Battle of Harbor Town

At midnight, within Harbor Town, the people who had been fast asleep were awakened by fierce flames and the clamor of crows.

"Fire... it's on fire..." "Help, someone save me!"

After more than a decade of peace, the residents of Harbor Town, suddenly attacked, descended into chaos. The streets were a mess, and screams and shouts echoed through every corner of the town.

At this moment, Lynn stood on the roof of a civilian house, his eyes like a hawk's, gazing in the direction of the flames.

This was a first-tier magic spell—[Tik's Far Sight].

It granted a Wizard the precise long-distance vision of a Griffin for a short period.

During his days in Harbor Town, besides gathering intelligence and making Black Powder, Lynn hadn't neglected his study of new magic. He had long since worn out the pages of the Basic Magic Compendium.

"Is it Joanne and White Dove?" Lynn murmured, gazing at the flock of grey crows in the distance and the figures leaping amidst the flames.

Could they have escaped first?

Wait...

Lynn quickly noticed something was wrong. The state of the two Witches didn't seem like they had suffered torture.

Perhaps... they hadn't escaped, but were preparing to enter Harbor Town Prison to rescue someone!

Lynn instantly considered this possibility, his brow furrowing.

Before tonight's operation, he had thought of dozens of potential unexpected situations. He had even anticipated that the Holy See would set traps for him in Harbor Town tonight.

But he had never expected Antioch to make such a public display without having captured anyone.

This Archbishop was undoubtedly making a huge gamble, betting that the few Wizard Apprentices hadn't managed to regroup. Otherwise, the public ceremony tomorrow would become a complete joke.

One must remember that this world had True Gods. For a public witch-hunt ceremony like this, if the other party dared to find a few prisoners to impersonate Witches at the last minute, it would be tantamount to blasphemy!

Clearly, the Archbishop had won his bet. Although he hadn't fallen into the trap, Joanne and White Dove had cleared the minefield for him!

But if neither of the two Witches was captured, then who leaked the information about the [Ship Gang]?

Antioch's personal visit to Harbor Town, the port closure, and the various measures taken against the [Ship Gang] were undeniable. This was also one of the reasons he believed they might have been captured.

As he pondered, the crow cries above Harbor Town grew weaker, signifying that Joanne and White Dove were nearing their limit.

Lynn didn't rush to act, as the force surrounding the two Witches consisted of only a few hundred guards. Archbishop Antioch and the three thousand elite guards had not yet entered the fray.

This was also bait, and he was the big fish Antioch wanted to catch...

"071, in the current situation, if we confront them head-on, what are our chances of winning?" Lynn asked silently in his mind.

His greatest trump card was the massive amount of Black Powder he had placed at the docks. By exploiting the information gap and the convenience of magic shaping, he could lure Antioch and the others over and blow them to smithereens. But it seemed that goal was now difficult to achieve.

[Estimated win rate below safety threshold. As per the agreement, the alien should not be included as a protected target. According to the Federation Citizen Life Safety Act, you should prioritize your own preservation!]

Lynn fell silent for a moment, then spoke again. "Do you know why Joanne and White Dove risked their lives to enter Harbor Town?"

[97% probability... they are coming to save you, sir!]

"So, do you know, 071?" Lynn looked at the flames in the distance and mused in his mind.

"Sometimes, aliens are also people!"

At the same time, in the church of Harbor Town, Archbishop Antioch was gazing intently at the chaos in Harbor Town.

The distant screams and wails made the Priests present turn pale, but Antioch seemed not to hear them. He turned to the Adrian beside him and asked, "How is it? Have you interrogated any useful clues in the past few days?"

"Reporting to Your Grace, Old Hawke's mind has been protected by some powerful Psionics magic. I've tried several methods, but I haven't been able to break through this restriction," Adrian explained with shame.

A few days ago, just as the Archbishop personally led the elite guards to pursue those Demon's Followers, he had raided Ur Town with his men. According to the intelligence previously obtained from Will, they went to the [Drunkard] tavern and apprehended Old Hawke, who hadn't managed to escape.

However, Adrian was disappointed to find that the person's mind was protected by some Psionics magic. When he used Divine Spells to probe for information, he almost turned the man into an imbecile.

The only gain was finding some intelligence about Harbor Town in a secret room within the [Drunkard] tavern.

"It's fine, we'll soon have new sources of information," Antioch said calmly, showing no intention of blaming Adrian.

"Your Grace, do we need to increase our manpower? If this continues, these two Wizard Apprentices might escape our control," Adrian asked cautiously, glancing at the commotion west of Harbor Town.

Due to someone controlling the grey crows to set fire to Harbor Town's granary, most of the stationed guards had been dispatched to fight the fire. Only two Priests and three hundred guards were responsible for the pursuit.

If this continued, more and more civilians might be affected...

Adrian silently swallowed the rest of his sentence. He had always disagreed with the Archbishop's decision to set the battlefield within Harbor Town, as it would only put the defenseless townspeople in danger.

"It's not time to act yet, Adrian!" Antioch's withered face held a hint of sternness as he gazed at the Priest before him and said again, "Temporary mercy will only lead to more terrifying disasters."

"The Hellfire burning outside Ur Town has yet to be extinguished. If we fail to capture that Wizard named Carl this time, such a terrifying scene might repeat itself in every corner of Nordland Territory."

"The merciful Lord will understand our mistakes..."

Antioch turned back to look at the flames rising into the sky above Harbor Town and chanted in an extremely hoarse voice.

"May their souls return to the holy land and receive eternal protection, may their true spirits not fall into the Abyss of the Demon..."

The Priests in the church also showed pity, and soon they joined in chanting a melodious sacred song, wishing that the townspeople who died in this conflict and suffered endless hardship in life would find new life in the Lord's holy land