The empire did not attack; the mercenary groups guarded the castle, which was surrounded by a magical barrier.
Lord Leam Lawson is a coward; Mal has said he is likely to defect to the Empire.
Upon closer reflection, some things have actually already happened; they are not just possibilities, but facts.
The Empire wanted to buy time, and if they had obtained the inscription, they wouldn't have maintained the barrier for so long; they would have tried to break out. Therefore, this barrier was most likely not just for defending against an Imperial attack, but also to prevent some unforeseen event.
So...
The Fang Mercenary Group not only died in vain, but also perished at the hands of a lord who had chosen to launch a sneak attack long ago.
At this moment, Leam Lawson has absolutely no intention of handing over the food inscription to the allied forces! The reason the Hyena Mercenary Group is blocking the way here must be because they haven't obtained the inscription yet, and they're using a magical barrier to seal the exit and prevent the inscription from being sent out.
Lin Feng had considered that the defenses outside the castle were intended to allow mages to quickly replicate a sufficient number of inscriptions so they could lead their men out.
However, the Empire's methods of stalling for time were too steady. Normally, they should have launched a large-scale offensive, especially after capturing a member of the Hyena Mercenary Group, and then stormed into the city.
They didn't do that... unless they already knew that the mercenary group couldn't get the inscription, or that the inscription was currently in some special state that the other party couldn't take it at all.
Considering this situation, they've long been part of the Empire's scheme, but undeniably, their current situation is the safest. No matter how much trouble they cause, neither the Empire nor the Hyena Mercenary Group will easily cross that red line...
This is also a perfect time to rescue Raine!
"Prepare!"
Lin Feng's gaze sharpened as an uncontrollable commotion erupted in the direction of the castle, with members of the Hyena Mercenary Group rushing out of the castle one by one.
Two Infiltrators, Five Legends.
Turning his gaze, Lin Feng spotted a figure on the castle tower: the shrike Maddie Gox.
This was the only enemy that made him wary, and he didn't want to face the enemy's arrows directly until he had enough confidence.
"War Beast, he's gone out!" Mar reminded Lin Feng, and the two of them couldn't help but look towards the direction of the castle's main gate.
A moment of surprise made Lin Feng quickly look back at the shrike. Should she go out or not?
After what felt like an eternity of waiting, three breaths later, the shrike keenly sensed Lin Feng's gaze. As she turned her head, the other's calm demeanor and cold eyes immediately made Lin Feng uneasy.
You can't go in!
His fear reached its peak at that moment, and his sudden stop in breathing felt like a pair of hands were choking him.
Just then, the mercenaries hiding in other houses came out, including the mercenary that Mar had mentioned had reached the level of immersion.
"Follow...them."
Lin Feng took a deep breath, decisively jumped down from the roof where he was hiding, and followed.
There is danger inside the castle, but it could also be a bluff!
The two quickly caught up with the group, and Mar led him skillfully behind several orcs to the foot of the castle.
The lead mercenary raised his shield, and just before stepping into the castle, lit bundles of hay were thrown in first.
Thick smoke billowed up, and a whirlwind rose from the hand of a mage mercenary, blowing into the castle and enveloping the surrounding area in plumes of smoke.
"rush!"
A lion's head emerged from the shield in the mercenary's hand. The ashes from the immersion process were dispersed by the smoke, and an immersion body with arms and head transformed into a lion's head emerged.
"Immersion - Three-Headed Lion Armor"
The golden lion's head caught the arrow that was shot down, and the two legends behind him drew their broadswords and rushed toward the magical barrier in front of them.
At this moment, Mar pulled on Lin Feng and pointed in another direction.
Lin Feng nodded, his unease lessening slightly. The location of the prison cell was not in the same direction as the mercenaries' target.
The mercenaries drew fire so the others could rescue people.
After a brief wait, the mage tossed layers of powder onto the magic barrier, and the barrier, shimmering with starlight, was instantly torn open by the broadsword, leaving a tear that ripped like the hem of a garment.
The mercenaries entered one after another, with Lin Feng and Ma Er following behind. Arrows fell from above, killing several mercenaries who couldn't dodge in time.
Immediately afterwards, the shrike on the castle roof ignored them and turned back to guard against the Empire, not pursuing them further.
As Lin Feng and Mal turned onto another road and entered the prison beneath the castle, Rein and the others, locked in the first cell, recognized their scent by the breeze blowing in.
"Uncle Maer!"
"Mr. Magician!"
"Take them out, I'll go open all the cells." Lin Feng glanced around and spotted dozens of locked prisoners. He picked up the key hanging on the wall and headed to the innermost cell.
Upon closer inspection, the cells here are all built with special stone pillars, and the chains that restrain the prisoners are engraved with inscriptions, making them impossible to open by brute force alone.
"Hehehe, kid, what happened outside? Is that fat pig Lawson dead?" A white-haired elf lay on a stone pillar, half his face imprinted on the inscription on the pillar, staring at Lin Feng's footsteps with his white eyes.
blind?
Lin Feng casually replied, "You are free."
"Heh, that fat pig...do you know how he died?"
The old man seemed to have many stories to tell. When he looked up at the sound of footsteps, he revealed a scar that cut a straight line across his eye. But Lin Feng simply opened the door and unlocked the old man's chains: "Why don't you go and see for yourself?"
The person, chained with four chains and covered in scars, was emaciated but did not appear to be a simple man.
"Oh, yes, why don't you go see for yourself?"
The old man stood up, listened intently to the shackles being unlocked in the cell, and walked step by step toward the exit.
"The old blind man."
A voice from the other cell stopped the old man. A woman with wounds on her left arm that looked like eyes shouted, "Wait for me! I told you, when I get out, I'm going to cut off that fat pig's meatballs and soak them in wine!"
"Let's go, let's go..."
The old man continued to grope his way forward, when the woman grabbed his beard and shouted, "Come with me!"
As Lin Feng opened all the cells, Raine secretly leaned over and said, "Mr. Mage, he is Ern of the Dragon. He once killed a mercenary of a giant insect lord by himself during the Twin Flower outbreak. It is said that he has the blood of a dragon in his veins."
oh?
Lin Feng immediately became interested.
“That woman is Carole Lawson, Leam Lawson’s cousin. She is the rightful heir to Upper Dalles, but she disappeared ten years ago, which led to the existence of Leam Lawson.”
That's interesting; there are two people locked up in this prison.
Looking at Carole Lawson's arms, they're not as simple as they seem.
"You retreat, I'll go up and take a look." Lin Feng became somewhat interested. If there were two people holding the line, he would also like to know what was going on inside the main castle building and what methods were being used.
"We'll go with you!"
Renn stepped forward without hesitation, but Mar slapped him down: "What's the rush? Look at you guys now, are you going up there to die? In your current state, anyone could kill you!"
Upon being scolded by Mar, Renn immediately shrank back in fear.
"A whole group of people were tricked by a human. Once they got out of the river bend, they didn't care about anything anymore. Did they really think they would let us go?" After cursing, Mar calmed down a bit. "If it weren't for the magician helping me, I might not have made it back!"
The fact that such an important thing as the food inscription was revealed meant that anyone would know that the other party would never let such a secret be leaked. However, no one expected that these people would become so careless after feeling safe, and were followed all the way, only to be captured by a group of mercenaries halfway through their journey.
"Thank you." Renn lowered his head and thanked Lin Feng very obediently.
"You helped me too." Lin Feng patted the other person's arm and followed the old man in the direction he left.
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