I'm really not a Sanctuary Warlock.

A faint breathing sound came from the crack in the door, mixed with intermittent coughing.

Lynn raised her hand and knocked on the door.

"Dong dong."

The coughing inside suddenly stopped, followed by an extremely long silence.

Lynn knocked again.

Is anyone there?

The silence lasted for about ten seconds.

Then a hoarse voice came from under the door.

"Get out of the way."

It was a man's voice; his age was hard to determine, but he was extremely weak.

"No...don't come in..."

“I’m not here to arrest anyone,” Lynn said.

"I said get out of the way!" The voice suddenly rose for a moment, but was immediately interrupted by a violent cough, "Cough cough cough... Ha... Cough..."

The coughing lasted for almost half a minute before stopping.

Then came that hoarse voice again, even weaker than before.

"...Please go away...I...I have the plague...you'll get infected if you get close..."

Lynn paused for a moment.

He took two steps back and looked up at the whole street.

More than thirty doors.

More than thirty crosses.

Behind every door is a person locked up.

I don't know how many people have died.

I wonder how many more people are waiting to die.

“Your Highness.” Lynn turned to look at Anna, who was standing in the middle of the street.

Anna looked back at him.

She didn't speak, but Lynn read the answer in her eyes.

Lynn nodded.

He closed his eyes, sensing the pool of sanity that had been restored.

A silver light shone from his body.

Tiny, gentle specks of light emerged from his palm, scattering in the air like dandelion seeds, passing through the door panels, through the walls, and through every crack.

A silvery rain of light enveloped the entire town.

The coughing behind the door stopped one by one.

About two minutes later.

"Squeak."

The nearest door was pushed open from the inside.

A middle-aged man stood at the door, so thin he was unrecognizable, with a sallow complexion and wearing a shirt so dirty that its original color was no longer discernible.

But the dark purple spots that were originally covering his arms are fading at a visible rate.

He looked at Lynn, at the fading silver specks beside him, and felt an urge to kneel down.

"Don't kneel." Lynn took a step back. "Tell me, what happened in Holy Song City?"

The man looked up, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Holy Song City... is no longer Holy Song City."

Lynn's heart sank.

"What do you mean?"

“Three weeks ago, they…they came.”

"Who?"

"People in black robes." The man's body began to tremble. "They said they were here to purify the city, and then..."

He couldn't continue.

More doors were pushed open.

A group of thin figures stood at the doorway, looking at them with the same fear in their eyes.

Anna walked up from behind Lynn.

She stood before the middle-aged man, her saintly radiance soft and solemn in the twilight.

“Tell me,” she said softly, “what exactly happened in Holy Song City?”

The man looked up.

Upon seeing Anna for the first time, his tears finally fell.

"Holy Song City..."

"It's been taken over by the Black Robe Cult."

"They sealed the city gates and built an altar inside the city."

“Every day, people are dragged up there… for purification.”

Chapter 117 Forbidden Spell (Two Chapters Combined)

"Purification?"

A middle-aged man squatted at the doorway, hugging his knees with both hands.

"They say that the city of Holy Song has been corrupted by evil... and that the sins need to be washed away with blood."

“That night three weeks ago,” the middle-aged man continued, “the Black Robe Order entered the city. No one knew where they came from, and no one knew how the city gates were opened.”

"By dawn the next day, the flags at the city lord's manor had already been changed."

"They built a large stone platform in the city center square."

“They would tie the people they captured each day to a stone platform, cut open their chests with a scimitar, dig out their hearts, and place them in the groove in the middle of the altar until they bled dry.”

"They call that purification."

The man gave a bitter laugh.

“Because of the plague, we people escaped unscathed, but those in town who were not infected were not so lucky.”

Lynn took a deep breath.

Good guy.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen the Abyss Order's style of doing things, but he still felt ashamed.

They assassinated the king, instigated a civil war, spread plague, entered the city amidst the chaos, and slaughtered the inhabitants.

After going through the entire process, a perfectly good kingdom was reduced to this state in just one month.

"What about the soldiers in the city?" Lynn asked again. "What about the Holy Song City's own garrison?"

“They surrendered.” The man’s tone was filled with hatred. “Half of them joined the cult directly, and the other half were killed.”

"The lords in the vicinity also cooperate with the cult. The lords send troops to help the cult maintain order, and the cult injects their soldiers with an antidote so that they will not get sick."

"Those cavalrymen patrolling nearby, are they the lord's men?"

"Yes. They patrol the perimeter, preventing people from running away and keeping outsiders away from getting close."

What should we do if we find a living person?

"The healthy ones were sent to the city for the altar. The sick ones were treated on the spot."

Lynn turned to look at Anna.

"Your Highness, Holy Maiden."

Anna didn't look at him.

She remained silent for a long time.

"Let everyone go back inside and rest first; it's not safe outside."

Lynn stared at her face for two seconds.

The calmer she appears, the more unsettled she is inside.

Lisa acted quickly, persuading each person who came out from behind the door to go back inside and locking the door.

"What are you planning to do?" Lynn walked up to Anna.

Anna looked south.

"I do not know."

This was the first time Lynn had heard Anna's answer.

He didn't ask any further questions.

Because he himself didn't have the answer.

To storm a city controlled by the Abyss Cult? To save the remaining tens of thousands? Just the three of them?

He's not Superman.

But Lynn also knew that as long as Anna didn't leave, he and Lisa wouldn't leave either.

"Let's rest nearby for the night. Whatever..."

Before he could finish speaking, the unicorn suddenly raised its head.

Its silvery-white mane bristled slightly, and its two front hooves pawed the ground restlessly.

Lynn suddenly turned his head, his gaze fixed on the north.

In the depths of the night, the sound of rapid hoofbeats could be heard.

And it's very fast.

The sound of horses' hooves grew closer.

Lynn quickly glanced around at her surroundings.

The town has only one main road running north to south, with low stone walls and wooden houses on both sides, offering no advantageous terrain whatsoever.

The first cavalry appeared from the direction of the town entrance.

Three riders led the way in a line, with four to five riders on each flank, and several more riders bringing up the rear.

Lynn could tell at a glance that they had received formal cavalry training.

Lynn quickly cast an appraisal spell on the people in front of him.

[Level: 32]

[Level: 29]

[Level: 35]

[Level: 31]

They were slightly stronger than the previous patrol, but only to a limited extent.

More than twenty horses pulled on their reins at a distance of about fifty meters, completely blocking the way out to the north.

The lead cavalryman raised his hand, signaling the troops to stop.

Then they made way.