Chapter 36: The Battle of Harbor Town

Chapter 36: The Battle of Harbor Town

Midnight, within the town of Harbor, people who had been peacefully asleep were abruptly awakened by the fierce blaze and the cacophonous cawing of crows.

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

After more than a decade of peace, the residents of Harbor Town, suddenly under attack, descended into chaos. The streets were filled with panic, and screams echoed in every corner of the town.

At this moment, Lynn stood on the rooftop of a small house, her eyes scanning the direction where the flames raged. This was the magic at work—a spell known as "Tik's Farsight," granting a wizard the precision of a griffon's keen eyesight in a short span.

During the days Lynn had spent in Harbor Town, aside from gathering intelligence and concocting black powder, she hadn't neglected her magical studies. She had thoroughly devoured the book "Foundations of Universal Magic" she had brought along.

"Is it Jonny and Dove?" Lynn muttered to herself as she gazed at the flocks of gray crows in the distance and the figures dancing in the firelight.

Had they managed to escape ahead of time?

Wait...

Lynn soon noticed something amiss. The two witch's states didn't seem like they had suffered torture. Perhaps... they hadn't fled but were preparing to infiltrate Harbor Town's prison to rescue someone!

This possibility immediately crossed Lynn's mind, causing her to furrow her brows.

Before tonight's operation, he had considered dozens of unexpected scenarios and even foreseen that the Church might set traps within Harbor Town, waiting for him to fall into them.

But he hadn't anticipated Archbishop Anluke to boldly broadcast their actions without capturing anyone first.

The archbishop was undoubtedly taking a risk, betting that these few wizard apprentices couldn't find each other. Otherwise, the public witch hunt ceremony scheduled for tomorrow would be a complete farce.

In a world where true gods existed, a public witch hunt ceremony, if faked with a few prisoners posing as witches, was nothing short of blasphemy.

Evidently, Archbishop Anluke had guessed correctly. While Lynn had managed to avoid the trap, Jonny and Dove had unwittingly walked into it.

A few days ago, while Archbishop Anluke led the elite guards to chase the devilish cultists, Aydan and his team had launched an assault on Urtown. Following the information they had received from Will, they had gone to the Drunkard's Tavern to capture the old Hawk, who had not managed to escape yet.

However, what disappointed Aydan was that there was some kind of psychic magic protecting Hawk's mind. When he tried to extract information using divine arts, he almost turned the man into a simpleton.

The only thing they had gained was some information about Harbor Town, found in a secret room in the Drunkard's Tavern.

"No matter, we'll soon have a new source of information," Anluke said casually, showing no intention of blaming Aydan.

"Your Grace, should we consider increasing our forces? If we continue like this, those two wizard apprentices might escape our control," Aydan cautiously asked as he looked at the commotion to the west of Harbor Town.

Due to someone's move to ignite the town's granaries, most of the stationed guards had been dispatched to put out the fire, leaving only two priests and three hundred guards in charge of the pursuit.

Continuing like this might endanger more and more civilians...

Aydan swallowed the latter part of his sentence silently. He had always disagreed with Archbishop Anluke's decision to set the battlefield within Harbor Town. This only put the defenseless townsfolk in danger.

"Now is not the time to act, Aydan!" Anluke's weathered face took on a hint of severity as he gazed at the priest before him, speaking again. "Momentary mercy will only lead to more terrible disasters."

"The hellfire that burns outside Urtown has yet to be extinguished. If we can't capture the wizard named Karl this time, the terrifying scenes may replay in every corner of the Nordanian territories."

"Merciful Lord will forgive our mistakes..."

Anluke looked back at the flames over Harbor Town, chanting with a raspy voice.

"May their souls return to the sacred land, receiving eternal protection. May their spirits not fall into the abyss of the devil..."

The priests in the church also showed a compassionate expression and soon joined in singing a melodious hymn, wishing that the townspeople who died in this conflict, suffering boundless hardships in life, would find new life in the Lord's sacred ground...

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