When eight crossbows, evidently coated with poison, were aimed at Lynch, he felt uneasy. Even knowing that these things could never truly harm him and that they would be deflected away by certain defensive spells, never getting near his skin, the mage still found it discomforting.

Behind him, the fallen former thief leader—no matter what, the guy in front didn't seem ready to let him go—writhed continuously on the ground, making muffled sounds from his throat. Even if he scratched his throat with all his might, he couldn't break the silence spell cast by Lynch, so he couldn't cry out any pleas or defenses. Being unable to express oneself when one's life hangs by a thread is undoubtedly the most painful experience.

Lynch wasn't intentionally tormenting the guy who hadn't told him the truth. Otherwise, he had a pile of spells in his mind that could make the guy suffer immensely. The mage was too familiar with the nature of these street wanderers. They'd rather trust a fellow enemy than trust an unknown 'coachman' like him. No matter how kind or gentle he appeared, he couldn't earn their trust.

"Are we going to continue this standoff until our legs go numb, or will one of you find someone in charge?" Lynch calmly spoke to the eight crossbows, "I just need to know something regarding the Pate Temple, it's a..."

Perhaps the words 'Pate Temple' touched the tight nerves of these intruders, or some spell effect had been triggered. Before Lynch could finish his sentence, they almost simultaneously pulled the triggers in their hands. The black crossbow arrows shot towards the mage's body, only to be deflected by a circle of blue light, crashing into the surrounding walls.

"What are you doing?" Lynch understood that he could no longer maintain his coachman appearance. A normal carriage driver couldn't possibly stand still while deflecting eight crossbow attacks. He initially thought that the magical glow emanating from him would surprise the intruders and give him a chance to explain, but those masked people immediately dropped their crossbows and pulled out short wands.

Just by glancing at the patterns on the short wands in their hands, Lynch knew he faced a tricky situation. They were eight identical magic triggers, possibly containing fireball or lightning spells. Although an ordinary person's first thought would be "mage-made," the Mage Association rarely produced such things, as they didn't want large-scale magical troops to appear in any war. Therefore, these items were either fake, meant to scare an unknown mage like him, or some organization could mass-produce such things.

If it were the latter, then a certain thief guild must have mastered this technology to enhance the attack power of its men. From the blazing fire glue and blast bombs used everywhere in the passage combat, this thief guild didn't seem to lack technological expertise. Meanwhile, Lynch, considering the daily needs of these guys, immediately ruled out the kinds of spells unsuitable for covert action—those that would cause much noise and flash.

"Energy Immunity: Acid!" Lynch immediately chose the most likely type of attack spell, just as eight green acid arrows were fired from the tips of the short wands. These things not only burned the skin but also penetrated the internal organs, bringing prolonged pain and dissolving any resistance. They could even melt some metal tools, like locks the thieves didn't want to spend too much time picking.

Lynch was sure his opponents had other attack methods, likely to pull out a negative energy wand or a summoning wand next. But right now, he didn't want to waste too much time on these people, nor was he their target to test various wands. The Great Mage dispelled the transformation technique on himself, and his arcane staff immediately appeared, floating by his side. At the instant the energy of the acid arrows vanished from him, he raised his hand, and the arcane staff swiftly drew a complex glowing design in the air.

If it were an average mage, even drawing this design on paper would take several minutes, let alone drawing it accurately in the air without any omissions. Lynch activated the glowing matrix with just one word, and if anyone around understood Dragon Language, they'd know the word meant: "Stop."

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