bluff him.

Laud said irritably, "It's not as easy as you think. Although Sky Vault's captain is one of my men, every departure and arrival must be reported and inspected. If the ship deviates from its route, the sentries will probably notice very quickly."

On the Sea of Mists, their warships could only rely on long-range arrow fire or ramming attacks at close quarters. Yet the enemy ships had Priests aboard. A few divine arts would be enough to tear even the sturdiest vessel to pieces.

Moreover, transferring large numbers of people and supplies was no easy matter.

"You don't need to worry about that. By the time we cross the sea, they won't have the time to concern themselves with us anymore," Lynn said with absolute confidence.

"I have a plan. If it goes smoothly, no matter how many troops they have, they will no longer be a threat. But I'll need [Ship Gang]'s assistance..."

Lynn looked at Laud, waiting for his response. [Ship Gang] had over a thousand dockworkers. Even if they were merely a disorganized rabble, they would still be an enormous force if put to use.

"You'd better not count on them to fight the Church's guards..." Laud sighed. Although [Ship Gang] had many men, most of them merely earned a living under him.

They were fine for the usual gang disputes, but if they were truly sent out to fight a regular army, half of them would likely defect before the battle even began!

"Don't worry. I only need you to do a few small things." Lynn took a sheet of parchment from his sleeve and pushed it before Laud. "Can you gather these things? The more, the better!"