I'm really not a Sanctuary Warlock.

Lynn's finger moved quickly across the map.

“Fortunately, there’s a river nearby.” He quickly found a new route. “At this time of year, the river should be frozen over, so we can use it as a shortcut to bypass this area.”

"We'll head straight to the second rest stop."

After he finished speaking, he put away the map, spurred his horse, and turned the course.

"Walk."

Alice bit her lower lip, watching the billowing black smoke, and urged her little red horse to keep up with Lynn's pace.

As night deepened, the cold wind grew increasingly biting.

The two walked for nearly an hour on the rugged mountain path, and after passing through a sparse woodland, a wide river appeared before them.

Just as Lynn had predicted, the river was covered with a thick layer of ice.

The Holy Spirit Unicorn cautiously stepped onto the ice, testing it to make sure it was sturdy enough before taking a step.

This was the first time Alice had ever seen such a magnificent glacier, and her fear and anxiety from before vanished instantly.

Curious, she urged the little red horse to follow behind, looking down at the transparent ice beneath her feet, where she could even see the slowly flowing eddies and the occasional small fish swimming by.

"Wow..." she couldn't help but let out a small exclamation.

She even stretched out her small, booted feet and gently kicked the smooth ice, sending up a few ice shards.

That cautious yet curious look was like a cat seeing snow for the first time.

Lynn never turned around, but he could clearly hear the girl's subtle, joyful movements behind him.

He sighed to himself, thinking how childish he was.

But this is for the best; it's much better than her constantly being immersed in fear and paranoia.

Even after successfully crossing the icy river and stepping onto the land on the other side, Lynn's mood did not relax at all.

The burning of the first rest stop could not possibly have been an accident.

This means that the Marquis Laurent's carefully planned route was exposed from the very beginning.

Was there a leak? Or was the Marquis's plan flawed in itself?

Lynn prefers the former.

Therefore, we probably can no longer trust the second rest stop, or even any of the supply points along this route.

This road could turn into a trap leading to hell at any moment.

Lynn glanced at Alice, who was still immersed in the novelty behind him, and decided to go to the second rest stop to check on the situation.

If problems arise there as well, he will have to abandon the route immediately and replan.

……

As night fell, Lynn gave up on continuing his journey and found a dry, sheltered cave in the mountains.

He lit a small campfire, and the flames dispelled the chill and dampness in the cave.

Alice was indeed exhausted. Two consecutive days of running around and mental stress had completely drained her energy.

She drank a few sips of hot water, ate a couple of bites of dry food, wrapped herself in a blanket, and leaned against the warm rock wall, falling into a deep sleep.

Her long eyelashes cast faint shadows in the firelight, and her breathing was even and steady.

Lynn looked at her unguarded sleeping face, then glanced at the map in his hand, which showed that they had only covered less than a tenth of the distance, and sighed silently.

The road ahead is long and fraught with danger.

He added a piece of firewood to the fire to make sure the flames would burn all night, then sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state.

……

The next morning, Lynn extinguished the campfire and woke Alice.

After a quick resupply, the two set off again.

Around noon, as they were traveling through a dense primeval forest, Lynn suddenly stopped the unicorn.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked anxiously.

“There are people ahead.” Lynn’s gaze was fixed on the depths of the dense forest not far ahead.

Not long after, several figures emerged from behind the tree. They looked somewhat disheveled, but Lynn recognized them at a glance because of their unique aura.

Elf.

They were three male elves, dressed in green leather armor embroidered with silver leaf veins, carrying longbows, and looking weary.

The leading elf had long, brilliant golden hair and handsome features, but at this moment, his brows were furrowed with deep worry.

When they saw Lynn riding on the Holy Spirit Unicorn, they were first taken aback, then their expressions became even more wary.

But soon, that vigilance turned into a deep confusion.

The lead golden-haired elf, named Kalan, looked at Lynn with some uncertainty. In his perception, the human's soul was incredibly pure.

More importantly, he vaguely sensed an incredibly familiar aura emanating from this human.

That felt like... a blessing from the Mother Goddess!

How is this possible? How could a human being receive the blessing of the Tree of Life?

"Hello," Lynn spoke first, her voice calm. "I mean no harm."

Kalan hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and performed an elven greeting.

"Hello, traveler. I am Kalan, from Silverleaf Village in the Kingdom of Toussaint."

His gaze swept back and forth between Lynn and the Holy Unicorn, filled with inquiry.

"My name is Lynn." Lynn dismounted, making his posture appear more benign.

He noticed the other person's confusion, thought for a moment, and added, "I come from Orentia, and I have a good relationship with your people. Perhaps you have heard of Queen Sandros?"

"Queen Sandoros?" Kalan and the other two elves exclaimed in unison.

She is the supreme queen of Silvermoon Forest, a legend among all elves.

"You...you've met Her Majesty the Queen?" Kaylan's tone became excited.

"We're friends, I guess," Lynn said modestly.

These words, coupled with Lynn's undeniably warm and friendly demeanor, instantly dispelled the elves' doubts.

In the eyes of the elves, anyone who can become a friend of Queen Sandoros could never be a villain.

Kaylan's attitude immediately became enthusiastic.

"Your Excellency Lynn, I never expected to meet Her Majesty the Queen's friend here."

“You guys look like you’re in trouble,” Lynn asked directly.

Upon hearing this, the joy on Kailan's face vanished instantly, replaced by worry and anger.

“Yes, Lord Lynn.” He clenched his fist, his voice filled with anger.

"Our village... has been plundered by a group of bandits!"

"They not only stole our winter food, but also... they kidnapped all the children in the village!"

Another young elf couldn't help but cry out, "My sister... she's only seven years old..."

Lynn frowned.

He never imagined that such a thing would happen deep in this remote forest.

Kaylan's eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Lynn as if he had grasped at the last straw, his voice pleading.

"Lord Lynn, you must be incredibly powerful. Could you... could you help us?"

"As long as we can save the children, our Silverleaf Village is willing to pay any price."

Linn was silent.

He has his own tasks to complete, and creating unnecessary complications is not a wise choice.

Moreover, the other party was just a complete stranger they had met by chance.

He glanced at Alice behind him and saw her staring silently at the helpless and sorrowful elves with her wide, emerald-green eyes.

Lynn was about to speak, to refuse with a tactful reason.

However, a crisp voice rang out before him.

Let's help them.

Chapter 175 Traitor

Lynn was stunned when he heard Alice's voice.

He turned his head and looked at the small face behind him, which was filled with tension and sympathy.

Damn, how come she's even more of a saint than me?

Lynn couldn't help but complain inwardly that she had just been hesitating and weighing the pros and cons of any unforeseen complications.

Without the slightest hesitation, the young lady spoke up.

He didn't actually want to meddle in other people's business; his mission was to escort Alice, and any accident could lead to utter ruin.

Even though these elves seemed polite and had a good attitude.

He had just secretly looked at the map. On the map given by Marquis Laurent, this place called "Silverleaf Village" was clearly marked as a dwarf village. How could it suddenly become an elf settlement?

There's an indescribable strangeness about it.

Lynn's gaze fell once again on the leading blonde elf, Kalan, whose level was only 30, and the other two were even lower.

With that kind of strength, they really can't cause any trouble in front of him.

Perhaps I'm just overthinking it?

"Are you sure?" Lynn looked into Alice's eyes, trying to see if she was just acting on impulse.

Alice looked away from the grieving elves and nodded vigorously to Lynn.

Her eyes were clear, with a kind of innocent naiveté.

“They…they look so pitiful.”

Linn was silent.

He looked at Alice, then at the elves who were gazing at him expectantly.

Ok.

Now that this young lady has spoken, I, as her guard, can't possibly act more cold-blooded than she does.

Let's just consider it... fulfilling her beautiful fantasies about this world.

With my own strength, I can handle any traps I encounter.

With that thought in mind, Lynn no longer hesitated. He turned to Kaylan and said in a deep voice.

"Alright, lead the way."

"Tell me the specifics: how many enemies are there? What is their strength?"

Upon hearing Lynn's agreement, Kaylan and the other two elves immediately showed joy on their faces.

"Thank you so much, Lord Lynn!" Kaylan bowed again excitedly.

"There were probably twenty or thirty bandits. The leader was a very burly human. We couldn't tell his strength, but he must have been very powerful."

"They attacked the village suddenly yesterday evening, and we had no time to fight back."

Lynn nodded, having a general idea of ​​what was going on.

If a level 30 Pokémon can't see through its strength, then the opponent's level must be at least level 40 or higher.

It would be a devastating disaster for an ordinary person, but for him, it was hardly a threat.

"Let's go."

Lynn spurred his horse, and the Holy Spirit Unicorn trotted off, catching up with the elves.