Chapter 83: The Other Side of the World


    "So, that''s how it is? I see. I''ve learned something today," Leya said.


    Leya looked at Lynn with a somewhat strange expression. He was highly skeptical that Lynn had been aw enforcer beforeing to thend of the wizards, as he seemed even more skilled at investigating leads than Leya himself.


    "Here are five magic coins. Help me deliver them to Rael''s family," Lynn took out some magic coins from his pocket and handed them to Darren.


    Since Rael was likely attacked due to the airship, he needed to respond in some way. Otherwise, no one would be willing to help him in the future. However, the investigation itself would ultimately be in the hands of Leya, thew enforcer. Lynn didn''t have his own intelligence agents, didn''t know which apprentices fit the described criteria, and couldn''t personally track them down one by one.


    Lynn now realized that, despite gaining some reputation over the past half-month, he had few resources at his disposal. Gathering information was proving to be a challenge.


    In light of this, Lynn had no choice but to remind Darren, Lydia, and the others to be extra cautious and never act alone. If the other party failed to take Rael away, they might make their next move. A wizard apprentice was likely just a pawn in the grand scheme.


    They spent the morning in the alley but couldn''t find more clues, so the group dispersed. As for the body, Leya took it back to thew enforcement office, hoping to find additional clues that had been missed before.


    On their way back to the workshop, the moods of Lydia and herpanions were quite somber. The joy they had felt from creating the airship and earning a significant number of magic coins hadpletely dissipated. However, they followed Lynn''s instructions and drained the airship''s gas dder.


    Then, Lynn personally reced the hydrogen gas inside the dder with helium. Both gases could provide enough lift for the airship. Hydrogen was chosen initially because it was easy to obtain, but it was also highly mmable and explosive, which made it suitable for Lydia''s trial in Herlram.


    Additionally, Lynn had another small idea. If the airship''s design ns were leaked, and someone constructed another airship using the same method, it would leave a fatal vulnerability. All someone had to do was puncture the dder and ignite it, turning the airship into a ming ball in the sky.


    Lynn considered this while leaving the workshop. He was about to return to Iyeta Academy when he spotted someone unexpected waiting outside the door.


    "Mr. Loude, is there something you want from me?" Lynn stopped in his tracks, looking at the person waiting at the door and inquiring.


    "I have some information that may be of interest to you, Lord Lynn. Would you care to listen?" Loude, hunched over, spoke with great respect. He seemed more like a noble''s butler than the leader of a criminal organization.


    Lynn stared at Loude for a moment and said indifferently, "Let''s find a quieter ce to talk."


    He didn''t choose to return to the academy because, in his eyes, it wasn''t a particrly private location.


    "Please follow me, Lord Lynn." Loude''s face showed a hint of surprise, and he eagerly led the way for Lynn.


    The two of them crossed the streets on the west side and the central square, emerging from a narrow alley into the southern district, which Lynn had never visited before.


    Lynn looked around at everything. Since he had arrived in Iyeta Harbor, he had seen bustling and orderly scenes everywhere. However, the southern district was different. Here, there were only short buildings and dpidated wooden shacks. Most of the people wore numb and anxious expressions. For a moment, Lynn even wondered if he had returned to the Secas Empire.


    If there was anything simr to the outside world here, it was the order!


    Despite the old and rundown buildings, they were still constructed ording to specific patterns.


    "I didn''t expect Iyeta to have a ce like this," Lynn said in astonishment.


    What was this? The slums of the city?


    "I think it''s not just Iyeta Harbor; ces like this exist in any city on this continent," Loude said with a touch of nostalgia. "As long as those noble gentlemen continue to live their extravagant lives, these ces will persist."


    Lynn nced at him, feeling that there was more to Loude''s words because thend of the wizards had no nobility.


    Loude also realized the implied meaning in his words and quickly added, "In reality, the situation here is much better than within the Secas Empire. In Iyeta, very few people starve, and theoretically... even physically handicapped paupers can receive enough relief food to survive."


    "Relief food? There''s such a welfare system?" Lynn was quite surprised. The entirend of the wizards was essentially a giant ind, and there should be limited arablend avable.


    With Loude''s exnation, Lynn finally understood that all the farnd in thend of the wizards was magically developed. Elemental wizards even devised specialized enhancement spells to increase crop yields, so food production was double that of the outside world.


    Lynn, dressed in magnificent robes, looked out of ce in the entire southern district. Soon, he attracted various types of gazes – envy, jealousy, or inexplicable... hatred!


    However, as Lynn''s gaze swept over them, everyone on the street became submissive and humble.


    One person, in particr, caught Lynn''s attention. He was a middle-aged man in his thirties, blind in one eye, with an unevenly developed body –rger on the right side and smaller on the left. His right hand had five fingers that resembled monstrous ws.


    Once they had walked some distance away, Lynn turned to Loude and asked, "Who was that person just now?"


    Could it be that there were races like half-beasts on this continent?


    But why had he never heard of them before?


    Loude hesitated for a moment and whispered, "They are what some of the noble wizards call ''defects.''"


    "Defects?" Lynn paused.


    "I''ve heard some noble wizards refer to them that way," Loude lowered his voice and exined, "These people are products of the magical workshops, and the rumors say they are connected to a wizard skilled in shapeshifting magic... for ten magic coins, anyone can undergo one transformation. However, the sess rate is very low, and bing a ''defect'' is already considered very lucky."


    Of course, the term ''defects'' was just a derogatory nickname among the wizards. In reality, creatures like this could easily ughter ordinary people, as simple as ughtering chickens and sheep.


    In the southern district, there was no shortage of individuals willing to do anything for power. Magic within thend of the wizards was everything, and if one could seed in such a transformation, they would ascend to powerparable to an official wizard!


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