I'm really not a Sanctuary Warlock.

“Okay.” Nora’s eyes flashed with gratitude. “I’ve already planned the route for you. There’s a secret passage from here that leads directly to the edge of the noble district.”

She handed another small map to Lynn.

Lynn nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He put the map away and turned to walk towards the door.

"Be careful in everything you do," Nora cautioned him from behind.

Lynn didn't turn around, but simply waved his hand, and his figure quickly disappeared outside the door.

Walking through the familiar sewers, Lynn's pace quickened considerably compared to when he arrived.

The cold, damp air gradually calmed his chaotic thoughts.

Following the map Nora had given him, he quickly found the secret passage leading to the noble district.

The entrance to the secret passage was hidden behind an abandoned drain, so narrow that only one person could pass at a time.

After climbing out of the secret passage, a bright and open space suddenly appeared before me.

This is the aristocratic district.

Unlike the ruins in other parts of the city, the streets here, though also marked by battle, still retain the main structure of most of the buildings.

Elegant manors and residences stand quietly on both sides of the street.

It's just too quiet here.

Lynn donned an invisibility cloak and carefully made her way through the streets.

He inspected several manors one by one and found that they were all deserted.

The followers of the cult had indeed fled.

This is indeed a good starting point. The estate is large enough that the open space in the yard can be used to set up temporary tents to accommodate a large number of refugees.

After confirming that there were no obvious threats in the surrounding area, Lynn did not linger and immediately returned the way he came.

When he reappeared in the conference room, Nora was pacing anxiously back and forth.

Seeing Lynn return unharmed, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"How about it?"

“It’s very safe. The cult members have all fled, and there’s been no trace of any monsters.” Lynn said succinctly, “The manor there is very large, and we can start evacuating refugees at any time.”

"That's great!" Nora's face lit up with a genuine smile. "I'll organize a team right away, taking some young adults and volunteers up there first to clean up the environment and set up an outpost."

"Ah."

"Once the outpost is secured, we'll move everyone up there in batches." Nora's thinking was clear, and she immediately began making arrangements.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing," Nora called out to Lynn, who was about to leave.

“The plague is also a big problem.” Her brows furrowed again. “Although the obelisk has been destroyed and the pollution of the abyss is gradually dissipating, the ordinary people who were infected before are too weak, and the plague still exists in their bodies.”

"If someone's condition worsens, or if new infections emerge, we may need your help."

"Well, I see."

Lynn nodded, a sense of responsibility welling up within him.

Chapter 158 The Beginning

Lynn had just nodded and hadn't had a chance to say anything more when the conference room door was suddenly flung open.

A member of the Fire team responsible for patrolling the perimeter rushed in, covered in dust and with a look of terror on his face.

"Lady Nora, something terrible has happened!"

Nora's brow furrowed instantly, and she quickly stepped forward to support him: "Calm down, tell me slowly, what happened?"

"The city... the east side of the city." The member gasped for breath, his voice trembling with fear, "Outside the east gate... someone is besieging the city!"

"A person?" Lynn and Nora exchanged a glance, both seeing doubt in each other's eyes.

"They...they are people, but...their skin is blue!"

"They are extremely aggressive, each with the strength of over level 30, and there are at least several hundred of them, densely packed together."

"They're attacking the city gate, and the guards... the guards are about to collapse."

Nora's expression changed completely.

Without the slightest hesitation, she grabbed the longsword from the table and said to Lynn in a deep voice, "Come with me."

Lynn immediately followed.

The two of them, one in front of the other, quickly passed through the makeshift hideout in the sewers.

The survivors along the way sensed the tense atmosphere and cast uneasy glances, their whispers echoing in the dim passage.

Nora ignored this and continued walking without stopping for a moment.

Soon, they arrived at the east gate of the city.

"boom!"

"Boom!"

Heavy, dense impacts resounded, accompanied by the roars and commands of the city guards, causing the entire city gate to tremble slightly.

Nora didn't say a word, but sped up and rushed to the top of the wall.

Lynn followed closely behind, and when he stepped onto the city wall and saw the scene outside, even he, who was used to all kinds of scenes, couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Outside the city gates, a large group of humanoid creatures had gathered in the wilderness.

As the patrol member said, their skin was bluish-green, exactly the same color as the previous Abyssal Plague.

They had no weapons, no formation, and relied solely on their most primal instincts, frantically using their bodies and claws to assault the heavy city gate.

The city gate was covered with cracks, and wood chips were flying everywhere. Every impact made the entire city wall shake.

The firefighters and surviving volunteers on the city wall are desperately fighting back with bows and arrows and stones, but with little success.

Those blue humanoid creatures seemed to feel no pain; even when pierced by arrows, they only staggered for a moment before continuing to charge forward.

"What are these things?" Lynn asked in a deep voice.

“Plague variant.” Nora’s voice trembled. “After the obelisk was destroyed, those who were deeply infected by the plague and eventually died had nowhere to go for their abyssal power, and their minds were dominated by the plague itself.”

"In the end, it turned into this monster that only knows how to attack living things and spread plague."

Lynn's heart sank.

This means that the monsters beneath the city were once residents of the vicinity of Holy Song City.

“They… they’ve lost their minds, their souls.” Nora closed her eyes, as if she couldn’t bear to look anymore. “They can’t be saved.”

When she opened her eyes again, all that remained was a cold, resolute gaze.

"The only option is... complete purification."

"boom!!"

With a loud crash, a huge wooden plank of the city gate was smashed to pieces, and the blue-skinned monsters outside frantically tried to squeeze in through the gap.

The guards behind the city gate fought back with their bodies and spears, but the defense line was already in grave danger.

Nora didn't hesitate any longer; she turned her head sharply and looked at Lynn.

There was no request or command in those eyes, only complete trust.

Lynn understood what she meant.

He stepped forward, stood at the edge of the city wall, and looked down at the surging blue tide of death below.

He didn't say anything more, he simply raised his right hand calmly.

"Temple Guardian".

Accompanied by a deep announcement, a towering, pure white phantom slowly emerged behind him.

The moment that magnificent and sacred figure appeared, it brought a terrifying pressure. Everyone on the city wall subconsciously held their breath, and even the frenzied mutants below the city froze for a moment.

Lynn's gaze was as cold as ice as he uttered his final command.

"Rain of divine punishment".

In an instant, the light of day dimmed.

Immediately afterwards, countless dazzling golden lights lit up in the sky, like an inverted sea of ​​stars.

The next second, the light spot fell.

Thousands upon thousands of spears formed from pure holy light, trailing golden streaks, covered the area outside the city, including all the mutants, with precision and density, like a vast meteor shower.

There were no screams, no wails.

With each lance of light that fell, a blue figure would instantly evaporate under the holy light, turning into the purest particles of light and dissipating into the air.

The scene was both magnificent and brutal.

In just a few breaths, the hundreds of plague mutants that had plunged the entire city into despair were completely wiped out.

Outside the city walls, all was quiet once more.

It was as if the blue wave that had just engulfed everything was just an illusion.

The guards on the city wall stared blankly at this scene. Someone was the first to react and burst into a deafening cheer.

The elation of surviving the disaster instantly ignited everyone's emotions, and cheers resounded through the sky atop the city walls.

However, Lynn, the one who started all of this, simply stood there quietly, and the temple guards behind him slowly disappeared as the mission was completed.

Nora also did not join the cheering crowd.

She walked to Lynn's side, looked at his calm profile, her heart was in turmoil, but her face showed no shock.

Eve had spoken to her alone yesterday and subtly mentioned Lynn's "special" nature.

"Don't judge him by common sense. As long as he's not a demigod in person, you can always trust him."

Nora was a little confused at the time, but now she understands completely.

Despite being only level 60, she could easily summon terrifying beings whose strength she couldn't even fathom.

This person is a complete freak.

She pulled herself out of her thoughts, her gaze passing over the purified battlefield and landing on the distant wilderness shrouded in morning mist.

Her expression turned serious again.

“Outside of Holy Song City… I’m afraid most of the villages and towns have already fallen completely.”

Nora slowly clenched her fist. "We must rebuild Hymn City as soon as possible, establish a stable order, and then..."

"Then go and help those outside who are still struggling in despair."

Her voice was very firm.

Lynn turned her head and saw the flames burning in her eyes.

On this apocalyptic ruin, this woman is trying to shoulder the future of a city with her frail shoulders.

Lynn looked at her, then gazed at the perilous world outside the city.

He spoke calmly, his voice carried far by the morning breeze.

"I will do my best to help."

Chapter 159 Mingguang Festival

The wind blew in from the balcony, carrying the dry chill unique to winter.

Lynn wrapped her coat tighter around herself, leaned against the wooden railing, and looked down at the market below.

Six months ago, this place was littered with corpses, but now the vendors' cries can be heard up to the third floor.

A dwarf selling hot soup called out in front of a copper pot, a woman weaving garlands tied colorful ribbons to a wooden frame, and several children chased and played, almost knocking over a basket of winter apples.

Mingguang Festival.