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Lynn took one look and saw that the soldiers had dropped all their guns, immediately sensing that something was wrong.
Hovering in mid-air, he rapidly waved his wand, casting a powerful Muggle-Repelling Charm over the warehouse below and the surrounding area.
Invisible ripples spread outward, enveloping the warehouse and everything within a thousand-meter radius.
After casting the Spell, Lynn immediately lowered his altitude and landed in front of the warehouse's explosion-proof metal door.
"Alohomora!"
A white light lit up at the tip of his wand as he gently tapped the center of the door.
Buzz—
A low metallic tremor rang out, followed by the hiss of releasing air pressure. The heavy explosion-proof door, which normally required multiple layers of verification to open, slid open smoothly.
Without hesitation, Lynn slipped inside and flicked his wand behind him, causing the door to close silently once more.
Before him was an extremely spacious warehouse with an astonishingly high ceiling.
Rows of sturdy metal shelves were neatly arranged, stretching deep into the interior.
However, the shelves that should have been packed with "special ammunition" or "meteorological equipment" were now completely empty!
Only a few cargo straps hung there lonely, while dust and bits of packaging littered the floor, clearly showing that the place had been emptied only recently.
"Am I too late?" Lynn's heart sank as he quickly walked deeper inside.
Just as he reached the middle of the warehouse, near a section of particularly thick shelves seemingly used for storing large devices or launchers—
Crack!
A distinct crack of Apparition came from behind the shadows of the shelves ahead!
Lynn reacted instantly, darting silently toward the source of the sound!
He rounded a massive empty shelf, only to see the ripples of spatial distortion still dissipating in the air ahead.
And at the center of those ripples, a blurry dark figure had just completely vanished.
"Damn it!" Lynn couldn't help but curse as a surge of anger rushed to his head. "Stealing my prize?! Someone actually dared to steal from me?! I went through all that trouble to find this place, and you just emptied it out?!"
"Want to run? Not if I have anything to say about it! Levi! After them!"
The clear and melodious cry of a phoenix echoed through the empty warehouse! A brilliant golden-red light bloomed around Lynn as Levi instantly appeared on his shoulder.
A golden light flashed in its eyes, and it gently flapped its wings—
Whoosh!
The next moment, the light contracted, and the figures of the man and bird instantly vanished from the warehouse...
The intense sensation of spatial transition lasted only a brief moment.
When Lynn's figure reappeared, before he could even see his surroundings, the sense of crisis from Peters Jolt and Levi's warning struck him simultaneously!
"Master! Below!"
Lynn made an evasive maneuver almost instantly, flashing his body to one side!
As far as he could see, a figure below suddenly turned around, a metal tube shimmering with alchemical runes perched on their shoulder!
The muzzle was pointed directly at him!
"Take this!"
Boom—!
A blazing ball of light erupted from the muzzle, carrying a scorching heat wave and the pungent smell of sulfur as it blasted straight toward Lynn's face!
It was incredibly fast, almost impossible to avoid!
"Hmph!" Lynn snorted coldly, not panicking in the slightest.
Golden feathers rippled across Levi's wings with spatial waves.
The projectile flying toward them, the moment it touched the ripples, seemed to hit a trampoline and shot back along its original trajectory even faster!
"What?! No—!"
The attacker clearly hadn't expected such a bizarre counterattack and only managed to let out a terrified scream.
Boom!!!
The rebounding projectile slammed hard into another launcher-like device that had just been taken out, triggering a violent chain explosion!
Flames instantly swallowed the figure, and the shockwave surged back and forth through the narrow space, shaking loose rubble that rained down from above.
As the fire and dust gradually dissipated, Lynn and Levi slowly descended.
At the attacker's position, nothing remained but a scorched patch of ground and scattered bits of flesh and metal debris; the body was completely unrecognizable.
However, the attacker had left some belongings behind. A cloth bag had been tossed aside and had luckily escaped destruction, while several similar metal tubes and a shimmering piece of metal rolled out from it.
Lynn glanced indifferently at the pile of mangled flesh without the slightest trace of pity.
He quickly walked over to the bag.
"The items aren't here..."
Lynn frowned and rummaged through the remaining contents.
There were several rocket launchers. Lynn casually picked one up and infused a tiny amount of magic into it to activate it.
Swish—Bang!
A dark red energy beam shot out, blasting a small crater into the distant stone wall.
"The power and impact aren't even as good as one of my Explosion Charms." Lynn curled his lip and tossed it back into the bag; he had no use for such crudely made alchemical weapons.
Then his attention was drawn to the shimmering piece of metal.
He picked it up for a closer look.
Several clear symbols were engraved on it—it was Goblin script!
Lynn's Language Mastery allowed him to instantly understand the meaning:
Long Live Goblins.
"Long live Goblins?" Lynn wondered. "Is this Goblin territory? Or... is it some kind of entry token for a Goblin warehouse?"
He looked up and carefully observed his surroundings.
Beneath his feet was thick yellow sand, while the walls and "ceiling" above were built from huge bricks fired from sandy soil. The joints between the bricks were sealed with a black substance, exuding an ancient aura.
The air was incredibly dry, carrying dust and an indescribable smell.
The overall structure appeared ancient and crude, yet exceptionally sturdy; the previous explosion hadn't even shaken the main structure.
"Levi," Lynn said in a low voice, "sense where exactly we are right now."
Hearing this, Levi immediately closed its eyes as a soft golden-red light rippled around its body.
A few seconds later, Levi opened its eyes.
"Master, we are currently in an independent space. The external entry anchor for this space... should be located deep beneath the base of a quadrangular pyramidal building. The entrance is protected by strong concealment magic and physical mechanisms."
A pyramidal building? Beneath the base?
Lynn's lip twitched.
This description...
"A pyramid? Did we freaking leave the country again?! Did we end up in Egypt? Or is there a pyramid somewhere else?"
"Master! There's a strong spatial disturbance! Right at the far edge of this space! Someone is trying to Apparate away!"
Levi paused, the light in its eyes intensifying.
"I've interfered with and locked down the spatial stability of that area. They can't complete the Apparition for now and are stuck! But I can't hold it for long; the structure of this space itself is rejecting my lockdown!"
"Well done, Levi!" Lynn's spirits lifted as a cold light flashed in his eyes. "Finally caught a live one! Quick, take me there! I want to see who's pulling the strings behind the scenes and where they've hidden my 'goods'!"
With a clear cry from Levi and another flash of light, they vanished from the corner filled with yellow sand and mangled corpses...
They reappeared before an area at the edge of an ancient brick chamber where the spatial structure was slightly distorted. The ripples of Apparition in the air had not yet fully settled.
And at the center of these turbulent spatial ripples, several scrawny figures were "stuck" in an extremely comical posture.
Needless to say, they were three Goblins.
At that moment, they were waving their hands in vain, desperately trying to complete their Apparition or break free from the spatial "stagnation."
But Levi's confinement was like the toughest spiderweb, preventing them from moving forward or backward, leaving them able to do nothing but squirm and struggle in place.
Lynn calmly observed the trapped thieves.
"Yo~ everyone, stuck? That's quite a unique pose. Have you practiced that?"
The Goblins struggled even more violently the moment they saw Lynn emerge from the firelight.
But Lynn had no intention of giving them any chance.
With a flick of his wrist, his wand slid into his hand. He didn't cast a Spell directly; instead, he gently tapped the wand against his palm—
Clink-clank!
Amid several crisp metallic sounds, a few unremarkable metal rings that had been tightly clamped around the middle of the wand suddenly fell off!
They rapidly expanded as they dropped, transforming from finger-sized rings into several metal collars shimmering with a cold metallic sheen in the blink of an eye!
These were the same kind of collars Lynn had seized during the Valentine Troupe incident last year, capable of forcibly controlling a creature's movements.
After studying them in depth and combining them with Alchemy and Dark Arts contracts, he had created this batch of "Portable Master-Servant Contract Collar Version 2.0," which was more powerful, offered more thorough restraint, and possessed excellent camouflage.
Normally, they were disguised as decorative rings locked onto his wand.
"No! Please! Mr. Wizard!" the largest Goblin let out a shrill wail. No matter what the Wizard was holding, begging for mercy was always the correct choice.
"Let us go! We were only acting on orders! We'll give you everything!" another one cried out.
"You can't do this! The Goblin race won't—" The third tried to threaten him, but its voice trembled uncontrollably.
Lynn turned a deaf ear to their pleas and threats, waving his wand.
"Go!"
The metal collars instantly transformed into streaks of cold light, flying precisely toward the necks of the three Goblins!
The Goblins tried in vain to block them with their hands, but the collars quickly bypassed the obstacles and latched directly onto their skin.
Pssht!
Accompanied by a slight piercing sound, several probes covered in barbs and runes sprang out from the inside of each collar, stabbing without hesitation into the Goblins' carotid arteries and near their spinal nerves!
Blood immediately oozed out.
The Goblins let out short, shrill screams, their bodies twitching violently.
Immediately afterward, the previously dull gems in the center of the collars suddenly lit up as though infused with life!
A red light flashed and vanished, indicating that the collars had been successfully activated.
But just to be safe, Lynn decided to test them a little.
He looked at one of the Goblins still convulsing in pain from the collar implantation, his lips moving as he uttered a single word:
"Crucio!"
Buzz—!
Although no dazzling Spell light shot out, an extreme pain reaching deep into the soul was instantly applied to the designated Goblin through the collar's link!
"Aaaaaargh—!!!"
The Goblin arched its body violently, its eyes bulging and mouth stretched wide open, yet only tuneless rasps escaped its throat. Its limbs and fingers twitched frantically in ways that defied their joints!
Although the other two Goblins weren't directly cursed, they were terrified out of their wits, curling into balls and shivering, not even daring to glance at Lynn.
After a while, Lynn stopped the Spell.
The tortured Goblin collapsed onto the ground like a heap of mud, its chest still heaving violently, proving it was still alive, but its eyes had completely lost their luster, leaving behind nothing but boundless fear and submission.
"Good, it's functioning normally."
Lynn nodded in satisfaction and turned to Levi.
"Lift the lockdown, Levi. They're 'on our side' now."
Levi gave a soft cry and gently flapped its wings, causing the confined space to quickly return to normal.
The three Goblins immediately felt the oppressive weight disappear. That terrifying "stuck" sensation was gone, but they didn't dare entertain even the slightest thought of escaping or resisting.
After all... who knew what other functions those collars possessed? Their lives were far more important.
The largest Goblin struggled to its feet, its face now filled with terrified flattery and submissive respect.
Trembling, it untied a small, ordinary-looking cloth bag from its waist, raised it high above its head with both hands, and offered it to Lynn in a humble voice:
"Mas... Master. These are the things we took from the Muggle warehouse; they're all... all inside this Undetectable Extension Pouch. Please... please take a look."
Lynn took the bag. It was no larger than a palm, yet surprisingly heavy in his hand. He channeled a sliver of magic into it to scan the internal space.
"Whoa, boy."
Even though Lynn had been prepared, he still couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
The internal space of this Undetectable Extension Pouch was enormous; it was as if a small armory had been stuffed inside!
Shining heavy machine guns were stacked neatly beside several compact mortars and matching ammunition crates.
Various models of rocket launchers, individual anti-tank launchers, and even several military off-road vehicles with plenty of fuel and spare parts... altogether, it contained almost every type of medium and light infantry firepower equipment.
Of course, his primary targets were also there: several modified cannons fitted with precision dials and potion injection ports, along with dozens of special shells nearby marked with different chemical symbols and cloud-map logos.
These were clearly the special artificial rainfall equipment from the Meteorological Bureau Director's memories.
"Dood."
Lynn casually hung the small bag at his waist.
Then his gaze returned to the three trembling Goblins, and his tone became serious.
"Now answer my questions. First, what is this place? Second, why are you Goblins showing up at a Muggle military base to steal these things, and why are you hiding in this godforsaken place?"
The largest Goblin didn't dare conceal anything and immediately prostrated itself, answering rapidly:
"Reporting to Master! This... this is a ruin called the 'Sand Corridor.' It is a treasure vault and sacrificial site built by a powerful ancient Desert Goblin Lord.
We... we used secret passages passed down by our ancestors and paid a huge price to reopen the entrance. We came here to... to..."
It hesitated, but under the pressure of Lynn's gaze, it gritted its teeth and continued:
"It's to perform the 'Resurrection Ritual' to revive an ancient Goblin High Priest sleeping here! He possesses lost power and knowledge and can lead the Goblin race to once again..."
"Sand Corridor?" Lynn's heart skipped a beat. It really was this place!
He immediately interrupted the Goblin and pressed further.
"Have you found an ancient Runic scroll here? Or any related records?"
"A scroll?" The Goblin leader shook its head blankly. "Master, we haven't been here long and haven't searched deep enough for ancient texts or scrolls. Many areas here are..."
Before it could finish—
A sudden change occurred!
Without warning, a small cluster of dark flames erupted simultaneously from the chests of all three Goblins.
The flames instantly swept through their bodies from the inside out!
"Aaargh—!"
"No! A backlash?!"
"I don't want to die!"
The Goblins only had time to let out a few final screams before the flames consumed both their bodies and the metal collars they had just put on at a terrifying speed, burning them completely to nothing!
Not even ashes were left behind, as though their existence had been entirely erased from the world.
In the blink of an eye, only three rapidly dissipating wisps of dark flame remained before Lynn.
At the very same moment, a chilling killing intent instantly locked onto him, causing Lynn's expression to darken immediately.