Bine imagi in his mind. If he were to search this et unknowingly, the other party could easily unch a sudden attack using the cover of clothes. If unsuccessful, they could jump out the window to escape...

  This was undoubtedly the best hiding p the entire room!

  Realizing this, Bine didn't hesitate for a sed and uhed his sword without warning...

  The soft hum of the sword bde sliding against the scabbard rang out in the room...

  In an instant, the silver-white bde pierced the wooden et like a khrough butter. Then, with a horizontal ssh, the sealed et was cut open!

  Wood chips mixed with shredded cloth scattered into the air. However, the expected se of blood gushing did not appear...

  Bine frowned slightly, a bit surprised. Did he misjudge? Was the target this time simply careless ahese things behind in the room?

  Andre, who was startled by his panion's sudden sword draw, was about to mock Bine for his misjudgment when a short sword suddeended from the narro between the bookshelf and the wall, aiming directly at Andre's neck!

  It was Lynn who made the move!

  When Andre and Bine discovered the money and manuscripts oable, Lynn knew he couldn't avoid this enter.

  The narro he was hiding in was not covered at all, relying solely on shadows and visual misdire for cealment.

  This was undoubtedly a very dangerous pce, but the two came too quickly. Having just experienced a crossing, Lynn's mind was in utter chaos, and he didn't have time to find a better hiding spot or make arras. He didn't even have time to pick up the part that had fallen on the ground.

  Ohe two discovered that there was no one hiding in the et and started searg the room carefully, they would find him soon.

  So Lynn struck without hesitation!

  sidering the lethality, Lynn did not use the already mastered, modified "Frost Bde." Within three steps, the short sword was far more reliable than the "magic" he had mastered!

  He chose the moment when Andre saw the flying wood chips and rexed his mind!

  However, this seemingly certain strike missed. The moment Lynn struck, a strong sense of crisis surged into Andre's heart.

  Before joining the Witch Hunt Squad, Andre was a renowned merary, stantly walking the edges of life ah. This ingrained feeling was all too familiar to Andre!

  His keen instinct saved him once again. At the moment the short sword sshed down, Andre barely twisted his body, avoiding being beheaded.

  But Lynn's ambush was too quick. Even though Andre moved to evade immediately, he couldn't pletely avoid it; the sharp short sword left a deep wound on his neck!

  Scarlet blood tinuously gushed from the wound. Andre was both shocked and furious. The pain from his neck warned him that he was almost dead!

  "Bastard!" Andre roared in fury, swinging his sword down to split Lynn in two.

  The strike was both quid heavy. Lynn barely had time to react, but his body naturally made a defensive move. The sound of sword and bde g echoed tinuously in the room, causing oeeth to ache.

  Before this, Lynn had never drawn a sword to attaeone before. But fortunately, the inal Carl was well-trained, and his muscle memory still existed.

  Carl used this excellent swordsmanship to deter the ill-iioned neighbors in the slums!

  However, this time his oppo was not an untraihief, but a witch hunter armed with Divine Power, far mile than ordinary people and ruthless in his attacks...

  Andre's swordsmanship was unsystematic, but each strike was vicious. After just three cshes, Lynn's hands were in intense pain, almost uo hold the short sword steady.

  "Die!" Andre roared, sweeping his long ko knock the short sword aside, extending his left hand with thiuckles to grip Lynn's throat tightly.

  With his throat clutched, Lynn's face turned red, and his sciousness quickly began to blur.

  [Warning, target of the pact is under severe life threat. Acc to Article 37 of the Federal Intelligence Ma Act, the w enfort personnel will be automatically tacted...]

  The sudde sound in his mind pulled Lynn's sciousness back from the abyss, igniting a glimmer of hope in his heart.

  [Warning... no signal... Warning... failed to ect to the work... please proceed to the high point to search for a satellite signal and promptly call the Federal emergency hotline...]

  Shit!

  Lynn cursed inwardly, remembering that he had crossed worlds. He couldn't even be sure he was in the same universe.

  Damn, he should have saved the money he spent on the new ship and upgraded this annoying traption's intelligence... Where was he going to find a satellite signal now?

  Even if he could, would the Federal officers e flying in to rescue him?

  But at this moment, Lynn had no time frets. The hand gripping his throat tightened like the grasp of the grim reaper.

  [Warning... no signal, activating emergency protocol, analyzing highest survival probability. Based on user agreement, autonomously eg to neural work...]

  The alert sound in his mind became more urgent, yet Lynn couldn't hear it anymore. He felt as if his brain was exploding, his soul seemingly detag from his body, the world in a straate.

  Lynn's dispersed spiritual power spread like ripples, and his perception of elements grew increasingly clear...

  ...

  "Brown hair, bck eyes, looks like we've found the right person." Seeing that Andre had easily subdued the target, Bine released his grip on the sword hilt, gng at Lynn a few times.

  "Quite capable, little mouse. Since you're so good at hiding, let's cut off a hand and a leg..." Andre said with a sinister smile, toug the bloodstain on his neck with his left hand.

  Whether it was an illusion or not, Andre vaguely felt that it was being hard to breathe, and the anger kept rising.

  If it weren't for the thought that a living person was worth more than a dead one, Andre would have killed Lynn immediately.

  For his panion's cruel suggestion, Bine wasn't surprised. He casually reminded, "Just cut off a hand. Otherwise, you'll have to figure out how to carry him back. Make sure you do it ly, so he doesn't bleed out on the way!"

  Andre, who had his back to Bine, couldn't respond. His face was turning purple and blue. The long knife in his left hand fell heavily to the ground. His previously chaotic breathing became even more bored, and now he looked like a fish out of water, feeling as if his lungs would burst.

  Ten years ago, when he was swallowed by a massive whirlpool in the Mist Sea, Andre had experiehis suffog, death-craviion. Breathing was a luxury. If it weren't for his good luck, he might have rested at the bottom of the sea.

  But now, he wasn't uhe deep sea, and the attack just now didn't seem to have cut his trachea...

  Andre gasped for air, yet his dition did not improve at all—instead, it worsened. His gray eyes bulged in their sockets.

  What kind of witchcraft is this? Andre immediately uood that the wizard apprenti front of him to something, but the severe suffog reaade him miss the ce to retaliate. The grip on Lynn's neck became weaker.

  At the same time, Lynn, with his head lowered, suddenly moved. His tightly shut eyes snapped open, and at that moment, all the oxygen around him was drained away. A short sword shot upward, stabbing directly into Ahroat!