I'm really not a Sanctuary Warlock.

"Feeling very frustrated, right?"

The loli goddess jumped down from her throne and walked barefoot to Lynn.

She bent down slightly and used her fingers to lift Lynn's chin, forcing him to look up.

"They thought they had everything under control, that they could roam freely across this continent with just a few lousy summoned creatures, but what happened? In the face of true power, they were powerless."

"The difference in strength between you and him is like heaven and earth."

Lynn didn't speak; he knew the god was deliberately provoking him, trying to break down his psychological defenses.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm here to help you." The loli god released her grip, flicking her fingertips in disdain. "Do you think that guy called Annihilation didn't kill you? Is it really just because you're some damn successor to the Fool?"

"Because he doesn't care about you at all. In his eyes, you're not even worth stepping on an ant."

Lynn took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

“I want to say that you’re not entirely without a chance.” The loli goddess turned around, her back to Lynn.

"Only the royal family can command the guardians of the kingdom, can't they?"

"Alice was taken to the royal city. That girl has a seed of power within her that even surprises me. If she is truly completely controlled by the royal family, that would be too boring."

"Therefore, you still have to go to the capital."

The loli goddess walked up to Lynn, almost touching his face, her breath sweet as orchids.

"However, how to get the attention of the high and mighty royal family is your problem."

"I'll say it again: if you can gain Alice's favor, or even completely make her yours... your path to godhood will be very simple."

The black and white world began to shake violently.

"Go, go to the royal city, and prove to those who think they control everything that even an ant can bite through a dragon's throat."

The illusion shattered.

Lynn suddenly opened his eyes. He was still kneeling in the cold snow, surrounded by howling wind and snow.

He slowly stood up, brushed the snow off his knees, and the shock and helplessness in his eyes were gone.

Since the royal family has taken Alice away, he will go and destroy the royal city.

Lynn raised his head and looked at the massive city at the edge of the horizon. He pulled out the black invisibility cloak from his spatial ring and draped it over his shoulders.

……

The snowstorm mysteriously stopped about 30 kilometers from the capital.

It was as if there was an invisible barrier that completely isolated the entire royal city from the harsh natural environment outside.

When Lynn finally stood outside the walls of Ravenhill, he understood why this place was called Toussaint's last stronghold.

It was a towering black stone wall, hundreds of meters high, covered with dense defensive runes. Even in the daytime, these runes emitted terrifying magical energy fluctuations. Above the wall, every fifty meters there was a heavy magical cannon turret, its dark muzzle pointing straight to the sky, as if ready to tear any threat that dared to approach to shreds at any moment.

In contrast, Sacred Song City is like a humble rural village.

At the city gate, the queue to enter the city stretched for several kilometers.

Caravans, mercenaries, noble carriages, and even some foreigners dressed in strange clothes were all subjected to extremely rigorous checks.

Lynn didn't rush to join the queue.

He stood on a high slope in the distance, pulled up his hood, and coldly observed the movements at the city gate.

The loli goddess's words were harsh, but they were true.

To rescue Alice and to get the royal family's attention, he first needed to find a starting point—a bargaining chip heavy enough to cause a stir in the power dynamics of the royal city.

"Duke Valerius..."

Lynn silently recited the name in his heart. Marquis Laurent originally intended to entrust Alice to this person, but Ji Mie directly intercepted the deal on behalf of the royal family.

This indicates that the royal family was guarding against Duke Valerius obtaining Alice.

The enemy of my enemy is the best entry point.

Lynn gathered his thoughts and then blended into a medium-sized caravan that looked like it came from the south.

He spent two gold coins to bribe the caravan manager and disguised himself as an ordinary accompanying mage.

The checks at the city gates were extremely strict.

"Name." The city gate guard looked coldly at Lynn.

"Lynn, a freelance mage from the southern province, makes a living by working with caravans." Lynn handed over a flawlessly forged identity document.

The guard checked the information and then waved his hand.

"Go in. Remember, private duels are strictly prohibited within the royal city; violators will be thrown into the death row."

Lynn lowered his head slightly and followed the caravan into the vast city.

Upon entering the royal city, one is immediately struck by an extreme sense of prosperity and disjointedness.

The wide streets are paved with smooth bluestone slabs, and the buildings on both sides are tall and magnificent.

Occasionally, royal knights riding griffins would patrol the sky.

Lynn broke away from the caravan and walked alone on the street. He did not go to the magnificent areas, but went straight to the outer city of the royal city, a place where mercenaries, intelligence brokers and low-level gangs mingled.

To understand the undercurrents of a city, never listen to the speeches of nobles at banquets, but listen to the drunken ramblings in the corners of taverns.

An hour later, Lynn sat in an underground tavern called "Black Swan".

The place was dimly lit, and the air was thick with the smell of cheap beer and sweat.

Lynn ordered a glass of rye beer and subtly spread his mental energy outwards, capturing the conversations of the surrounding drinkers.

"Have you heard? This morning, the Royal Knights directly sealed off the area near Duke Valerius's mansion."

"What's going on? Has His Highness the Duke angered the Empress Dowager again?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! I heard the Duke has personally gone to the palace to demand justice."

Chapter 185: Conquering the Empress Dowager?

"boom!"

A burly mercenary slammed a wooden goblet onto the greasy table, splashing ale all over the surface.

His face flushed red, he let out a burp, and slurred, "Bullshit! What is Duke Valerius? The Empress Dowager dared to kill even a powerful old noble like Duke Gran, who had an army of his own, would she be afraid of a mere Valerius?"

The thin man sitting opposite him sneered and lowered his voice: "What do you know! You think Duke Valerius is the same as Duke Gran?"

The skinny man paused deliberately, looked around, and his eyes revealed a smug look of showing off his information.

“Duke Valerius, he was a staunch confidant whom the late emperor had personally promoted.” The thin man lowered his voice, his tone filled with awe. “You think he’s just a wealthy nobleman? Wrong! His money, his businesses, even his infamous assassin group, are all the royal family’s private army!”

The burly mercenary paused, seemingly sobering up slightly: "The royal family's private army? Why doesn't the Empress Dowager just take it back?"

"Take it back? How? Those assassins only recognize the late emperor's seal!" The thin man sneered. "Besides, have you forgotten the great crisis when the royal city fell half a year ago? The Abyss Order's madmen stormed into the inner city, and the Royal Knights suffered more than half their casualties. Who was at the forefront back then?"

The thin man tapped the table heavily with his fingers.

"It was Duke Valerius! He poured his entire assassin squad, built with gold coins, into the fray, tearing a bloody path through the encirclement of abyssal monsters with human lives, thus saving most of the core members of the royal family and the current king."

"Without Valerius, the Queen Mother and the King would have been dried corpses on the abyss altar by now. With this tremendous merit of saving the king, plus the enormous wealth he can mobilize for the royal family at any time, who dared to touch him when the Queen Mother was purging the nobles some time ago? Who could touch him? Duke Valerius is like a get-out-of-jail-free card in the royal city."

In a corner of the tavern, Lynn's slender fingers gently caressed the rim of a wooden cup.

Duke Valerius.

The Marquis Laurent had originally entrusted him with the task of delivering Alice to this man.

The Marquis believed that the Duke's power was sufficient to protect Alice.

Lynn's original plan was also to use this duke as a starting point.

Since the royal family sent [Silence] to intercept Alice halfway and bring her into the palace, it means that there is a conflict of interest between the royal family and the duke.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. He could have secretly contacted the Duke and used the Duke's power to fight against the royal family, thus taking advantage of the chaos to rescue Alice.

But now, this plan is completely unworkable.

Lynn shook her head.

If what these intelligence brokers say is true, then his seeking the Duke's help is simply courting death.

Lynn tilted his head back and gulped down the last mouthful of ale in his glass.

We need to find another way.

But what other options are there?

Lynn leaned back in his chair, his gaze passing through the dim light of the tavern as he looked at the mercenaries and gamblers who were living a life of debauchery.

The key is to figure out how to save Alice.

Inside the palace, there was an elite royal knightly order, unfathomable court mages, and even the all-powerful King of Toussaint.

Faced with absolute power, any scheme of infiltration, assassination, or luring the enemy away is nothing but a laughable joke.

We can't get in, we can't beat them, and we can't save them.

This is a complete dead end.

Lynn opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

Do we really have to rely on raising our sanity level to attract even more terrifying divine followers to forcefully break the deadlock?

Releasing unspeakable monsters in a place like the royal city is tantamount to detonating a nuclear bomb. Not only him, but also Alice and even all the innocent civilians in the royal city will die.

Just as Lynn was deep in thought, his mental energy subconsciously expanded outward, trying to glean more fragmented information from the tavern.

The heavy wooden door of the tavern was pushed open.

A figure wearing a wide, pure black cloak walked in.

The hood of the cloak was pulled low, completely obscuring her face, leaving only a pale, slender chin visible.

The newcomer ignored the mercenaries' unabashed stares in the tavern and walked straight through the hall toward the dimly lit corner where Lynn was.

Lynn's pupils contracted slightly.

His mental energy couldn't sense the person's existence at all. In the feedback from his mental energy, the figure that was walking towards him was like a wisp of empty air.

The cloaked man walked to Lynn's table, and without asking any questions, pulled out the wooden chair opposite him and sat down.

An extremely cold fragrance, like that of some withered flower, quietly drifted into Lynn's nostrils.

"Stop your pointless prying."

A slightly languid female voice came from under the hood.

“Your spiritual power is too conspicuous; I could sense it even outside the tavern.”

Lynn's expression remained unchanged. He looked at the cloaked woman opposite him and said calmly, "If you're here to share a table, there are plenty of empty seats in this tavern."

The woman chuckled softly.

"I have a request for you, you can consider it." The woman leaned forward slightly. "Perhaps it can help you achieve your goal, what do you think..."

"Lynn from Holy Song City."

“I don’t have time to take on any cases right now.” Lynn released his wine glass, leaned back slightly in his chair, and adopted a posture that suggested he could strike at any moment. “If you’re here to sell information, name your price. If you’re here to cause trouble…”

Lynn didn't finish his sentence, but the coldness in his eyes said it all.

"Don't be so hostile. I told you, I'm here to help you." The woman sighed, seemingly somewhat helpless at Lynn's excessive wariness.

She raised her hands, gloved with black velvet, and slowly grasped the edge of the hood, then pulled it back.

In the dim light of the tavern, a face that could take any man's breath away was revealed to Lynn.

It was an extremely pale yet exquisitely beautiful face. Her long, black hair, like a waterfall, was casually draped over her shoulders, exuding a languid charm.

Her nose was high and straight, and her lips were painted with dark red lipstick, as if they had been soaked in blood.

But what makes it impossible to look away is her eyes.

Her right eye was an extremely rare deep purple, like the purest amethyst, exuding a profound and all-seeing depth.

But her left eye disappeared.

Instead, there was an extremely exquisite openwork eye mask made of dark silver metal.