“……”
Lin Yue gazed at the chaos scattered across the campsite, a trace of coldness flickering in his eyes.
Not only was his own tent destroyed, even the campfire had been kicked apart.
Amidst the mess of pots and pans, one thing stood out above all else, lying silently on the ground.
Airella’s white jade pendant.
Lin Yue slowly picked it up, noticing that the eyes of the pendant were glowing red.
“Any discoveries?”
Isabella and Mapei had followed for some reason as well.
“This is… Airella’s pendant?”
Mapei recognized the object Airella had activated on the day of the exam and spoke in disbelief.
The jade pendant that Airella wore was something she always carried with her.
It was her life-saving talisman and a constant reminder of her wishes.
Now, the pendant was casually discarded here.
Only one possibility remained.
Airella had been abducted.
Lin Yue touched the grass around them, noticing that all traces of magic had been meticulously wiped away.
He couldn’t tell whose handiwork it was.
Not a single clue.
What should he do?
If something really happened to Airella, would it alter the course of the story?
Although Lin Yue appeared to be weighing the pros and cons, he couldn’t help but worry for the girl in his heart.
He wasn’t made of stone—no matter if Airella was a game character, after all this time together, she had left a mark on his heart.
Who would target her?
At this point, she was still an unknown mage.
The Empire?
The Church?
Or some other faction?
Just as Lin Yue’s mind was spinning furiously, a wolf’s howl suddenly echoed from deep within the forest.
Awooo!
“A wolf’s howl? Is it a magical beast?”
“!”
Mapei’s body tensed, recalling her unforgettable experience being tossed about on a wolf’s back that day.
Isabella, upon hearing the sound, immediately condensed an ice spike, readying herself to defend against the imminent attack.
“Don’t be so tense.”
Lin Yue reached out to block Isabella, and five or six seconds later, a massive figure charged out from the forest.
“Ruier…”
It seemed deeply aggrieved, whining as it gently rubbed its head against the back of Lin Yue’s hand.
“Clothing?”
Lin Yue noticed it was holding a torn piece of clothing in its mouth.
“This material and color—it’s a classic church priest’s uniform.”
Mapei seemed very familiar with this type of clothing, recognizing its origins at a glance.
The Church?
Indeed, they were the most likely suspects…
He recalled the part in the story where Airella was initially chased by church knights.
Rubbing his chin, Lin Yue’s eyes darted around as he began to formulate a plan.
“Is that… a Silver Wolf? The legendary rare magical beast? I can’t believe I actually get to see one here…”
Although Isabella was surprised, she didn’t show much shock.
Given Lin Yue’s personality, it was only reasonable for him to have all sorts of secrets.
“Do you remember the question I wanted to ask you before?”
Lin Yue stopped thinking and addressed Isabella.
Isabella was confused—what did this have to do with the magical beast?
“This jade pendant is Airella’s life-saving talisman. It can command magical beasts. Since you were teamed up with her during the exam, you’re the most likely to have witnessed this power. I was worried she’d be exposed, that’s why…”
“I understand. So that’s how it is.”
She quickly understood the situation and did not reject the so-called heretical power.
“Can… can it take us to find Airella?”
Mapei mustered her courage, reaching up to gently stroke Ruier, who was several times larger than herself.
Ruier was highly intelligent, remembering the scent of the girl it had once worked with. It barked once.
Still so scary…
Though Mapei loved fluffy animals, such a massive one was still a bit much to handle.
“Ruier, do you know where Airella was taken?”
Ruier nodded.
Seemingly understanding that they wanted to rescue its master, it lowered its body, ready to carry Lin Yue.
Lin Yue nodded, prepared to mount up as usual, but noticed Isabella tugging at his sleeve, as if she had something difficult to say.
“I’m coming too.”
“This has nothing to do with you. If you end up offending the Church, the Valiana family will have trouble on their hands.”
Lin Yue hadn’t figured everything out yet and wondered how they dared to target Airella at such a crucial time.
The Valiana family publicly worshipped the gods.
If recognized, they could be in serious trouble.
“Airella is my friend too. I can’t just sit by and do nothing…”
“Or are you hoping that, if you fall into crisis, I’ll stand aside and watch too?”
Thinking of their conversation outside the dueling arena, and recalling his own words about clinging to powerful allies, Lin Yue couldn’t help but sigh.
The boomerang came back fast.
Isabella was probably the strongest among them right now.
Bringing her along might actually help.
As for Lia, she absolutely couldn’t know about this.
With her protective personality and hatred for the Church, she might slaughter everyone in Avellina who had anything to do with the gods.
If Sefina were killed by her, there’d be no way home for him—he’d be stuck in this world forever.
“Get on.”
Lin Yue climbed up first, then had Ruier turn to help Isabella up.
As the two settled in and prepared to head toward the direction with Airella’s scent, Mapei called out from below, “Lin Yue! Take this!”
Thunk!
Lin Yue caught the wooden plaque she threw up, noticing it was a magical token engraved with [Chris].
Mapei knew she was no help in a fight—this was all she could do to assist.
She didn’t want to see Airella, whom she admired, simply disappear like this.
“This is a core member token of the Chris Chamber of Commerce. The Church and the Chamber have deep dealings, and they occasionally inspect the Church’s supplies. The Church’s important sites might be heavily guarded, but with this, you should be able to slip in.”
Chris Chamber of Commerce?
Now Isabella truly looked surprised.
This token was only given to those with extremely special status in the Chamber.
Yet this seemingly ordinary, background-less Mapei…
Just how many secrets did Lin Yue have around him?
She really couldn’t see through it anymore.
Lin Yue took the token, fell silent for a moment, then said, “Thank you…”
He then sped off with Isabella toward where Airella was.
Left behind, Mapei put on a serious expression and turned, preparing to report the events in Avellina.
She took pen and paper from her pocket.
A nightingale flew from the depths of the forest, landing on her shoulder.
“Father, the Church might really be making a move…”
She quickly finished writing her report, then bit her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the paper.
The bright red blood gradually became transparent and pink on the paper.
This was the Chris bloodline’s mark—an anti-forgery certification hidden in the genes.
After sealing the letter into a metal tube attached to the nightingale’s leg, she hurried toward her café, planning to sort out the information before making her next move.
“Bella…”
Not far away, a black-clothed figure who had been waiting in the trees watched the group leave, gnawing on his thumb with a hint of worry in his tone.
I have to help them…
Lin Yue and Isabella stood on a tree branch, watching the Church’s convoy slowly moving below.
The entire convoy consisted of ten carriages, with both large vehicles and small scouts.
They were far ahead of Avellina’s convoy, already clearing the way.
“Lin Yue, what do you think?”
Lin Yue looked at the formidable number and aura of the experts below, sweating as he struggled to think of a solution.
If he tried to rob the carriages head-on, he’d likely be killed by these people.
Although he’d improved recently and reached peak first-tier magic, he couldn’t withstand the suppression from so many church priests.
Besides, he didn’t know which carriage actually held Airella, and as Ruier approached the convoy, it gradually lost Airella’s scent.
The strongest fighters were either acting as scouts or protecting the Saintess Sefina at the head of the convoy.
If he wanted to act, he’d have to wait until the carriages rested separately, so the others wouldn’t notice.
Each convoy had seven or eight armed priests and knights.
If he only took out a few from the shadows, it probably wouldn’t alert the others.
As long as Airella wasn’t in the lead carriage, using Mapei’s Chamber of Commerce token could still provide a glimmer of hope.
The most important problem now was which carriage Airella was being held in.
Just as Lin Yue was at a loss, he suddenly remembered the mysterious signal Sefina had given in Avellina.
[Five]
Could it be…?
No time to think further, Lin Yue grabbed Isabella and leaped onto Ruier’s back, heading straight for the fifth carriage.
Though Ruier was a wolf-type magical beast, its steps were extremely light, almost cat-like, as it glided along the convoy’s shadowy edges.
Its body blended perfectly into the forest.
Not even the most vigilant church priest noticed the high-tier magical beast slipping past.
Lin Yue crouched steadily on Ruier’s back, keeping low to stay hidden.
Isabella gripped her staff tightly, eyes sharp as she scanned the carriages.
The fifth convoy had a medium-sized prison carriage, its compartment sealed with only a few tiny air holes.
Four priests and three knights stood guard around it—twice as many as the other supply wagons, making it clear that someone important was inside.
“Looks like this is it.”
Lin Yue whispered, the jade pendant in his hand slowly brightening, as if to confirm that its master was within.
He then turned his gaze to the hidden spell formation on the carriage.
It was a special church binding spell.
Even if you were a church member, if you weren’t part of their faction, you couldn’t open it.
Forcing it open with violence would definitely trigger a surge of holy light and alert the guards.
“Looks like we’ll have to disguise ourselves.”
Lin Yue put on his gray wig, took off his school uniform jacket, and prepared to test Mapei’s token.
“What about me?”
Almost forgot about her.
“When they stop, I should be able to sneak you in. Just stay still on Ruier for now. I’ll need your help soon.”
Lin Yue didn’t know how many people were inside the prison carriage, but Isabella’s ice magic would be perfect for buying time.
If she could freeze them unexpectedly, it would make things much easier.
Lin Yue prepared to jump down from Ruier’s back, when suddenly he was stopped.
“Something wrong?”
Isabella looked at Lin Yue, recalling the teasing look in his eyes when they first met.
She couldn’t help but think that she really hadn’t judged him wrongly.
Fortunately, she hadn’t misjudged—this guy was more reliable than most people.
She was even more convinced that entrusting her earring to Lin Yue was the right choice.
“Be careful.”
Isabella’s voice was soft, with a trace of concern.
Lin Yue smiled faintly and jumped down from Ruier’s back.
He took a deep breath and, using the shade of the trees, silently slipped into the shadow beside the fifth carriage.
He straightened his gray wig and hung the Chris Chamber of Commerce token at his waist, deliberately slowing his pace and posing as a liaison officer summoned by the Church, walking toward the priest guarding the carriage.
“Stop! Who goes there?”
The gatekeeper knight immediately blocked him, eyeing his outfit sharply.
“I’m a liaison from the Chris Chamber of Commerce, sent by order of the chairman to deliver an urgent batch of supplies to your esteemed Church.”
Lin Yue calmly produced the token, his tone steady.
“You can check the token. The supply carts are right behind. I came ahead to confirm the recipient.”
The priest took the token, inspected it for a while, then looked up at Lin Yue, as if verifying his identity.
The Chris Chamber of Commerce was the main logistics support for the Monster’s Well front lines, so their presence here was reasonable.
Many had already inspected supplies earlier.
Besides, this token was special, even higher-level than the ones previous liaisons used.
The knight didn’t get suspicious, just frowned and said, “Why wasn’t I informed about this new shipment?”
“That’s exactly why it’s called an emergency supply.”
Lin Yue shrugged, seeing that this worked, and pressed his advantage.
“It’s related to the handling of the Beast Witch.”
Hearing Lin Yue’s military-style passphrase, the knight immediately dropped his guard.
Only the Bishop and the priests guarding her knew about the Beast Witch.
It was a sudden matter—only the Bishop would call for supplies.
“Come in.”
The knight stepped aside, letting Lin Yue in.
“Thank you.”
Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief, preparing to find a chance to locate Airella precisely.
“Wait…”
The knight suddenly called after Lin Yue, his tone questioning.
Was he found out?
Lin Yue gripped his dagger, left hand forming the gesture for spatial magic, ready to smash the carriage’s enchantments at any moment.
“Your token.”
The knight tossed the token back at Lin Yue, his tone rude.
“Hm…”
That was close.
Lin Yue walked into the slightly empty cordoned-off area, looking around.
There were many laboring civilians nearby, all seemingly ordinary believers.
Even civilians were being sent to the front lines—truly, the Church was all-powerful here.
He had rarely seen the inside of church convoys in the game, but now, having crossed over, he realized how ruthless these people could be.
But different factions had different styles—not all could be painted with the same brush.
As for which carriage held Airella, he needed to investigate further.
The most suspicious one was the central carriage wrapped in multiple chains.
Its serial number didn’t match the others, and the wooden boards were much stronger as well.
Lin Yue took out the jade pendant and slowly approached the carriage…
“Hey! What are you staring at? Get to work!”
Just to guard this one carriage, there were three priests and two knights—what a lineup…
“Sorry, I’ll get right to it…”
He had no idea what they were transporting.
The original work never mentioned it.
Lin Yue wondered if it might be something that could alter the game’s storyline, but his main goal was to rescue Airella.
Since the jade pendant didn’t react to this carriage, he turned to check the others.
He then approached a carriage that no one seemed to notice, observing it for a long time.
The divine spell at the door was intricate, and the jade pendant was glowing furiously.
This was it.
Just then, the convoy stopped for a break—perfect timing for him and Isabella to sneak in.
Lin Yue took a deep breath and crawled under the carriage.
He remembered that these church wagons never reinforced their undercarriages to make it easier for them to hide illicit goods.
Sure enough, after some groping, he found a spot where he could inject spatial magic.
Now, he needed to call Isabella and grab the internal defensive layer and the external anchor point…
“Isabella, I’ll open a spatial magic portal in a moment—just jump in when you see it…”
This was his first time using spatial magic to transport someone other than himself—he had no idea if she’d lose an arm or a leg…
Isabella studied the tiny crack, realizing he really could wield spatial magic, just as her sister had said.
“Understood.”
Her words of trust came through the gap, and Lin Yue didn’t hesitate any longer—he ripped open space.
“Got you.”
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