The Baron of the Pedro Family saw that Lynn and Ivina were terrified and silent for a long time. After thinking it over, he spoke to comfort them.
"You don't need to worry too much. According to Bishop Anluoke, most of the devil believers have already been executed. The Church has even secretly mobilized a squad of three thousand men to garrison in Harbor Town."
"Three thousand people?" Lynn frowned involuntarily. That was too many.
Generally speaking, during peacetime, a small city like Harbor Town would only have a few hundred troops stationed. Now, the Church had secretly moved so many troops here; it definitely wasn't for no reason.
Lynn couldn't help but suspect that it might be because Crippled Laud's identity had been exposed, and the Church planned to wipe out the entire [Ship Gang].
"Father, what does Bishop Anluoke mean by this? Is he planning to start a war?" Lynn tentatively asked.
The Baron of the Pedro Family shook his head. "It shouldn't have anything to do with war. However, I don't know much either. I've only heard that Bishop Anluoke captured the Wizard Apprentice, who escaped before, on his way back to Harbor Town. They are now imprisoned in Harbor Town, awaiting public execution after Monday!"
Upon hearing this, Lynn's expression immediately became serious.
Could it be that Johnny and Bai Ge were captured?
Lynn couldn't help but consider this possibility. When he sent the two witches away previously, their condition was quite poor. It was even uncertain whether they were forced to separate in the rapid currents.
If the Church had immediately organized a large number of people to hunt them down after that great battle, it wasn't out of the question that they might have captured them.
"Father, do you know who those imprisoned devil believers are?" Lynn couldn't help but ask.
Afterwards, Lynn immediately realized he was too eager and quickly added, "I heard that witches are usually very beautiful. I wonder if the rumors are true."
"Absurd! Who told you that?" The Baron of the Pedro Family scolded angrily, "Those are just rumors! Listen to me, no matter what, you mustn't have any connection with those devil believers!"
In the Sekas Empire, wizards were an absolute taboo. These devil believers possessed many bizarre forms of witchcraft and caused chaos wherever they went, practically a living disaster!
In the midst of Pedro's harsh rebuke, Lynn had no choice but to suppress his doubts temporarily. Now was obviously not the time to ask questions.
After scolding him harshly for a few moments, the Baron of the Pedro Family spoke again about the main matter.
"To deal with those devil believers, two priests unfortunately died in battle. While this is lamentable, it is also an opportunity for us!"
"In other words, there will be at least five slots for this year's knight assessment!"
Speaking of this, the Baron of the Pedro Family looked at Lynn with great anticipation. In two months, it would be the official assessment date, and if he could pass smoothly, it would give the Pedro Family an opportunity to rise again.
"After eating, you should spar with Ivina again. Let me see how much progress you've made these past few months." Pedro said bluntly.
Spar?
Lynn couldn't help but turn to look at Ivina, who was sitting opposite him at the dining table.
The girl was wearing a black, slim-fitting long dress. The slightly open neckline revealed her fair neck and collarbone. Her shoulder-length hair was tied up at the back, with only a red ribbon hanging down her shoulder, giving her a very neat look. But her eyes were incredibly cold, and her gaze was as sharp as a knife.
It would be better to hold back a little later, Lynn thought silently. After all, in Loth's diary, besides holding the absolute advantage in strength and physical strength years ago, he had never won against Ivina once. On the contrary, the gap between them was still rapidly widening.
His best record so far was losing within twenty-three moves...
...
"Here will do!" After dinner, Pedro led the two of them to the practice field in the back garden of the estate and then signaled for them to begin.
Lynn changed into the training wooden sword and assumed a standard sword-holding stance.
However, Ivina had already rushed over at a fast pace the moment Pedro spoke.
So fast!
Lynn's pupils constricted. He only had time to raise his sword horizontally in defense before Ivina's wooden sword struck down from above!
"Clang~"
The wooden swords clashed, surprisingly producing a sound similar to metal striking metal.
The girl twisted her body, and as her dress swayed, a roundhouse kick was already coming at him.
Lynn sidestepped to dodge, but Ivina was faster. A spinning sword move disarmed Lynn's wooden sword, sending it flying into the air. Without pause, she swung her sword downward toward his head.
The sharp wind whistling past his ear filled Lynn with a sense of danger. This indicated that the girl's strike held no reservations!
If he got hit, it wouldn't just be a simple injury...
[Raise right hand at a 37-degree angle, grip the wrist, reverse grip to snatch the sword...]
Lynn's gaze became very serious. With the analysis of the intelligent brain, he instantly spotted the flaw in her sword stance. Facing the downward slash, he neither dodged nor evaded and confronted it head-on.
"Enough!" Pedro shouted, interrupting the duel between Lynn and Ivina.
The two of them stopped simultaneously. Lynn forward-stretched his right hand, and the wooden sword was suspended just above his head.
Pedro first glared at Ivina, then looked at Lynn with great frustration. "Loth, what's wrong with you? Focus when you're fighting! If you're in this state two months later, you might not even pass the first round of the knight assessment!"
Lynn silently withdrew his hand, realizing he had underestimated his opponent's strength.
Although Loth had referred to himself as the useless one in his diary, in reality, he had undergone more than a decade of relentless training. An Ivina who could easily defeat him was bound to be much stronger!
"Get back in position and continue!" The Baron's voice was cold, his expression extremely grim.
Ivina stood still, as if she hadn't heard Pedro's words. Lynn, on the other hand, took a few steps back and voluntarily widened the distance between them.
At the same time, the prompt from the intelligent brain sounded in his mind.
[Activate overload mode?]
No!
Lynn rejected it outright. This wasn't a life-or-death battle; there was no need to waste energy here.
Moreover, while the analytical function of the intelligent brain was useful, its effectiveness ultimately depended on his own abilities.
Ivina wasn't like Anluoke or that witch hunter he had encountered before. She was far from reaching the point where she could decisively crush him.
She was just the right whetstone...
The fight quickly resumed. Relying on the foundation laid by his original self, Carl, and extensive life-and-death combat experience, Lynn successfully blocked Ivina's assault this time...