Listening to Lynn's words, Laud's face immediately changed, cursing Kro in his heart for revealing such an important piece of news to a few apprentices, which in turn implicated himself.
He didn't think Lynn was deceiving him; after all, the Church's movements in the past few days had been a very obvious signal.
It was precisely because of this concern that he chose to hide in the shadows, observing the situation and ready to flee at any moment, yet he still got caught.
"The [Ship Gang] has been operating in Harbor Town for many years, their information should be quite accurate. Do you know who was captured by the church?" Lynn asked expectantly.
Laud hesitated and then shook his head, replying rather helplessly, "The Ship Gang is under tight scrutiny now, I know very little. I'm afraid the Archbishop has blocked the news; only the priests in Harbor Town have the right to access such classified information."
Corrupting and controlling a priest is no easy task. These people command powerful Divine Arts, usually have a firm faith, and lack nothing in terms of money, being tough nuts to crack.
So even though the [Ship Gang] had operated in Harbor Town for decades, he made it a habit to avoid them as much as possible, trying not to get entangled with the Church's clergy.
Lynn couldn't help but frown. He had hoped to gather enough intelligence from Laud, but didn't expect even he was in the dark, completely against his expectations.
"Wizard Master, are you planning to rescue those captured wizard apprentices?" Laud asked tentatively.
"Yes, it's important for you as well, isn't it?" Lynn replied smoothly.
"That's going to be difficult. Harbor Town is swarming with guards, and they might not even be imprisoned at the port. Even if by some miracle you manage to rescue them, there's no way you'd escape Harbor Town," Laud shook his head, refuting, "Instead of taking that risk, it might be easier to eliminate them. The difficulty would be much lower!"
Since the other party knew the secrets of the [Ship Gang], it would be enough just to make them disappear.
Usually, killing is easier than rescuing!
Lynn wasn't surprised by Laud's ruthlessness. In this dark, alternate world, a human life was indeed inconsequential, especially when it involved the secrets of Wizard Land.
But Lynn didn't agree with him, scoffing as he spoke, "Mr. Laud, you can't still be fantasizing that once this blows over, the [Ship Gang] will be able to peacefully continue their operations in Harbor Town, right?"
Since Anluoke chose Harbor Town as a base, it signified that he had already found some clues. Even if Bai Ge or Johnny died, Laud would be implicated sooner or later.
After all, most of the cargo transportation in Harbor Town was connected to the [Ship Gang]!
Laud's expression turned grim. He could naturally think of this but was just unwilling to admit it.
In all these twenty years in Harbor Town, everything he built was here!
"You're a smart man, Mr. Laud. Our only way out is to cross the Sea of Confusion to Wizard Land. Otherwise, with what you've done, the Church will hunt you down no matter where you hide!" Lynn said bluntly, "If you sail now, you can still take some of your wealth. But if you wait for Anluoke to act, you might not even survive!"
Laud gazed deeply at Lynn, seeming to want to say something but finally sighing in resignation, "It's too late to sail now! Harbor Town has started strictly controlling the cargo ships. Today, two large ships destined for the Imperial Capital were detained."
"So soon?" Lynn paused, realizing things were worse than he thought. But he quickly calmed down, asking, "You must have a way to fix this, don't you?"
During these days in Harbor Town, he almost got dizzy from all the true and false information while looking for this old fox.
If not for the terrifying Shaping Magic that allowed him to disguise himself as the leader of the [Ship Gang], he wouldn't have had any way to catch him.
Such a cautious person, Lynn couldn't believe Laud hadn't prepared for the day when he might be trapped in town by a port blockade.
Remembering all the intelligence he'd gathered these days...
Since the port was semi-locked down, the only ships free to leave must be the military ships patrolling the waters!
"Holy Spirit, Skydome, Watcher... which ship has your men on it?" Lynn asked curiously.
Laud's face twitched. He didn't expect Lynn to guess even that. He suspected one of his trusted aides had betrayed him but had to admit, "The Skydome!"
Impressive!
Lynn was amazed by Laud's means, actually managing to secure control over a military ship. He had only been testing the waters with him.
"It's not as easy as you think. Though the Skydome's captain is my person, all departures and arrivals are checked. If it deviates from its route, it'll be detected quickly," Laud retorted.
Out in the Mist Sea, their warship relied on long-range archery or ram attacks, but the other side had priests. A few Divine Arts could tear any sturdy ship apart.
Also, moving large numbers of people and supplies wasn't easy.
"You don't need to worry about that. When we cross the sea, they will have no time to manage us," Lynn confidently stated.
"I have a plan. If it goes well, no matter the size of the force, they won't be a threat. But I'll need the [Ship Gang]'s assistance..."
Lynn looked at Laud, waiting for his response. The [Ship Gang] had over a thousand shipmen, and even if they were a rabble, they could form a formidable force.
"Don't count on them to fight the Church's guards…" Laud sighed. Though the [Ship Gang] had many members, most just earned a living under him.
They could handle gang fights, but if faced with a regular army, half would switch sides before the fight even started!
"Don't worry, I just need you to do some small tasks," Lynn pulled out a parchment from his sleeve, pushing it towards Laud. "Can you gather these items? The more, the better!"