I Pioneered Scientific Magic

Chapter 441: A Thousand-Mile Rescue, The Empire's Witch Hunt Movement

In the City of Fire Oil, within a laboratory in the estate, Lynn pondered while listing formulas. Unbeknownst to him, the night had passed until his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in," Lynn rubbed his head, gradually freeing his mind from the multitude of formulas, and looked towards the door.

"My Lord Dean," entered Pearce.

"What's the matter?" Lynn asked.

"It's news from within the Empire, Speaker Harof sent me to inquire about your thoughts," Pearce hesitated to speak.

"The Empire?"

Lynn couldn't help but pause, various speculations flashed through his mind.

It couldn't possibly be that the Holy See is launching another major attack, could it? If so, it would mean that Aila has undoubtedly found a way to decipher nuclear magic, which is undoubtedly the worst news.

Fortunately, Pearce quickly explained that it wasn't an attack launched by the Holy See, but the most terrifying witch hunt movement in history within the Empire itself, fueled by the propaganda of priests and bishops!

Originally, although wizards within the Empire were hunted down and not well-received, as long as they didn't display magic or engage in nefarious human experimentation or sacrificial rituals, capable wizards could still manage to survive.

Those who fared better would collaborate with local nobles, assisting them in handling some unsavory matters. Those less fortunate, like his mentor Coruna, would deceive wealthy apprentices into supporting their magical research under false identities.

However, with the spread of apocalyptic beliefs, fear of wizards among believers and ordinary people intensified by the day, and nobles dared not risk further cooperation. This led to the exposure of large numbers of hidden wizards.

According to scouts' reports, dozens of massacres of wizards had already occurred in the western border alone.

"Many wizards are now preparing to flee to the kingdom, and even a wizard mutual aid organization has been established in the west, and the Council is considering whether to send airships to assist them," Pearce truthfully recounted all the information he had gathered.

Lynn hesitated for a moment. Sending airships into the Empire was undoubtedly a very dangerous move!

The leading Archbishop shouted loudly, with a large number of knights already ready with their crossbows, and for a while, a fierce rain of arrows appeared in the dense forest.

Most of the arrows were blocked by spells, or shot into the tree trunks and bushes, but there were gains as well. A young apprentice, unable to dodge, was pierced by several arrows and fell to the ground, silent in an instant.

"Amon!" An older witch's eyes widened, surrounded by flames, forming several fireballs with a piercing whistle, flying out.

The intense explosion shredded dozens of knights in the front, but the next moment, more crossbow bolts flew out from the smoke and fire, breaking through the witch's protective spells cast by three bishops and blasting her into a mist of blood.

Seeing the sacrifice of formal wizards and the inability to even slightly block the opponent's offensive, the fleeing wizards were chilled to the bone.

The continuous rain of arrows continued, perhaps fearing the powerful and mysterious magic of the wizards, the knights did not engage in close combat, only continuously consuming their magical powers from a distance.

Occasionally, someone would fall out of exhaustion, or be shot and fall to the ground.

"Lord Lucas, what should we do now?" Several fleeing wizards anxiously asked, knowing that if they continued like this, everyone would die here.

"Those damned traitors!" A male witch named Lucas also cursed.

Originally, their establishment of the mutual aid association was to cope with the increasingly severe persecution by the Holy See, planning how to safely escape to the Kingdom of Hadralata, said to be ruled by wizards.

But they didn't expect that there were traitors within who betrayed the location of their meeting. The church had long since ambushed them there and, seizing the opportunity while they were discussing, launched a surprise attack. After experiencing repeated fierce battles, more than three hundred wizards and a large number of apprentices suffered heavy casualties, with only a few hundred managing to escape.

Lucas was burning with anger but also helpless, he could only speak to console.

"Everyone, hold on a little longer, as long as we reach the City of Fire Oil, we'll be safe. It's a territory belonging to the wizards."

"When we get there, we won't have to worry about the Holy See's pursuit anymore, nor do we need to hide our identities. We can openly practice magic..." Lucas continued to talk about the beautiful life ahead.

Although he couldn't be sure whether the news was true or not now, he had to stabilize the situation. If everyone lost hope, they would really be finished.