The sudden questioning left Lynn flabbergasted.

As several figures gradually approached, Lynn recognized the leader at a glance; it was the target he had been seeking - Aubrey.

The girl under the black robe was around twenty years of age, with an unusual silver-gray mane, impassive yet beautiful face and her eyes shone like bright gemstone blue.

Presumably due to constantly fleeing east and west, Aubrey had grown considerably emaciated since their last encounter, her face wan and sickly.

"I don't understand your words, Aubrey" Lynn's tone was calm, without a hint of wavering, he was certain that Karl had not committed any act of treachery based on his previous memories.

At most, he had merely entertained the thought in his mind; otherwise, he would not have needed to cower in fear, hiding in the slums.

"Then tell me, where is your sword?" the grey-haired wizard persisted in her questioning.

Lynn then became aware that Aubrey's gaze had been fixed upon the long sword he held, and he swiftly deduced the source of the issue.

"That is a weapon wielded by Wizard Hunters!" Beck, the burly apprentice wizard, exclaimed passionately.

"Naturally, it is my loot. What is the issue, Beck?" Lynn replied with composure, though his back was slick with cold perspiration.

He had been toting a time bomb of this nature for days on end!

To be fair, it was not entirely his fault for being lackadaisical. After all, his personal short sword had been left behind in the slum dwelling, and it would have been inconsiderate to simply discard a convenient weapon that had presented itself.

Most importantly, Karl's memories contained no intelligence on Wizard Hunters being equipped with standard weapons.

From the fact that he had not encountered any trouble in the preceding days, it appeared that few were privy to this information. However, it was clear that the old York at the Drunkard Tavern was not easily duped.

'no wonder when I attempted to purchase the ancient ruan wine, the tavern owner would try to evade my offer with various excuses. It appears that the news of my possession of the Wizard Hunter's sword must have also been divulged to Aubrey and the others by Old York.'

"Are you implying that you've vanquished a Wizard Hunter and claimed his sword as your own?" Beck chuckled. "Karl, if I'm not mistaken, you're not even proficient in the first-ring magic [Frost Blade], you might as well come up with a more credible excuse."

As the Holy See's obedient servants, the Wizard Hunters chosen are the cream of the crop, possessing abilities far superior to those of the average person. They typically operate in groups of several individuals, and even seasoned wizards would find them formidable opponents.

For apprentices, simply surviving the encounter is a blessing.

"Sometimes strength does not signify everything, Beck!" Lynn shook his head and glared at him. "Furthermore, it's been four months since our last meeting, correct?"

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As he spoke, Lynn extended his hand, and the hydrogen and oxygen in the surrounding air were extracted and swiftly condensed into shape.

In an instant, a diamond-shaped frosty blade materialized in front of everyone, its shape peculiar yet full of strange beauty.

The wizard apprentices present couldn't help but be taken aback. It wasn't the unprecedented shape of the frost blade that astounded them, but rather, Lynn's casting speed was too fast!

You should know that before becoming an official wizard, it is impossible to inscribe the corresponding spell bits in the brain, so to quickly complete the complicated casting steps and improve the casting speed has become a major issue.

After all, in a real battle, the enemy won't wait patiently for you to finish casting, and ordinary wizard apprentices are considered competent if they can complete the casting preparation within two seconds.

But Lynn condensed the entire process into about one second, perhaps in pursuit of pure speed. The shape of the ice blade was not as perfect as their mentor's, Kelu, but this was enough to make the people present look on in awe.

"Besides, I doubt the Church would even entertain the idea of a wizard becoming a Wizard Hunter" Lynn didn't wait for everyone to come back to their senses before refuting again.

Beck was completely at a loss for words. The Holy See has always been unforgiving to these wizards, and making a wizard who has been "corrupted by the devil" a Wizard Hunter is nothing short of blasphemy against their God...

The other wizard apprentices clearly understood this principle, and the hostility towards Lynn subsided somewhat.

Aubrey did not let her guard down, but looked at one of them and inquired, "Have you scoured the area? Dove?"

"There is no one surrounding nor around us..." The person speaking shrank into their black robe and timidly replied.

Upon receiving an accurate response, Aubrey turned around and apologized to Lynn, saying, "I'm sorry, Karl, the situation is urgent, we have to be cautious."

"So you simply suspect me and immediately prepared to dispatch assassins without any evidence?" Lynn questioned.

"I assure you, the magic just now was simply a test, no one would want to harm their own comrade!" Aubrey explained earnestly.

Lynn looked into the girl's blue eyes and did not see any evasion or lies, but he had genuinely felt danger and killing intent when he was attacked earlier.

However, considering that his suspicion had not been completely alleviated and his perception was not 100% reliable, Lynn did not pursue this matter any longer.

Compared to the other apprentices, he had spent the least amount of time following Kelu and was also the most suspicious! After a moment, Lynn suppressed the anger in his heart and asked again, "Well, what happened? What is the current situation?"

"Come with me first, this is not a place to chat, the altercation just now might reveal our whereabouts!" Aubrey shook her head and looked at Lynn, then invited everyone to return to the base while it was still dark.

When the full moon was high in the sky, a desolate, ruined village appeared before Lynn.

"This village was slaughtered and wiped out by a group of mercenaries who sneaked in during the last war of conquest by Duke of Nordland, and now, apart from us, only a group of beasts remain here," Aubrey sighed and then whispered to herself, "These damned nobles, these damned clergy, these damned wars!"

Lynn looked at Aubrey with slight surprise, he was not surprised by the girl's words, but rather, every apprentice present was likely of noble birth, was it really appropriate to say that?

Although she had an inexplicable dislike for nobles, Aubrey still chose a temporary base inside a noble's manor.

After being ravaged by war, the vast manor was no longer as glorious as it used to be, the entire main house appeared unsteady and everywhere was filled with ruins and shattered walls.

The inside of the house was not much better either, the shattered walls were covered in spider webs, the overturned chairs were thick with dust, and there was a musty smell.

However, this was still a noble's residence, and in order to prepare for war, the large main house was almost like a small castle, with several sentry posts and even an independent drainage ditch, which meant that they at least did not have to worry about water here.

Upon entering the manor, Lynn soon saw the wizard apprentice who was staying in the castle - Batun! Compared to his burly older brother Beck, Batun was almost the opposite, he was so thin that he could only be described as emaciated, as if a gust of wind could knock him over.

Aubrey and the others moved the clutter to the door and sealed the door again, and before Lynn could ask, she took the initiative to speak.

"Kent is dead!"