Chapter 61: An Unexpected Interceptor

Haah… Ha…

Lin Yue dashed madly through Avelina’s commercial street, searching for any survivors, hoping to tip the current situation in their favor.

Given the current circumstances, it was highly likely that the Church had disguised themselves as soldiers from the enemy nation and taken advantage of the chaos.

Liya was lured away, leaving Avelina vulnerable and planting the seeds of crisis, laying the groundwork for Saintess Sephina’s “rebirth.”

He hadn’t expected that, before Arella could even trigger the Forbidden Beast, the Church would make their move first… He hurried to the café, intent on checking on Mapel’s condition.

The moment he entered, the wind chimes tinkled.

He immediately saw the uncle lying on the ground.

“He’s still breathing. As expected, it’s just a spiritual disturbance…”

He didn’t know why he was immune, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

As he searched around for Mapel, ready to take her out of the Academy, a sudden gust of wind sounded behind him.

Lin Yue reflexively grabbed the attacking wrist and slammed the stranger to the ground.

“Ow, that hurts!”

The voice was delicate and unmistakable.

Lin Yue recognized his assailant. “Mapel?”

“Lin Yue? Let me go!”

Lin Yue hurriedly released her, his mind racing as to why she wasn’t affected like the others on the street.

“You… are you at Second Tier?”

Mapel had sensed the strong magical fluctuations from the person in front of her, far more powerful than an acquaintance, and that’s why she took the initiative to attack.

She hadn’t expected that, in just a few days, this notorious good-for-nothing had become a Second Tier Mage.

Lin Yue smiled, knowing it wasn’t the time for small talk, and said to Mapel, “Long story short, the situation is urgent. I’ll tell you everything when it’s over…”

Actually, he’d just been struck by lightning and became Second Tier; not much more to say.

“Tell me exactly what happened in Avelina.”

Mapel clenched her fists, glanced out the window, and said, “I don’t know. I was tidying up the café as usual, and then the sky was suddenly covered in red light. Raul and the others all fell asleep. Only I stayed awake because of this…”

She took out a mana storage stone from her bosom and explained to Lin Yue.

“That thing I asked you to arrange before, you did it, right…”

Lin Yue knew Mapei’er wasn’t much of a fighter, so he told her to leave Avelina at once and try to find some experts to help at the front gate, where a fierce battle could break out at any moment.

Allen was definitely out training in the wild today.

If not, Lin Yue wouldn’t even have made it into Avelina; the place would’ve already been crawling with enemy soldiers, and he’d be doomed before he did anything.

Mapel nodded and replied in a “who do you think I am” tone, “I already sent Nightingale to call in backup. It’s a good chance for him to meet you and Allen. Old friends meeting new ones is always necessary.”

He?

She only called one person?

“Never mind about old or new. You don’t have much combat ability. Keeping yourself safe is the most important thing.”

“I understand…”

As an ordinary person when it came to magic, she couldn’t be a burden here.

After tidying up a bit, she planned to heed Lin Yue’s advice and leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

Seeing that she was self-aware, Lin Yue prepared to investigate further and see if he could find the mastermind behind all this.

“Because of the last incident with Arella, the Chamber of Commerce already sent people to be ready to pick me up at any time, you also… I’ll go check the situation first. There should be other people in the Academy who are still awake.”

When Lin Yue suddenly stood up, Mapel’s heart tightened: Is this idiot going to play hero?

“Wait!”

Just as Lin Yue was about to leave, Mapel grabbed his wrist.

“Are you… going alone? It’s too dangerous!”

She couldn’t help but worry about this notorious wastrel who, oddly enough, seemed fated with her.

Not just for the sake of her own interests—more out of genuine feeling.

She’d finally found someone in front of whom she could show her truest self.

Mapel had no intention of letting him throw his life away.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. You go first, try to find Allen and the others. I’ll get out safely.”

Mapel bit her lip, beginning to fear losing him.

Seeing her clinging like a stubborn child refusing to let go, Lin Yue sighed and smiled, “What’s wrong? You care about me that much?”

Mapel froze, realizing she wasn’t her usual composed self at all—she was hesitating, unlike herself.

She stood up, glared at Lin Yue, and pushed him away.

“Who cares about you? Don’t flatter yourself…”

In a huff, she headed for the café door, the wind chimes tinkling in a way that matched her flustered mood.

“Lin Yue…”

To be able to so accurately predict Avelina’s crisis and call for backup ahead of time, he must know some secrets no one else did.

She wanted to question him to the end, but when she saw Lin Yue’s serious expression and the frantic spinning of his eyes, she swallowed the words.

Using her petite frame, she hoisted the sleeping uncle onto her back.

Finally, she turned and exhorted Lin Yue, “Be careful. Your life is the most important thing…”

“Mm.”

I won’t die that easily.

…

Lin Yue walked to the small garden behind Avelina’s council hall and used a spade to dig at the earth, looking for something as if he were grave robbing.

Finally, he hit something hard and quickly brushed the dirt away.

There were no signs of this entrance having been used.

Time to try the next one.

He wiped his sweat and tried to confirm whether Arella had activated the Forbidden Beast according to the original plot.

He’d already dug at two places.

The last one was the hidden little labyrinth at the highest point in Avelina, where there was a passage leading straight to the Forbidden Beast’s seal.

He didn’t know which path Arella had chosen, but these two were the easiest to find, and since there was nothing here, it must not have been opened yet.

She was probably hiding somewhere.

After confirming his priorities, Lin Yue patted the dust off his trousers and prepared to see what else he could do.

Speaking of which, just where had Liya been taken to fight?

There’d been no sign of her for a long time.

Strange.

He’d told Isabella to use the Law of Disassembly at the crucial moment to break open the [Divine Realm] and help Liya escape—a major backup plan just for this moment.

No way could both of them get taken down.

If so, fine, everyone dies together…

If even someone like Liya—such a bug—couldn’t handle the situation, it didn’t matter if he grew stronger; he wouldn’t be able to do anything either.

But he still trusted Liya.

“The most devious Law power in the whole game” wasn’t just for show.

Every run, Liya was drawn into the [Divine Realm] at a different place.

He could only rely on luck now, checking every previous plot trigger point to see if he could find her…

“Stop.”

Just as Lin Yue was about to leave, a cold voice called from above his head.

He looked up slowly, only to see a figure that caught him completely by surprise.

“You…”

As he stood there dumbfounded, a snake of fire shot at Lin Yue.

Caught off guard, he was knocked to the ground.

When he tried to fight back, vines wrapped him tightly, making movement impossible.

This was bad…

The woman stepped down slowly, treading upon the vines, descending from on high.

With her wand, she lifted Lin Yue’s chin like a queen.

“I have some questions for you.”

Isabella?