703 - 711

Chapter 703: Come Out

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Merlin, I have a request."

Gutt, who looked weary, said with some hesitation.

"Oh? You want me to spare the Dougland clan?

Of course, Merlin had already guessed Gutt's meaning. A trading family was not that important to Merlin. Moreover, the Dougland clan had a lot of influence in trade. Since they were able to contribute so much to the Church, they could provide the same support to the Kingdom of Blackmoon.

Hence, he nodded and said, "I'll ask His Majesty King Bhutto XXVII to bestow you the title of Marquis from the Kingdom of Blackmoon. I believe that with this Marquis title, your clan's status would be secured in the Kingdom of Blackmoon!"

Gutt was very touched. Marquis was one level above the title of Count bestowed to him by the Holy Light Empire. Moreover, with Merlin's word, surely no one would dare to bring up the Dougland clan's past.

After all, based on Gutt's savviness, he had already guessed, from the words and actions of the other Spell Casters, the extent of his former good friend Merlin's achievements.

"Thank you, Merlin. The only burden I have left is the welfare of my descendants. With your word, I'm rest assured. However, I think you should visit an old friend."

"Old friend? Do you mean Anson?"

Merlin recalled the red-haired youth from his memories.

Gutt shook his head. "Anson is dead, killed by his oldest brother, just for the title…"

This was a matter that Gutt obviously did not want to talk about. After Anson's death, his family was also wiped out due to war. Witnessing the death of a good friend was naturally devastating for Gutt.

Merlin, on the other hand, looked serene. The Normies only had a few decades of time. If he did not return to Blackwater City at this time, and came back a few years later instead, perhaps, all the people he knew would already be dead.

"Not Anson but Lady Carise! I don't know what happened between the two of you but after you left Blackwater City, Lady Carise did not marry. In the end, she inherited the Mandy clan. Although she has never mentioned you, every time I reminisce about memories related to you, her eyes would gleam brightly…"

Listening to Gutt's explanation, Merlin began to recall in his mind, his interaction with Carise. Although he had only met her briefly a few times, she played a pivotal role in Merlin's life. It was Carise who had introduced Merlin to Old Man Etha, and with that, Merlin embarked on his Spell Caster journey.

Otherwise, Merlin would not have been exposed to any Spell Casters and spells.

However, he did not expect that after so many years, a person whom he barely remembered had been waiting long-sufferingly for him for the past few decades.

"Where is she?"

After a long pause, Merlin asked.

"At Mandy Castle in Blackwater City. She's gravely ill. I'm afraid she won't survive more than a few days…"

Gutt was about to say something but stopped. Finally, he did not say anything, and simply heaved a long sigh.

Outside the castle, little Andie was gleefully playing with the three-headed dragon as an "oversized pet". The guards watched over little Andie with a pained expression. They dared not get close to the three-headed dragon, so they could only allow little Andie to perform all sorts of "dangerous" stunts on the terrifying three-headed dragon.

Gutt was old while little Andie's life was yet to begin. This was the life cycle of the Normies…

…

Deep in the night, there was an uninvited guest outside an ancient castle. With his black robes, Merlin completely blended into the night. Without raising any alarm, he silently flew into Mandy Castle.

His Mind Power swept across the castle, and immediately identified Carise's room.

"Cough cough."

A coughing fit sounded from the room. Quickly, maidservants busied themselves, seeming to care for Lady Carise until she fell asleep, before leaving the room.

No one noticed that the door was pushed open silently. Carise, who had just fallen asleep, did not raise her head. She said with a hoarse voice, "Betty, didn't I tell you to rest? I don't need you to watch over me, I'm fine…"

Carise's face was pale, and her white hair was scattered loosely across her shoulders. Due to her disease, she looked especially fragile. This was an old person who was on her deathbed.

After waiting for a moment, it seemed like there was no movement, so Carise frowned and turned around to open her eyes. At that moment, her mind blanked out. Her mouth was wide open yet no words fell out.

This figure, she had dreamt of it many times. This time, it also seemed like a dream.

"Carise!"

However, unlike her previous dreams, this person spoke. Even though his voice was quite cold, Lady Carise was visibly excited.

"You… You're Merlin?"

At this time, Carise finally realized that this was not a dream. The only thing was, seeing Merlin's appearance made her feel slightly disoriented.

"I'm back. I just went to Gutt's and heard about you…"

That was all Merlin said. He could feel that Carise was in a terrible situation. Her life force was draining so severely that she should be dead by now. It seemed that she was surviving on sheer will.

Carise continued to stare at Merlin. A surge of strength seemed to gush out of her body and supported her to sit up on the bed. Merlin helped Carise gently. After a moment, she smiled. "I already knew back then, when you became Mr. Etha's disciple, you would become extraordinary. Back then, Mr. Etha was a Spell Caster, and because of him, you also became a Spell Caster, right?"

Merlin nodded and said, "That's right, without Teacher Etha, I wouldn't become a Spell Caster. Perhaps, like Gutt, my life would be over just like that."

"There's nothing wrong with living just a short life. For me, being able to see you at the very end is fulfilling enough. Gutt also had a good life…"

Carise chattered with Merlin for a long time, and seemed like she had a lot to tell him. They spoke of many interesting things that had happened over the years.

The night grew late. A sweet smile appeared on Carise's face. Her breath became weaker as she stretched out a withered hand and held Merlin gently. Her rough skin was no longer as tender as it was in her youth.

"Hoo…"

A cold breeze blew in from outside the window and ruffled Merlin's hair. He did not feel cold but there was an unspeakable feeling in his heart.

Carise's hand drooped down. There was no more life force in her body. Just a moment ago, she had unknowingly passed away. Nevertheless, she looked completely peaceful right before she died.

The lifespans of Normies were as short as candlelight – just a few decades long. However, living a peaceful life was highly desired by most people. Perhaps, one day, Old Wilson and Charise would also pass away with a smile on their faces.

At this moment, Merlin's heart seemed to grow lonelier. It was the type of loneliness that only a Spell Caster would feel, and it was eating away at his heart. The initial excitement of returning to Blackwater City had faded away completely. All that was left was an indescribable sense of loneliness. It felt as if this world no longer contained anything he held dear.

Blackwater City was where he had started his journey. Perhaps, it would also mark the end of his involvement in this world!

Merlin gently covered Carise with a quilt, and exited Mandy Castle as silently as he came. No one knew he was ever there. A strong wind was blowing outside the castle. The faint candlelight glow from inside the castle cast shadows of the trees outside.

"Rustle."

A breeze blew against a big tree. Merlin walked alone on the dark road outside the castle. The faint candlelight gradually stopped illuminating the road, and Merlin disappeared into the darkness.

Suddenly, Merlin halted his steps. With a calm tone, he spoke, "Since you're here, why bother hiding? Come on out!"

In the dark, silent night, Merlin's voice was carried by the wind and rang out all around him…

Chapter 704: Will Descends!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Swish swish."

The pliant trees swayed non-stop in the wind. However, out of the blue, two white-robed figures emerged below the big swaying trees.

Despite their pristine white robes, they were barely visible in the dark. Merlin had only "discovered" them using his Mind Power.

This place was quite a distance away from Mandy Castle. Even Merlin did not know how long these figures had been waiting here but it definitely was not a short time.

"You've been here since a while ago. Why didn't you attack before I entered the castle?"

Merlin stared at these two figures. Judging from the aura on their bodies, Merlin easily spotted the fluctuation of divine energy, so he was immediately able to deduce their identities – Divine Believers!

Moreover, the only possible threats from the Church of Light that would challenge Merlin were the Divine Believers.

"Earlier, you were visiting a dying person. God will forgive everyone who is sincere, her soul will return into God's embrace…"

Merlin shook his head. He had nothing to say to these zealots.

"Swish."

Merlin's figure flashed and appeared right before the two Divine Believers. With an outstretched hand, wisps of Magic Power began to gather. Then, like a large net, it flew toward the two men.

These two Divine Believers also seemed prepared. A pure white holy light appeared around the bodies. Then, like a sharpened arrow, it pierced through Merlin's Magic Power net.

"Oh? Not bad, you're much stronger than Bonnet."

There was a hint of surprise on Merlin's face. These two Divine Believers were noticeably stronger than Bonnet back in Imperial City. They were almost comparable to a three- or four-Maxim Great Legend.

Obviously, through some unknown methods, the Lord God of Light had enhanced the powers of these two men. However, such a forced enhancement also came with a steep price of their lives.

"Your powers have been greatly enhanced but it has exceeded your body's physical limitations. Although you may be very powerful now, it's consuming your life force every single moment. This, even the God of Light cannot undo!"

Merlin sneered as he told them slowly.

"Death is but returning into God's embrace. We're not afraid!"

The two Divine Believers were completely unshaken. On the contrary, the holy light on their bodies grew even more intense.

"Hmph!"

Merlin snorted with derision. These zealots were simply a bunch of lunatics. This was also the gods' danger. As long as the believers worshipped the gods, they were willing to submit their mind and body to them. Ironically, this was quite similar to the Illusory Heart realm, out of the three main realms of Hallucinating spell that Titus had conceived. However, the Illusory Heart realm forcibly controlled an opponent's mind, and used it to manipulate his actions. The gods, on the other hand, were very subtle, slowly encouraging their believers to submit their minds to them voluntarily.

Merlin did not plan to show them any more mercy. The elements on his body began to fluctuate wildly.

"Boom."

Behind Merlin, a huge multi-colored Wizard Heart appeared, whipping up a massive gale. At the same time, the surrounding elements seemed to be ignited by Merlin and turned incredibly vicious. Most importantly, they were all controlled by Merlin.

An invisible pressure pressed against the bodies of these two Divine Believers.

This was the first time Merlin revealed his multi-colored Wizard Heart to anyone. It was probably the most powerful Wizard Heart among all the Spell Casters. No one could compare to Merlin's Wizard Heart.

"Fire!"

Merlin pointed a finger. Instantly, Fire Elements fluctuated violently and transformed the surroundings into a sea of fire. The flames blazed so intensely that even the holy light was about to be burnt.

Based on Merlin's current understanding of fire, he was not in any way inferior to the Great Legends who had consolidated a Maxim. It was only inferior to an ultimate Maxim.

Added with Merlin's might of multi-colored Wizard Heart, naturally, he was able to suppress these two Divine Believers.

Faced with Merlin's formidable powers, the two Divine Believers also unleashed their full strength. Layers of cloud-like holy light wrapped around them tightly, resisting the power of Merlin's flames.

After some time, the faith of the two Divine Believers seemed to become more fixated and devout. Correspondingly, their powers seemed to grow stronger. Even Merlin's Wizard Heart and flames were almost unable to suppress them.

"Light? Light will eventually dim. Since you claim to be the power of light, maybe you should taste Darkness for once."

With a slight vibration from Merlin's multi-colored Wizard Heart, the endless flames receded quickly. Soon, concentrated Darkness Elements amid the night sky became unusually active.

"Hoo…"

Darkness descended like a black fog. Despite the dark surroundings to begin with, the emergence of this black fog blocked out every particle of light. Even Mind Power was unable to penetrate it.

Merlin's Darkness spell was wielded by his Wizard Heart. Additionally, nighttime was when Darkness Elements were at their peak. Thus, once wielded, the effect and power of the spell were further enhanced.

In an instant, the dazzling holy light was completely covered by darkness. The two Divine Believers also paled. The holy light on their bodies was unable to penetrate this thick blanket of Darkness Elements.

"Go."

Besides the blanket of Darkness Elements, Merlin had also hidden an Ice-type spell in his Darkness-type spell. The Ice Elements slowly crept onto the bodies of the two Divine Believers, almost freezing their holy light.

This was the wonder of the Wizard Heart. Since all his spells had been combined, the spells complemented each other, and switching between spells became completely instinctive. Furthermore, there would not be any clashes between spells.

"Crack.,"

Layers of ice crystal spread rapidly toward the two Divine Believers. At Merlin's current level of abilities, if he were to challenge these two greatly enhanced Divine Believers before fusing the Darkness-type Wizard Heart, it would be very difficult. Perhaps, he might even be in a disadvantaged situation.

However, now that he had combined all his Wizard Hearts into one, and consolidated the multi-colored Wizard Heart, he was a full-fledged Great Wizard. Merlin's abilities were only second to the Great Legends. He was not at all inferior compared to his teacher, Legend Zado!

Therefore, these two Divine Believers were obviously not comparable opponents. They were completely defenseless.

"O' Almighty God of Light, your most devout believer prays that you bestow an even more powerful strength!"

Suddenly, the two Divine Believed wrapped in darkness began to chant. At the same time, Merlin's Mind Power could clearly see that one of the Divine Believers was looking zealously devout, and then, the holy light on his body began to burn quickly.

At the same time, a terrifying power was brewing as if it would explode at any time.

"Boom."

The holy light exploded and pierced through Merlin's Darkness spell. One of the Divine Believers sacrificed his life to temporarily break through Merlin's binding spell.

"How is this useful?"

Merlin looked at the dead Divine Believer. Despite sacrificing his life, it would not change the outcome of this fight. There was only one Divine Believer left now, so it would be impossible for him to escape.

"Hum".

At this exact moment, the entire space around them seemed to quiver slightly. An unbelievable burst of power seemed to burst forth from a faraway place.

"This… This opens part of the seal?"

Merlin's face shifted drastically. He finally understood that Divine Believer sacrificed his life not only to break through Merlin's binding spell but more importantly, to break the seal placed on the Glorious Land by the three Great Ultimate Arcane Wizards.

After all, this seal was placed on the outside. Therefore, it was much easier to destroy the seal of the three Great Ultimate Arcane Wizards from inside the Glorious Land. Thus, simply by detonating a most powerful force, it was possible to crack open the seal on the Glorious Land for a short time.

Leveraging on this tiny crack, the Lord God of Light aimed directly at the other Divine Believer. Each Divine Believer was like a set of coordinates, and could be easily located by the Lord God of Light.

A chilling aura emanated from the last Divine Believer. His power was increasing continuously. Merlin could sense that this Divine Believer's life force was draining away quickly.

However, compared to the loss of life force, Merlin was more concerned about the loss of will in this Divine Believer. Fortunately, the Divine Believer's aura did not increase endlessly. Just as he was about the same level as a middle rank god, the seal of the three Great Ultimate Arcane Wizards closed again.

In such a short time that the seal was broken, the Lord God of Light grasped the opportunity to transmit his power into the Glorious Land. So, he must have been prepared.

His aim was to kill Merlin!

"Truly a foolish and insane zealot!"

Merlin shook his head helplessly. There was nothing he had left to say to such zealots. The only way was to kill them all!

"No, how could you call the zealots foolish and insane? They are my most devout believers, willing to submit their everything to me. Allowing me to descend onto their bodies is their greatest honor!"

This manner of speech no longer belonged to the Divine Believer!

"The Lord God of Light?"

Merlin's expression sunk. Even he did not expect the worst-case scenario to be possible. The Lord God of Light had managed to use such a tactic to forcefully descend onto the Glorious Land.

Of course, this was only a fragment of his will that occupied the Divine Believer's body. As a result, even though the divine energy possessed by this Divine Believer had not reached the level of a middle rank god, with the descend of the Lord God of Light's will, he became comparable to a middle rank god.

It was not surprising that Merlin had sensed a peculiar aura from this Divine Believer. It turned out that he was harboring the Lord God of Light's will to descend onto the Glorious Land.

"That's right. The Glorious Land is indeed wondrous, to be able to give birth to such a powerful Spell Caster as you!"

Up to now, the Lord God of Light thought that Merlin was born in the Glorious Land. In reality, Merlin was indeed a Spell Caster from the Glorious Land but due to a series of fortunate events, ended up in the Void Zone, and later returned to the Glorious Land.

Sensing the mightiness of the Lord God of Light's will avatar, Merlin knew that he was in trouble!

Chapter 705: The Will Avatar!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Lord God of Light was still an ultimate existence, comparable to Arcane Wizards. Even if it was just a portion of his will which had arrived, it was a significant power. Therefore, Merlin dared not act carelessly.

"Ice Seal!"

Merlin pointed and gusts of chilly air froze the surrounding space. The temperature dropped to an extreme. At the same time, Merlin's body was enveloped in fierce winds. In one stride, he had crossed hundreds of meters, circling behind the Lord God of Light.

"Silencing Ray!"

Darkness Eye in Merlin's palm shot out a blood-red beam of light while an enormous and eerie face unfolded behind him.

"Chi-chi-chi."

As the chilly wind swept toward the Lord God of Light, it was blocked by a ray of holy light. As for Silencing Ray, it carried a destructive force with fearsome penetrating powers. It was fast as well. If one was caught off guard, even a formidable Great Legend would be injured.

However, now that it faced the avatar Lord God of Light's will, the might of Silencing Ray was somewhat inadequate. It was not even able to break down the layer of holy light.

Seeing that it was ineffective, Merlin became even more cautious, and the Elemental fluctuations around his body grew more vigorous. That gigantic multi-colored Wizard Heart gradually materialized behind him as well.

When the Lord God of Light noticed the multi-colored Wizard heart behind Merlin, his eyes flashed with a strange look. It was likely because not even he had seen such a powerful Wizard Heart before.

"Boom."

Boundless flames began to burn furiously, accompanied by a gale which swept toward the target. Merlin's utilization of his Magic Power was only one of his moves. His Mind Power was mobilized as well.

Moreover, since he knew how powerful the Lord God of Light was, Merlin directly mobilized the Illusory World.

"Titus, the Lord God of Light's will has arrived. If we don't defeat his will, we'll be in danger!"

Following that, the Illusory World was released with a bang. Instantly, the Lord God of Light sensed a unique force. That invisible Mind Power began to influence his will, attempting to entrap his will into the illusion.

Thereafter, flames and wind crashed into the Lord God of Light. This was practically Merlin's greatest attack, combined with the Illusory World. Merlin found it hard to imagine any Legend who could withstand this.

"Ah… This isn't good. Merlin, the Lord God of Light's will is too tenacious. The Illusory World is nearly about to be torn apart by this will. Quickly withdraw the Illusory World!"

Titus' voice was somewhat trembling. The Illusory World was still his foundation. Once it was shattered, he would vanish completely, with zero possibility of being "resurrected".

Merlin withdrew the Illusory World just in time. To him, even if he had not broken through the realm of Hallucinating spells, the Illusory World was still of vital importance. In the future, if he were to break through, this would be immensely helpful for him to complete the Illusory World and save a lot of time.

Furthermore, Merlin understood from Titus' words that the Illusory World mainly targeted Mind Power, consciousness, and so on. Currently, their opponent was a strand of will from the Lord God of Light. Even though it was just a portion of his will, hoping to trap it in an illusion was akin to trapping the Lord God of Light himself into an illusion. This was totally impossible.

Therefore, there was no further point in using the Illusory World.

After he retracted the Illusory World, Merlin's multi-colored Wizard Heart immediately felt a bout of vibrations. The powerful tremors and unseen pressure from all directions made Merlin realize that this was the counterattack of the Lord God of Light's will avatar.

"Boom."

Indeed, the gale and flames up ahead were thoroughly smashed by a brutal beam of holy light. The Lord God of Light stood high up in thin air, just as if the actual god had arrived, filled with invisible, oppressive power.

"God's Punishment!"

The Lord God of Light pointed at Merlin and a mighty beam of holy light sliced down. This was truly God's Punishment because the Lord God of Light was a great god who had established a god organization.

"Power of Earth, protect!"

Merlin's Wizard Heart shuddered violently again, following which Merlin swiftly kneeled on the ground. He rapidly unleashed his Earth-type spell. Although he had no way of mobilizing the full strength of the Glorious Land's earth, activating the Earth power of this wide area was not a problem with Merlin's present abilities.

Instantly, layers of sturdy walls appeared beside Merlin. Their strength was linked to the earth itself, and most Legends were unable to break them down.

"Boom."

The holy light of God's Punishment swung heavily into Merlin's Earth-type spell. The entire ground seemed to shake because it was connected to the power of the earth but Merlin felt a splitting sensation.

"Crack."

The Earth-type spell was forcibly torn apart. Even the Wizard Heart behind Merlin seemed to be shuddering, being slightly injured, and its glow became marginally dimmer.

"Retreat!"

Merlin used this time to hurriedly retreat. Finally, he had escaped this onslaught.

"Honored Legends, he's definitely a match for Honored Legends!"

Merlin stood at a long distance away, and stared at the Lord God of Light's will avatar. Although his opponent was merely a fragment of will, it was too powerful. It had simply used the strength that was not yet at the level of a middle rank god but to the extent where it was like a middle rank god.

A middle rank god was equivalent to a Great Honored Legend. There was an immense disparity between ordinary Legends and Honored Legends, which could not be overcome in a short time.

Merlin's expression turned increasingly anxious whereas the Lord God of Light maintained a serene manner. The latter's body gleamed with holy light that grew more majestic, and spoke in a booming voice, "Did you see that? The Glorious Land is also my home turf as well. Here, I have countless worshippers. The unceasing stream of their power of faith is my source of energy! This will fragment of mine can even stay here forever. Even if this body has decayed, there are still countless devout believers, willing to offer their bodies."

As Merlin glared at the Lord God of Light who was pressing in step by step, he knew that the more time passed, the worse it was for him because strictly speaking, the Lord God of Light was not an outsider. He had countless believers here, and every sliver of faith would increase his strength.

Therefore, Merlin must end the fight quickly!

"Go!"

Not only did Merlin stood his ground but he also rushed toward the Lord God of Light, his body encircled in a raging fire. The entire space was rendered into a sea of fire.

"God's Punishment!"

The Lord God of Light still wielded God's Punishment but this time, it was not just one ray of holy light but ten beams which filled the air and blanketed the ground. This time, it was not likely for Merlin to escape.

This final attack must succeed. He must not fail because Merlin would be incapable of enduring the result of failure!

"I didn't expect to use this so soon…"

Merlin retrieved an ordinary Spatial Ring, and stroked it gently. Thereafter, he took out a massive warship from the ring.

The glossy black hull of icy metal was enormous, just like a ruthless monster. It emanated a dangerous force. This empire-level warship of the Atlan civilization had been destroyed by the Origin Lord in the past war against the Spell Caster civilization. It had fallen in the Glorious Land.

Now, this damaged warship was controlled by Merlin through the Matrix, and restored completely with a colossal amount of elemental crystal stones. Only the main cannon of this empire-level warship would be able to deal with the Lord God of Light's will avatar which was on par with an Honored Legend.

"What's this? A warship? The Atlan civilization?"

The Lord God of Light's expression shifted subtly. He was no stranger to the Atlan civilization. In regard to an earth-shattering war of the Spell Caster civilization, the Lord God of Light, as a god that was born in the Glorious Land, and recently banished by Spell Casters, would pay close attention.

In that war, the Atlan civilization had an entirely different power from the other foreign civilizations of the Void Zone, making a deep impression in the Lord God of Light's mind.

It was a warship like this one before him which had slain innumerable Legends and Honored Legends of the Spell Casters. Even Lords might be defeated.

"Destruction Cannon!"

Merlin instantly commanded the Matrix. The empire-level warship's main cannon swiftly locked onto the Lord God of Light's will avatar. An intense sense of threat welled up within the Lord God of Light's heart.

"Boom."

Before the Lord God of Light could make any defensive moves, a beam of dazzling light burst out from the warship. In the blink of an eye, the space which the light beam had passed through was thoroughly shattered, and everything was completely annihilated.

"No… Light Guard!"

The Lord God of Light could only use his full strength, forcing holy light to converge before him as a protective layer. Nonetheless, the light beam was too fast that the Lord God of Light had no way to react in time.

"Rip."

There was no earth-shattering bang. This empire-level warship of the Atlan civilization, more than three thousand years later, erupted once again with unparalleled power. One blast was enough to pierce through the Lord God of Light's holy light. In addition, the remaining force had shot a hole clean through the Lord God of Light's body.

The Lord God of Light looked down and stared at the gaping, bloody hole in his chest. He did not seem to feel much pain but this was simply a temporary vessel after all. This bit of harm might be nothing much to the Lord God of Light but if he had lost his human vessel now, his will would evaporate too.

"I was careless…"

The Lord God of Light let out a long sigh. It was supposed to be a cinch, and even his will had been sent forth but he had never thought that, in the outdated Glorious Land, there was still a force which could hurt him.

Who would have thought that a Spell Caster would exploit the power of a warship from the Atlan civilization, the mortal enemy of the Spell Caster civilization?

"I'll remember your force…"

"Boom."

As soon as those words were uttered, the Lord God of Light's body began to collapse. The energy of the Destruction Cannon contained within him exploded suddenly, following which the body was annihilated. Merlin could also feel that the fearsome will belonging to the Lord God of Light had disappeared as well.

In this round, Merlin had defeated the Lord God of Light's will avatar!

Chapter 706: Light City

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the Void Zone, there was a special dimension which seemed to perpetually shine with light. Countless pious believers were silently praising the God of Light deep in their hearts.

In the Light Dimension, the Great Lord God of Light who had founded a god organization was nevertheless frowning, his face rather gloomy.

"My fragment of will was defeated. I've never expected that a Spell Caster in the Glorious Land would use a warship of the Atlan civilization to defeat my will avatar."

There was an indescribable complex feeling in the Lord God of Light's heart. Nonetheless, a failure was a failure. This time, his plans in the Glorious Land might very well be wiped out. If he tore apart the seal, it would surely alert the three Great Arcane Wizards of the Spell Casters. The Lord God of Light was not confident that He could face the three Arcane Wizards alone.

If he wished to communicate with the believers in the Glorious Land, he still needed more time. However, would Merlin give him more time? The answer was of course, not.

"Merlin, once you step into the Void Zone, that's when you die!"

A cold glint flashed across the Lord God of Light's eyes. He had been planning things in the Void Zone for so long, and not even the three Arcane Wizards were able to disrupt his schemes. Yet, it was unexpectedly ruined thanks to a mere Great Wizard.

This ignited a blazing rage in the Lord God of Light but he had no other course of action besides waiting…

…

In the black night, a cold wind rushed by. When Merlin started to feel cold, he kept the warship.

The power of the warship was left with only fifty percent, as expected. He thought about what had just happened, which was risky indeed. This empire-level warship of the Atlan civilization could only match an Honored Legend. It would have no way of killing the Lord God of Light's will avatar in one blast.

However, the Lord God of Light had been too careless, thinking that with his will fragment, there was no power that was of a threat to him. As a result, he was caught off guard and killed by a blast from the main cannon of the warship.

As he pictured the previous scenario, Merlin still felt a lingering sense of trepidation.

"Looks like it's time to seize this chance to thoroughly wipe out the Church of Light!"

Merlin had already decided. He knew that if they allowed the Church of Light to continue growing, there was a chance that the Lord God of Light would employ his many believers and sneak in through devious means. If that day came, Merlin would not be as lucky as he was today.

Therefore, he must destroy the Church of Light as soon as possible.

"Hoo…"

A breeze passed by. This battle here did not damage the surroundings much, only shattering the space somewhat. Nonetheless, the Glorious Land was a complete, powerful dimension, and would soon recover.

With that, Merlin's figure swiftly vanished in the shadows of the night.

The next day, Lady Carice of the Mandy clan was discovered to have passed away peacefully in her bed. The Mandy clan held a funeral, and chubby Old Gutt hobbled to the funeral as well.

Beside him was Merlin dressed in a black robe.

"Merlin, Lady Carice had passed away. You…"

"I've seen her. She left in peace."

Merlin wore a placid look, and spoke evenly.

The sky cast a fine drizzle, causing a chill as it dampened their bodies. The Mandy clan was very influential in Blackwater City, so there were many who had shown up at the funeral.

Even so, Merlin did not see any acquaintances. In Blackwater City, other than Gutt, everyone whom Merlin knew had died. Merlin suddenly felt as if even his inner anticipation toward returning to Blackwater City seemed like a foreign dream all of a sudden.

Throngs of people passed to and fro but none which Merlin recognized. He stood among the crowd unnoticed, with no one paying attention to him.

Merlin knew that it was time for him to leave.

"Gutt, I'm going off!"

Gutt was slightly taken aback. "You're not waiting for Sir Baron and Macy to return?"

It had been a few days but Old Wilson and the rest had not arrived at Blackwater City. The long journey would still take about half a month before they would reach.

Merlin suddenly recalled Carice's serene manner last night. Perhaps Old Wilson and Charise would wear such expressions as well one day. Regardless, there was nothing left in the Wilson clan which concerned him anymore.

"When they've arrived at Blackwater City, they'll live in Wilson Castle. Gutt, I'll start off immediately. The Church of Light must be destroyed. Every day it exists causes further unrest in the world."

Gutt fell into contemplative silence, and glanced at Carice's gravestone. After a long moment, he sighed. "Merlin, our paths are ultimately different… Go ahead. When Sir Baron returns to Blackwater City, I'll help them settle down. Don't worry."

Merlin nodded, and sent Gutt back to the castle.

At the castle, little Andie seemed very fond of the three-headed dragon, playing with it happily. However, the three-headed dragon's "aggrieved" expression was rather comical.

"Alright, little Andie, I'm bringing the three-headed dragon away!"

Merlin picked up Andie in his arms. Little Andie did not cry but instead asked with a "solemn" face, "Grandpa Merlin, will you still return?"

"Return? Maybe so. If there's a chance, I'll surely come back to see you, little Andie!"

Merlin smiled as he spoke.

"Grandpa Merlin, you must come back to see me, and bring this large fellow along with you as well."

It looked like little Andie was very fond of this fierce, reputed three-headed dragon but based on the three-headed dragon's manner, the feeling was not mutual at all. Conversely, after Merlin had taken little Andie off its back, it appeared incomparably overjoyed.

Merlin hopped onto the three-headed dragon, and lightly patted its head, saying softly, "Let's go, it's time to leave this place."

"Roar…"

The three-headed dragon appeared delighted, and roared mightily to the sky. It extended its humongous wings and flapped them powerfully, swiftly rising into the sky and heading toward Light City.

…

In Light City, autumn was beginning to carry a chill. The uninterrupted autumn shower cooled everyone from head to toe. Nonetheless, compared to this chill of their bodies, the torment of their spiritual selves was more severe.

This time, it was not the Spell Casters who were suffering but the Holy Light Empire!

Light City had already been hopelessly surrounded. The Emperor of the Holy Light Empire, Philandeny, had made preparations, summoning every Archbishop and any forces belonging to the Church of Light from all over the land, back to Light City to defend this city under their God's protection.

Philandeny's move was effective indeed. The more than forty Great Wizards of the Kingdom of Blackmoon had taken turns to attack for nearly half a month but were still unable to overcome the defensive layer of Light City.

Light City, which had been operated by the Church of Light for so many years, was difficult to break into indeed. Nonetheless, many of the people in Light City were in despair as the city was constantly surrounded.

At this time, all they could do was pray toward the great God of Light, hoping that He could send them a miracle to completely defeat the wicked heretics outside the city.

In particular, the towering God of Light statue in Light City was visited by innumerable believers each day, who kneeled before the statue in devout prayer. However, the God they worshipped did not respond.

It was not just the ordinary believers who prayed. Even Pope Philandeny prayed. As the Pope, naturally, he had special means to better communicate with the great God of Light.

It was just that every day, he was using these methods yet, he still did not get any reply from the God of Light. When he connected this to how the two Divine Believers had not returned after so many days, Philandeny's heart was filled with an uneasy premonition.

"God won't abandon us…"

Philandeny's words were somewhat halting. Now, he was no longer certain whether that powerful Wizard who defeated Bonnet was so strong that even God was unwilling to aid the Church of Light.

"Great God of Light, we're your most loyal believers!"

Nevertheless, no matter how much Philandeny cried out, he could obtain no response from the God of Light.

"Your Holiness the Pope, this isn't good. Take a look outside quickly. A gigantic monster is flying above Light City."

Philandeny's face changed instantly. He promptly recalled that the fearsome figure from before was also riding a vicious three-headed monster…

Chapter 707: The Fall of Theocracy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Everyone was now looking toward the sky above Light City at the enormous monster's astounding shadow. It had arrived when both sides were locked in a stalemate.

"It's the three-headed dragon. Wizard Merlin is here!"

"Haha, Wizard Merlin has finally arrived. We can break through this tortoise's shell now."

"After waiting for so long, let's see what Light City is going to use as their defense."

Compared to those from the Church of Light, whose faces were deathly pale, their hearts sinking in despair, this side of the Kingdom of Blackmoon appeared galvanized. Merlin's arrival increased the confidence of every Spell Caster a hundred times over.

Atop the three-headed dragon, Merlin gazed coldly down at the defenses of Light City below. This layer of defense was not much of a problem. It should just about match a Great Legend. It was not surprising that even forty or so Great Wizards were unable to break down this barrier.

The Church of Light had an extensive foundation as well, enough for one final war. If Merlin was not around, the outcome of this war would still be difficult to determine.

However, since Merlin was here, naturally, there were no such concerns.

"Silencing Ray!"

Faced with this defensive layer, Darkness Eye Silencing Ray was the best option. Therefore, a massive blood-red eye suddenly materialized in the sky, glimmering with an eerie crimson glow.

"Swish."

A ray of blood-red light instantly shot toward Light City below. Darkness Eye Silencing Ray brought a destructive force that was on par with a Great Legend.

"Boom."

With a tremendous tremor, the defensive layer that had been so invulnerable started to wobble under the attack of Silencing Ray. Cracks spread all over in a cobweb pattern.

Once these cracks emerged, another beam of Silencing Ray was shot.

"Crack."

At last, Light City's defensive layer could hold on no longer and shattered instantly. The final defense that was blocking the army of the Kingdom of Blackmoon had been annihilated completely.

"We're done for. With Merlin, there's no possibility of safeguarding Light City…"

Philandeny saw that Merlin had appeared unscathed in Light City whereas those two Divine Believers did not show up. The outcome was evident. The two Divine Believers had failed in their operation.

By now, the Church of Light was no longer able to unleash any power to contend against Merlin. Perhaps they might have to truly pray for the arrival of the God of Light, that He would banish these wicked heretics…

"Swish."

Merlin's gaze immediately fixed upon Philandeny. Previously, he had carelessly allowed Philandeny to tear space apart and escape. This time, it would not be so easy.

"Hallucinate!"

Merlin's Mind Power unfurled over the entire Light City. With Merlin's current realm of Hallucinating spell, there was no one who could resist him, and everyone fell into the illusion.

"There are no fluctuations of divine energy."

Merlin was somewhat rueful. The last time, he had obtained divinity from Bonnet. Thereafter, because of the arrival of the Lord God of Light's will, Merlin did not obtain divinity from the other two Divine Believers for they were destroyed instantly. Initially, Merlin had wanted to see if he could obtain more divinity in Light City.

However, it now looked like it was very difficult for the Lord God of Light to share his power. Even the Pope of the Church of Light had not received any powers. Only the three Ascetics with the most devout faith had obtained a portion of the God of Light's strength.

"There's a treasure there!"

Merlin had not seen many treasures of gods. At a glance, he could tell that Philandeny was carrying a book which emanated holy light, called the Light Tome. The book was inscribed with the past "deeds" of the God of Light. Even though it contained no divinity, this Light Tome still carried a trace of divine energy.

Although this divine energy was faint, and seemed to be a remnant of a distant era, Merlin could somewhat figure it out after some brief thinking.

This Light Tome had existed back when the Molta Empire had not collapsed when the God of Light had not been exiled from the Glorious Land. It contained the God of Light's divine energy back then, and subsequently became a treasure wielded by the Pope of the Church of Light.

In the past, Philandeny had relied on the divine energy of this Light Tome to forcibly tear space apart to escape. With the God of Light's divine energy, splitting space apart was a piece of cake, something not even Merlin could prevent.

Nonetheless, this time Merlin was more cautious, immediately unleashing his Hallucinating spell and controlling everyone. Philandeny did not even have the chance to wield his Light Tome.

The Light Tome was not of much use to Merlin. He had no way of absorbing the divine energy in it.

"Actually, I could let the warship's high-powered engine furnace give it a try?"

Merlin thought about the high-powered engine furnace within the warship. Other than elemental crystal stones, Merlin still did not know what other energy this high-powered engine furnace was able to break down and transmute into power.

This Light Tome still contained a strand of divine energy. Back during the era of the Molta Empire, the Light of God was an upper rank god, equivalent to a Great Lord. He was beyond average. Even if it was a small portion of his divine energy left, it would be extraordinary.

Trying his luck, Merlin directly tossed the Light Tome into the high-powered engine furnace. Instantly, the high-powered engine furnace began to shudder, which meant it was preparing to break it down.

"Beep. Unknown energy is found. Break down and transmute this energy?"

The Matrix's voice rang out. Currently, the Matrix was the control core of the entire warship, so of course, it had the best understanding of the situation in the high-powered engine furnace.

Merlin even had a feeling that, after the Matrix had absorbed the vast amounts of the information left in the warship, it had undergone some changes. It was just that Merlin was unclear what these changes were exactly. Nonetheless, in terms of the Matrix's perfect control over the entire empire-level warship, this was definitely a good thing.

"Break down and transmute!"

Merlin nodded, agreeing to the Matrix's inquiry. Instantly, the high-powered engine furnace began to move into action. Merlin could distinctly feel that within the high-powered engine furnace, a formidable force was exploding, only it could not escape the furnace no matter what.

After a few hours, Merlin discovered that the energy of the warship was wildly increasing. From fifty percent, it raced to a hundred percent before stopping.

In addition, that immense energy within the high-powered engine furnace still had not vanished.

"The energy storage had reached the limit. The unknown energy is still not broken down completely. Should it be stored, and be automatically broken down and transmuted when the power source decreases?"

Merlin was rather taken aback. He did not think that this mere bit of divine energy could be transmuted to so much energy. Nonetheless, he rather admired the Atlan civilization.

To be able to break down elemental crystal stones, and now it could even break down the divine energy of gods. In the eyes of the Atlans, these gods must surely be massive units of energy.

Moreover, just a bit of divine energy could be transmuted into so much energy. This transformation rate was much higher than his elemental crystal stones. Even the Spell Caster civilization could only use the divinity of gods. However, divinity was too rare, and difficult to obtain. Many gods would exhaust their divinity bit by bit, and it was challenging for Spell Casters to obtain it.

As for divine energy, Spell Casters had no way of utilizing that. Unexpectedly, however, the Atlan civilization could utilize divine energy. Furthermore, if the Atlan civilization, which lacked energy sources, encountered a god, they would not be lenient.

It was just that after the Atlan civilization was discovered back then, it had erupted into a bitter war with the Spell Casters. Until now, they were still firmly suppressed in the Atlan Dimension by the Spell Caster civilization. They were unable to develop further in the Void Zone, so of course, they had no contact with other foreign civilizations.

Merlin could imagine as the energy ores in the Atlan Dimension were depleted, the crisis faced by the Atlan civilization would become more serious. If they had no power source, even the strongest warship was nothing more than scrap metal.

"Store the Light Tome then. You may break it down and transmute it automatically."

Merlin agreed to the Matrix's request to store it. The Light Tome was otherwise useless to Merlin.

"Boom."

A loud crash reverberated across the entire Light City. Merlin cast his gaze over at the gigantic statue of the God of Light. It had been the target of the Spell Casters' spells, and it had collapsed abruptly.

With Merlin's assistance, the Spell Casters had gained control over Light City. The collapse of the God of Light statue symbolized the fall of the Holy Light Empire. The Church of Light had been routed completely!

Chapter 708: The Secret of the Purple Gold Crown

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

For three days in a row, the entire Light City – the heart of the Holy Light Empire and the center of the Church of Light – was now caught in a bloody purge.

The Kingdom of Blackmoon had invaded Light City, indicating that the Holy Light Empire had fallen. The Kingdom of Blackmoon had replaced the Holy Light Empire as the second empire of unification after the Molta Empire. This was an irreversible force.

Bhutto XVII was even getting ready to be crowned as emperor after successively wiping out the resistance in other places of the Holy Light Empire. The Kingdom of Blackmoon would become the Blackmoon Empire.

This would be the greatest glory of the Blackmoon royal family in history!

Nonetheless, the Spell Caster Alliance was an issue. This had been a loose alliance from the start. It was only due to Merlin's assertiveness that they had banded together through force.

However, the greatest threat faced by the Spell Caster world, the Church of Light, no longer existed. As a result, many Spell Casters started to think of leaving, and Merlin did not purposely stop them.

As for the Kingdom of Blackmoon, it was secretly roping in some Spell Casters too. Since it wanted to become a nation in the tradition of the Molta Empire, the Kingdom of Blackmoon's power must surpass those spell casters' organizations.

Otherwise, these spell casters' organizations would be an unstable factor, capable of causing trouble at any time. Back during the glorious age of the Molta Empire, it had been managed by a Great Lord, whose power was felt everywhere. There were no Spell Casters who dared to provoke the Molta royal family.

"Wizard Merlin, thank you for your support. Otherwise, the Blackmoon Empire couldn't be established."

Bhutto XVII was now successfully crowned as the emperor of the Blackmoon Empire. At the same time, he was the First Emperor. He was content with what he had achieved, having established the huge Blackmoon Empire. This was a massive accomplishment, enough to put him ahead of any king in the history of the Kingdom of Blackmoon. He had become the strongest king in the royal family.

He might even revise the regulations regarding the elders' involvement in the king's term limit but all of this had nothing to do with Merlin. His mission in the Glorious Land was completed, and the matters of the Wilson clan were settled as well. Even if he were to leave the Glorious Land now and return to the Void Zone, he would have no regrets.

"Your Majesty, why have you looked for me today?"

Merlin glanced at Bhutto XVII and asked directly. His Majesty the Emperor was currently very busy. He had to stabilize the various spell casters' organizations of the Spell Caster Alliance as well as organize forces to wipe out the remaining resistance of the original Church of Light.

Therefore, for him to make time to see Merlin despite being so busy, he must have a request.

"Wizard Merlin, we won't keep things from each other. Although the Blackmoon Empire is finally established with your support, many Spell Casters are still unsatisfied. Presently, the royal family's strength is still relatively frail, especially since we don't have a treasure like the purple gold crown anymore. The rule of the Blackmoon Empire isn't secure."

Merlin nodded. Naturally, he knew about what Bhutto XVII spoke of. Even though it was true that the Blackmoon Empire had been established, the royal family was unable to exert its power all over. It was normal that some spell casters' organizations would be unsatisfied.

"Your Majesty has looked for me because…?"

Bhutto XVII fell into contemplative silence, and finally made a decision. He said softly, "Wizard Merlin, for the Blackmoon Empire to be maintained, the royal family must have a power which can be felt everywhere!"

Merlin seemed to realize something, and hurriedly shook his head. "I'm not interested in all this, and I'll leave very soon…"

Bhutto XVII smiled. "Please don't misunderstand me, Wizard Merlin. I'm not asking you to stay. What I need is a favor from you."

"What does Your Majesty need?"

Merlin wanted to hear what Bhutto XVII had planned to resolve the crisis the royal family was facing.

"Wizard Merlin, you know about the purple gold crown, right?"

Bhutto XVII did not answer directly but instead brought up the purple gold crown.

"The purple gold crown? Of course, I know of it. I've heard that Great Wizards are totally incapable of breaking this crown, and it's the royal family's most precious asset. However, it was shattered by the Divine Believer Bonnet."

Naturally, Merlin knew about the purple gold crown. An alchemy treasure like this, even in the Void Zone, was considered comparatively valuable. In the Void Zone, despite the remarkable progress of alchemy, it was very rare to transfigure an alchemy treasure which could be used by weak Spell Casters, yet had formidable might on par with a Legend.

The purple gold crown was close to something like this. There had been both weak and strong kings throughout the history of the royal family. The weakest one was a mere Fourth-level Spell Caster but with the effects of the purple gold crown, the royal family was not weakened in the slightest. Transfiguring a treasure like that was of utmost difficulty.

"That's right, the purple gold crown had been shattered. From now on, our royal family had lost the treasure which astounded those spell casters' organizations. Wizard Merlin, this time, I've summoned you because there's a secret – the biggest secret concerning the purple gold crown and our royal family!"

"Secret?"

Merlin's heart jolted as he stared at Bhutto XVII's serious expression. The legacy of the Kingdom of Blackmoon was not inferior to any spell casters' organization and was even known to be the successor of the Molta Empire. Other than that massive lode, could there be a bigger secret?

"That's right, a secret! The purple gold crown was obtained incidentally by the First King of the royal family – the Great Wizard Blackmoon – from a secret place, after much trial and tribulations. That place contains treasures even greater than the purple gold crown. This secret is the foundation of our royal family. Now that the purple gold crown was shattered, we urgently need a treasure with a power which can be exerted everywhere – one even stronger than the purple gold crown. Therefore, we're telling you this secret, Wizard Merlin, hoping that you can get some treasures from that place. Our royal family only needs one treasure but it mustn't be weaker than the purple gold crown. How's that sound?"

Merlin stared at Bhutto XVII with a burning gaze, his mind analyzing the truth of what Bhutto XVII was saying.

The Blackmoon royal family was enigmatic indeed, able to possess even a treasure like the purple gold crown. Merlin immediately deduced that this matter was more than ninety percent true.

As he thought of this, Merlin's heart flared up fervently. After all, the Glorious Land was not an ordinary place for it was the origin of the Spell Caster civilization. The Spell Caster's most glorious era was also the Molta Empire's era. If the Glorious Land still hid some secrets, it was not inconceivable that the royal family could obtain the treasure of some Great Alchemist.

"If the royal family wants to guard the secret, then why don't you send your Great Wizards?"

Merlin knew that the royal family had a solid foundation, with a few peak Great Wizards too. They were very powerful, and not inferior to any spell casters' organization. Perhaps it was only when Kleis had been around that Ozmu was able to outstrip the royal family.

Bhutto XVII smiled bitterly. "If we can get the treasures, then why would we only have one treasure, the purple gold crown, after such a long time? It's because it's far too difficult to access these treasures. Great Wizards can't do it at all. Back then, the Great Wizard Blackmoon had only obtained the purple gold crown through sheer luck. However, Wizard Merlin's strength is on par with the fabled Great Legends. Perhaps you could enter and retrieve the treasures!"

Merlin was indeed rather interested in a place that would have the purple gold crown.

"I can agree to this. According to Your Majesty's proposal, as long as I obtain an alchemy treasure comparable to the purple gold crown, I'll surely hand it over to the royal family."

"That's wonderful. Wizard Merlin, you wouldn't mind signing this contract? After you do, I'll immediately tell you this secret of the royal family in full."

Merlin did not think that this was unreasonable. Signing a contract would safeguard the interests of both sides.

Thus, after both had signed the contract, Bhutto XVII said solemnly, "Wizard Merlin, that secret place is only known to me, along with a few Great Wizard elders from the royal family. I can't leave Light City, and can only send an elder to bring you to that secret place."

"If possible, I'd like to start as soon as we can!"

"Very well, anytime is fine. I'll send an elder to bring Wizard Merlin there!"

Bhutto XVII saw that Merlin was so enthusiastic, and was naturally delighted too. The more enthusiastic Merlin was, the faster he would get the treasure. The royal family would also get a treasure on par with the purple gold crown sooner. Perhaps this would greatly alleviate the pressure faced by the royal family now.

"I wonder how this secret that the royal family has guarded for a thousand years would be like?"

Merlin waited silently. As the origin of the Spell Caster civilization, the Glorious Land was filled with secrets, and Merlin was full of anticipation.

Chapter 709: The Place Hidden for a Thousand Years

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Atop the three-headed dragon stood Merlin and another Great Wizard, an old man who looked aged, with white hair. He was one of the elders of the royal family, Wizard Byron.

Currently, they were a long way from Light City, heading toward a remote area within the Kingdom of Blackmoon. This place was not very distant from the previous Imperial City of the Kingdom of Blackmoon.

"Wizard Byron, the Kingdom of Blackmoon is now the Blackmoon Empire. The world is unified, and it's the second major empire after the Molta Empire. As an elder of the royal family, you must be delighted?"

Merlin asked with a smile.

"Delighted? That's right. His Majesty Bhutto XVII has been crowned the emperor, leading the Kingdom of Blackmoon to unify the entire world. As a member of the royal family, of course, I'm delighted. However, now that the royal family has lost the purple gold crown, behind this flourishing scene are many hidden dangers. Fortunately, His Majesty has clear judgment, so he asked me to bring Wizard Merlin to the secret place."

Merlin bobbed his head. It seemed like every member of the royal family knew that they were crisis-ridden. Any carelessness of their part could lead to an ending more miserable than their previous one.

"Oh right, you can enter the secret place of the royal family?"

"As a Great Wizard, naturally, I can. However, I'm unable to go very deep. I wonder how the Great Wizard Blackmoon had done it back then?"

When Wizard Byron talked about this, he felt a wave of helplessness as if this was something he did not wish to face. If it were not for Bhutto XVII's direct order, he really would not like to return to this secret place.

"Hoo…"

The three-headed dragon's wings stirred up a windstorm as it swiftly glided into a jungle. Before this jungle, there was a secluded valley.

"It's in this valley. Wizard Merlin, please follow me. There're actually Runic Magic Circles hidden here, set up by successive generations of the elders of the royal family. Some of these are even more impressive designs in order to prevent unnecessary trouble. Wizard Merlin, don't follow too closely behind by any means."

In fact, there was no need for Byron's reminder. Merlin had already discovered through his Mind Power that the valley's surroundings were packed with Runic Magic Circles, some of which concealed deadly traps. A moment of carelessness could lead to one being trapped in an extremely terrifying Runic Magic Circle.

These were no ordinary Runic Magic Circles. Some of these Runic Magic Circles were especially scary, that even Great Legends would be trapped. After all, generations of the royal family's elders had done their best to design such frightening Runic Magic Circles. The defensive measures of this secret place were even more comprehensive than the Imperial City. This was enough to show how highly valued this secret place was to the royal family.

Merlin followed Wizard Byron to the bottom of the valley, where there was a pool. Wizard Byron started to wield the Runic Magic Circle, firmly imprinting it into the pool.

"Rumble."

It was as if the entire valley was trembling. Merlin saw that the pool began to split into two, revealing a gigantic, dark entrance.

Merlin raised an eyebrow. He looked around him, and made a bold guess. This valley and this pool had not come into existence naturally but were manmade.

With that, Merlin asked softly, "Wizard Byron, this valley as well as this pool here, even this passage – surely they aren't natural structures?"

Wizard Byron glanced at Merlin in astonishment, then smiled and nodded. "That's right, Wizard Merlin, you have a good eye indeed. These aren't natural at all. The valley, the pool, the passage, and the Runic Magic Circles that surround us on all sides, were created painstakingly by generations of the royal family. This isn't the secret place – the true secret place is behind the passage!"

The royal family had spent so much effort to obscure the true location of the secret place. Merlin was now more and more curious about this hidden spot, and what kind of place it must be for the royal family to spare no effort in guarding it.

"Wizard Merlin, let's go. The passage is very long, and requires some time to go through!"

Wizard Byron led the way into the passage below the pool, and Merlin followed as well. The passage was pitch dark, and slanted downward, disorienting one's sense of direction.

Nevertheless, what one learned was that this passage would "mislead" others, causing intruders to have no way of knowing the real place. This is because the passage even had Runic Magic Circles within, preventing the probing of Mind Power.

"It's really strictly guarded!"

Merlin could not help but gasp in astonishment. Generations of elders from the royal family seemed to have thought about every possible scenario and had prepared countermeasures. Even Merlin did not know where this passage was leading to exactly.

However, one thing was for sure. They were heading downward, so it must be underground.

Merlin brushed his hand across the walls of the passage. They were solid, without any hint of dampness. This cold touch seemed steeped in ancient years.

The passage must have been here a long time ago.

After walking for around an hour, Wizard Byron stopped in front, arriving at a large stone door.

"Open!"

Wizard Byron flung a mysterious runic imprint, following which the gigantic stone door opened with a shudder. The smell of dust pervaded their nostrils.

Behind the stone door was a secret chamber filled with elemental crystal stones, alchemy treasures, and so on. There were even advanced Mind Meditation Spells, Pandora Demon Abilities, and more.

In short, this was a land of treasures.

"Is this the secret place?"

Merlin furrowed his brows, and asked. Although there were many elemental crystal stones and casting tools here, even Pandora Demon Abilities, a treasure like the purple gold crown would not appear here. To Merlin, there was nothing here that was of any worth.

Wizard Byron smiled mysteriously. "Of course, this isn't the secret place. However, if someone else barged in, they might think that this is it!"

Upon hearing Wizard Byron's words, Merlin was hit with a realization. Everything here was prepared by the royal family, designing this to seem like a treasure trove. However, in reality, it was not even worth a mention. It was merely to confuse any Spell Casters who happened to come in this place.

The secret place was somewhere else!

Wizard Byron finally came to an unremarkable statue in the secret chamber, then produced some mysterious runes. This statue immediately began turning, and another passage appeared before the secret chamber.

"They had taken great pains to hide the place. Even if someone were to come in, they can't locate the actual secret place."

Merlin's heart gave an involuntarily tremble. This secret place, for it to be guarded so strictly, must be extraordinary. The royal family had used their full effort.

Merlin followed behind Wizard Byron, and entered another passage. This passage seemed to slope upward and turned many corners.

Suddenly, there was firelight before them, and Wizard Byron in front began to slacken his pace.

"What's going on?"

Merlin asked. He looked at the ground, where wisps of heat were rising. The closer they got, the hotter it became.

"We're here at the secret place!"

Wizard Byron's expression was incomparably serious. Merlin followed his gaze and saw that they had reached the end of the passage. Beyond this end, there was a massive underground palace.

This underground palace was fiery red all over. It was blazing hot, and Wizard Byron and Merlin had no choice but to cast spells in protection.

"This is the secret place?"

Merlin asked curiously. Byron seemed rather apprehensive about this place. Merlin paid him no mind, and stepped boldly into the palace.

This underground palace appeared extremely lavish. The ground was inlaid with transparent crystal while on both sides of the palace, there were enormous puddles. However, these were not puddles of water, but thick scorching viscous lava.

This lava was constantly boiling, containing a terrifying power within that would scare anyone witless. Even an ordinary Legend would be frightened of this lava.

Nonetheless, what really surprised Merlin was that he had sensed a trace of the Origin's force here. In other words, it was the Elemental Origin.

In the Void Zone, any dimension that had life on it would have an Origin. A Dimension's Origin was the core of the dimension. Anyone who controlled the Dimension Origin would become master of the dimension, in full control of it.

When Merlin had first returned to the Glorious Land, he had thought about controlling the Dimension Origin, thus controlling the Glorious Land, becoming master of the Glorious Land.

It was just that after he had returned to the Glorious Land, he searched around but found that the Dimension Origin seemed to have vanished, gone without a trace.

It did not mean that the Dimension Origin had disappeared. This would be impossible because once that happened, the Glorious Land would become a dead ground. However, even though the Glorious Land had fallen into decline, it had not become a dead ground. Conversely, it was flourishing with life.

Therefore, Merlin suspected that the Dimension Origin of the Glorious Land might have been hidden by the three Ultimate Arcane Wizards.

Now, within this massive, splendid palace in the secret underground space, there was a trace of the Dimension Origin's force, guarded by the royal family for a thousand years. This caused Merlin great excitement.

The Glorious Land was a dimension where the Spell Caster civilization began. If he could obtain its Origin, that would even be a great help for Merlin in terms of directly condensing an ultimate Maxim.

Merlin shut his eyes lightly, his Mind Power starting to carefully seize the force of the Dimension Origin. The Dimension Origin of the Glorious Land could not be captured, not even by an Honored Legend or a Great Lord.

Only when one was in this secret place could only capture a hint of its force.

Merlin followed the force of this Dimension Origin and continued forward. After more than ten minutes, however, he heard Wizard Byron's unsteady, bewildered voice. "Wizard Merlin, how come you are so familiar with the secret place?"

"Familiar?"

Merlin opened his eyes. Before him was a plain, large door. By his side was Wizard Byron who wore a shocked expression. Earlier, he had not led the way. It was Merlin who found this place himself.

"Wizard Merlin, the treasures are inside but to enter, you must defeat the guardians. Back then, the Great Wizard Blackmoon had used some unknown methods to enter."

Wizard Byron pointed at this large door, his eyes shining in anticipation.

Merlin stared at the door with burning eyes as well. Of course, he was not familiar with the secret place. He was able to find his way here only because he had traced the force of the Dimension Origin.

Now, before this large door, the Dimension Origin's force was more intense. Evidently, the Dimension Origin might be behind that door, the place where Wizard Byron said contained the treasures. In the past, the purple gold crown of the royal family had been retrieved from there.

"There are guardians? Where are they?"

Merlin looked around but did not see any guardians.

"They are those two statues!"

Byron pointed at the two stone statues flanking the door.

Merlin looked toward those two statues as well. As Wizard Byron spoke, the two statues began to transform, "coming alive" at a visible speed.

"Someone has finally arrived…"

The two guardian statues were armed with pikes. Their manner was stiff and slow but the intense vitality of their bodies indicated that they were certainly alive.

In this instant, Merlin saw something that was inconceivable in the Void Zone – a non-living thing transformed into a living thing. This was even more astonishing than the black cat Didimoss' transformation.

From statues that had no trace of life to two "alive" living bodies. Moreover, their appearances were not that different from Normies. This was far beyond Merlin's realm of knowledge.

It was also clear that Wizard Byron was oblivious to its significance.

"You can come alive at will?"

After a long moment, Merlin gradually calmed his emotions, and asked softly.

"Hmm? There's someone who knows about the transformation of life? It looks like the newcomer this time isn't like those ignorant Spell Casters last time." The eyes of the two guardian statues brightened, and they fixed their gaze upon Merlin.

"What do you wish to obtain? As long as you defeat us, you'll receive anything you want."

"What is this place? Who are you two?"

Merlin could not help but ask.

"Haha, defeat us, and you shall know the answer!"

The two guardians did not give anything away. They must be defeated before they would answer those questions.

"Wizard Merlin, if you defeat them, you can enter to pick out the treasure. The purple gold crown was a treasure the Great Wizard Blackmoon had selected back then."

Wizard Byron spoke with an excited look.

"Oh? It's this fellow again… Two hundred years ago, you and a few others came here, wishing to pass through. However, you were far too weak, not even able to pass this stage. So, you've brought someone else now?"

The two guardians recognized Wizard Byron. Merlin noticed Wizard Byron's embarrassed expression, and instantly knew that Wizard Byron had come here indeed, only he had failed, and did not obtain any treasure.

"So, I just need to defeat both of you?"

"That's right, defeat us!"

Merlin drew in a deep breath. Regardless of whether he did it for the increasingly intense force of the Dimension Origin or for the contract he had signed with the royal family, he would have to defeat these two strange guardians and pass through this mysterious stone door.

"Alright, I'll attempt the challenge!" Merlin's voice was steady as he replied.

As for Wizard Byron, he swiftly retreated, his eyes expectantly gazing at Merlin.

Chapter 710: The Monumental Stone Carvings

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Haha, finally there's someone who accepts the challenge. We'll get to see some action."

The two guardians saw that Merlin had finally agreed, and appeared overjoyed.

"Whoosh whoosh."

The two guardians did not hold back. They brandished the pikes in their hands and thrust forward bluntly. The force was formidable, whistling as it sliced through the air. There were even faint cracks in the space.

To break space in one strike, was the level of a Great Legend. It was not surprising that Wizard Byron said that the Great Wizards of the royal family had never been able to get past this.

"Good attack!"

Merlin's body flashed with a light which clung to his skin, just like a layer of armor that protected Merlin's body fully.

"Bang bang."

The two pikes stabbed into Merlin viciously, and the light over his body burst into ripples like water. Although the force was great, it did not harm Merlin at all.

"Hmm? He's able to withstand a blow from us. Very well, again!"

The two guardians appeared even more elated. They suddenly put away their pikes, then began to vibrate violently. Each vibration caused further cracks in the small space around them.

Merlin's face turned grave. The bodies of these guardians had no trace of Elemental fluctuations. What they cast would not be a spell. It would be more like martial arts of the martial arts robots.

He had never expected that martial arts could be this powerful.

"Ice Seal!"

Seeing through the moves of these two guardians, Merlin did not hold back. An apparition of the Wizard Heart appeared behind him, exuding a powerful and unseen force.

"Crack crack."

Following that, the Ice-type spell burst out instantly, second only to an Honored Legend's power. It froze all the surrounding space. The two guardians were no exception and were frozen, unable to move.

"You've won. You may enter!"

The two guardians exchanged a glance, and noticed the astonishment in each other's eyes. In such a long time, it was the first time someone had directly defeated them.

"Haha, Wizard Merlin, you've won. You can enter to select a treasure!"

On the side, Wizard Byron saw that Merlin had easily defeated the two guardians, and his heart fluttered in excitement. Finally, these two were defeated. He had previously attempted to pass through as well. Naturally, he knew how impressive these two guardians were, yet unexpectedly, they were easily defeated by Merlin.

It was not surprising that even the fabled Divine Believers who possessed the strength of god were defeated by Merlin.

"What is this place? Who are you?"

Merlin did not enter directly, and instead, questioned the two guardians.

The two guardians still seemed caught up in shock. Upon hearing Merlin's questions, they broke out into mysterious smiles. "The exact nature of this place will be known to you in the future. As for us, we're puppets with life given by Master!"

"Puppets? You're both puppets? Puppets with life?"

Merlin's expression froze in shock. He had seen many puppets but the common thing was that they were all just puppets. There was no way to bring them to life.

Even the Ultimate Arcane Wizards or the ultimate existences of any civilization in the Void Zone would have no way of creating life. This was creating something from nothing, thus involving the natural order.

However, now these two guardians said that someone had bestowed them life. Merlin's mind was a complete blank.

"Alright, go in then. Hehe, there are still challenges waiting for you inside. You're not too shabby, being able to pass this round but the following challenges will be the true tests. It depends on how far you'll be able to go."

With that, the two guardians returned to their positions, flanking the door. There was a flash of light, and they became two stone statues once more.

"Rumble."

The gigantic stone door began to rise gradually, revealing a pitch-dark entrance. Instantly, the force of the Origin grew even stronger.

Merlin snapped out of his contemplation. This secret place was full of mystery. Whether it was the emergence of the Dimension Origin's force or those two guardians who called themselves puppets yet possessed a life force, everything seemed suffused with secrets.

Perhaps the answer was beyond the door.

"Wizard Byron, you wait here first. I'll try my best to get a treasure on par with the purple gold crown!"

Following that, Merlin took a deep breath. He did not remove the Defensive spell, and cautiously walked into the mysterious entrance.

…

Behind the stone door, Merlin felt a chill. Even though he had the protection of the spell, that chill still wormed into his body. Merlin shut his eyes lightly and inspected his body, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

"It's not an actual chill. Instead, it's because… I'm afraid!"

It was true. Merlin was afraid. Ever since he came from Blackwater City, he had progressed step by step to where he was now, second only to an Honored Legend. If he used the warship, he could even explode with the fighting power on par with an Honored Legend.

Nonetheless, Merlin was now deeply frightened!

"Back during the civilization war, the situation was so desperate. Even Honored Legends would die. A Lord attacked me before, and so did a Rock Progenitor. I wasn't even afraid then. Now that I'm in this mysterious place, why is it that I feel fear?"

Merlin mumbled to himself. With each word he spoke, his eyes grew brighter. By the end, his Mind Power even surged out, startling Titus who was in the Illusory World.

"Huh? Merlin, your Mind Power has grown stronger and solid now. I can even feel a trace of your will!"

Will – this was something only an ultimate existence could manifest, just like the Lord God of Light. By relying on just a small trace of his will, he nearly pushed Merlin to the end of his tether.

Titus could now feel a trace of Merlin's will, which was astonishing.

"Nothing much, it's just I've come to a realization."

Merlin smiled. He had just banished his fear completely, and was filled with bold courage. Even if he was facing this unknown secret place, he would no longer be frightened.

"Merlin, be careful. This place is giving me a strange feeling."

Titus' expression turned serious. In the Illusory World, he could see everything clearly. Moreover, as a powerful being who had created an Illusory World, his perceptivity toward danger was rather keen.

Merlin bobbed his head. It was true that after he had passed those doors, he kept having this odd feeling. The walls here were covered in a thick blanket of dust with cobwebs hanging around. The air was filled with a stultifying force.

After walking a distance, Merlin noticed that the walls now bore monumental stone carvings. However, the people in these carvings were peculiarly shaped and even looked rather barbarous.

After walking further, Merlin discovered that the sprawling stone carvings on the walls had changed again. There were faint signs of some Normies, and gods as well, more than one.

As he went on, the stone carvings kept changing. This time, some Spell Casters seemed to have appeared. These Spell Casters were still weak, and they were passing on knowledge about spells to some Normies.

Merlin suddenly realized what this was, and quickly turned around, observing the first stone carving. It was a record of the Glorious Land's development.

From the beginning, the stone carvings only displayed a scene of wilderness. "People" had not even appeared. Thereafter, some barbarians appeared and gradually evolved.

At an unknown time, gods appeared. Soon, they were drawing upon the people's faith, compelling everyone to worship them devoutly. This was the era of the gods' rule.

The gods ruled for a very long time until the birth of the Spell Casters. From the start, the weak Spell Casters had begun by questioning the gods. There would always be a group who would not hand over their souls to the gods completely. They had independent thinking, and slowly started to realize that the gods were enslaving them.

Therefore, to seek power to contend against the gods, they discovered that hey could construct Spell Models using Elements which were all around them to resist the gods. With that, Spell Casters were born!

The birth of Spell Casters was an irreversible movement. Soon, the gods found out about the Spell Casters. Thus, began the first war between Spell Casters and gods.

At that time, Spell Casters were too weak, to the point where the gods did not even need to attack. All they needed was the church to suppress the Spell Casters.

Spell Casters lay low for a period, following which they rose up explosively once again. This time, the first Great Legend appeared, who led the Spell Casters in their second insurgency to contend against gods.

It was just a shame that there was more than one god. In addition, the gods of the Glorious Land were particularly powerful. A mere ordinary Legend with one Maxim had no way of fighting them.

In the end, the first Great Legend died but the spark of Spell Casters had been produced. After another long period, the second Legend was born. However, after this Legend's emergence, the Spell Casters finally exploded with full force, and successively produced many Great Legends.

This was the third time Spell Casters had risen. This time, they had finally defeated a few gods, achieving an unprecedented expansion, and began their fight against the gods.

War, endless war! During the third time Spell Casters rose up, what they were greeted with was an endless war. Nonetheless, each time the Spell Casters were about to be defeated, another Great Legend would appear.

At first, it was a Legend who had achieved the ultimate Maxim, becoming an Honored Legend. In one fell swoop, that Legend defeated the joint attack of a few powerful gods, saving all the Spell Casters.

However, the counterattack of the gods was even more forceful. When the Spell Casters were at their most desperate moment, someone consolidated two ultimate Maxims, becoming the first Great Lord.

Spell Casters struck back in force, and began to produce more and more Lords and Honored Legends. The gods were slain, defeated, and exiled one by one…

This was the lengthy war between Spell Casters and gods. From the first insurgency to the third, it spanned tens of thousands of years.

Finally, Spell Casters established the Molta Empire. This was considered the Spell Casters' most glorious era. When the Spell Casters exiled the gods, they had also discovered the Void Zone, and began to set foot into it.

The following history was known to Merlin. The Void Zone had countless foreign civilizations yet, the puny Spell Caster civilization was not vanquished but instead, grew stronger. Among the ancient Lords, the first Ultimate Arcane Wizard was born. Following that was the birth of the second and third Arcane Wizard, and up until today, when the Spell Caster civilization was still sustaining its olden glory.

The monumental stone carvings on the passage's wall ended at the point where Spell Casters stepped into the Void Zone. Nonetheless, Merlin was shaken to his core as he stared dumbly at these carvings.

If these were real, these massive stone carvings had documented the growth of the Glorious Land from nothing to where it was now.

Who could carve the extensive history and growth of the Glorious Land in such detail? Not even the most ancient Lord or the most ancient Arcane Wizard would be able to do this.

"The oldest records in the Void Zone didn't even mention the first and second uprising of the Spell Casters, only the third time. The Spell Caster civilization of the Void Zone had always accepted that the third uprising of the Spell Casters was when the Spell Caster civilization really began!"

If these stone carvings were true, then all the Spell Casters were mistaken. Before the third insurgency of the Spell Casters, there were two other times, only they were suppressed by the gods, ultimately failing.

Spell Casters had been born a very, very long time ago, always struggling against the gods. It was not as it was recorded in the Spell Caster civilization where the uprising of the Spell Casters was an irresistible force, and everything went smoothly.

Before that, there were two crushing defeats!

"Who could make these monumental stone carvings?"

Merlin stood up, and glanced around alertly. Without realizing it, he had already traced the stone carvings to a large, spacious hall. The force of the Dimension Origin was scorching like fire, and was very obvious now.

"You must be the one who passed through the door guarded by those two idiots?"

At the center of the hall, there was a colossal statue with the body of a lion and the face of a human. It suddenly spoke, and its booming voice even caused the dust in the hall to rain from above.

Chapter 711: Sacred Golden Armor

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Hm?"

Merlin looked at the huge sphinx statue in surprise. The sphinx statue began to change slowly, possessing a life force, similar to the two stone statues outside the door.

However, this statue's life force was stronger, and its strength was more powerful. Even Merlin felt a sense of danger.

"Come with me. You've passed the first checkpoint. According to the rules left by Master, you can obtain a treasure but you can only choose one!"

With every step the sphinx guardian took, the entire hall shook as if it would collapse at any moment. Anyone would know at a glance that this guardian was a strength-type, but it was unknown how powerful it was.

The sphinx guardian then took Merlin to a secret room. When Merlin entered the room, he was immediately dumbstruck by the sight before him.

Everywhere he could see was full of dazzling alchemy items, and were mostly treasures that ignored Spell Caster levels. There were even some treasures that only required a small amount of Mind Power to use.

They were split into Offensive-type, Defensive-type, and Hallucinatory-type treasures.

However, most of these treasures could only be compared with the purple gold crown. They would not be able to resist the attacks of Great Legends.

"Aren't there any stronger treasures?"

"Of course, there are. In fact, there are some treasures among these that are comparable to Great Legends according to your Spell Caster classification. Furthermore, even the most elementary Spell Caster can use them. However, these treasures are hidden among the numerous treasures here, so you'll have to find them yourself."

The sphinx guardian said with a smile that did not seem like a smile.

"Find them myself?"

Merlin glanced at the dazzling array of treasure in front of him. In the past, perhaps the purple gold crown was finally selected by the Blackmoon Great Wizards after careful selection as it was the most suitable for members of the royal family.

Now that Bhutto XVII was crowned Emperor, the entire royal family had become the target of public criticism. Many Spell Casters were dissatisfied with the royal family. Therefore, what Bhutto XVII needed now should be a Defensive-type treasure, ideally like the purple gold crown.

However, it was almost impossible to choose another identical purple gold grown. Merlin first chose a Defensive-type treasure as his target, so his choices became much wider.

There were armors, cloaks, shields, and other Defensive-type treasures. They came in all sorts of different patterns but they all emitted the same force, just like the original purple gold crown that Merlin saw.

"The force these treasures give out is around the same but you'll only know its true power when you've selected one and when I've personally release the seal. Therefore, you have to choose carefully. Don't worry, you can take your time. There's no time limit."

The sphinx guardian "kindly" reminded Merlin.

Merlin's heart was shocked. He had been deceived by the force of the treasures. He felt that they were all similar to the purple gold crown, so even if he chose wrongly, it would not be worse than the purple gold crown. This was a big mistake.

There were also many good and bad treasures here. Bad treasures were much inferior to the purple gold crown, and might not be of much help to the royal family.

Merlin frowned. This made things difficult. He chose carefully, and finally took a fancy to a piece of armor.

Although it was an armor, it was extremely thin and almost weightless. It was covered with runes and gleamed like liquid gold, appearing very noble.

After losing the purple gold crown, it was not unacceptable to get such a "noble" armor but the armor had to be at least as strong, if not stronger, than the purple gold crown.

"Alright, I'll choose this!"

Merlin said while pointing at the gold armor.

"Are you sure you want this? You can only choose one treasure. If you lose this opportunity, there's no next time."

Merlin nodded and said, "I want this!"

"Well, I don't know what this armor is either. We'll find out when the seal is released."

A mysterious force appeared in the sphinx guardian's hands. Merlin had never heard of a power like that. Perhaps that was the reason why it could contend with Great Legends, just by relying on the strength of its body.

"Bang."

The invisible seal broke with a light noise that echoed in the ears. Then, the gold armor in the sphinx guardian's hands changed. A dazzling golden light lit up the entire secret chamber.

Sharp Elemental fluctuations appeared on the surface of the armor as it emitted a boundless force.

"Congratulations, you're very lucky. This is a treasure comparable to a Great Legend, called the sacred golden armor!"

The sphinx guardian was slightly shocked when it saw this armor. It did not expect that an ordinary piece of armor would be so powerful after the seal was lifted. This was one of the best treasures among the many treasures here.

"It's comparable to a Great Legend?"

Merlin also revealed a smile. The armor did look strong but it was useless to Merlin. He could achieve an effect better than this armor by using spells.

However, to the royal family, this was definitely a better treasure compared to the purple gold crown. With this golden armor, the royal family would be able to exert pressure on all sides and strike fear into many spell casters' organizations, thus maintaining the vast Blackmoon Empire.

Coupled with the royal family's potential and resources, there would be more Great Wizards in the future. As long as there was enough time, even without this sacred golden armor, the royal family would surely be able to occupy the entire empire.

Therefore, this armor was truly important to the current royal family.

"I can only choose one treasure?"

Merlin wanted to choose more treasures for the Dark Magic Region and the Wilson clan. After all, Merlin was not good at alchemy. Treasures like the purple gold crown and the sacred golden armor were too few and far in between.

"Yes, only one! However, if you can defeat me, you can obtain more mystical treasures. Even if you fail, this treasure is yours."

The sphinx guardian seemed to be "tempting" Merlin to continue to break through.

"There are even more mystical treasures?"

"Of course. If you defeat me, you'll get unimaginable benefits. Things that you Spell Casters and even Lords dream about having but fail to obtain, can be found here. It's your fortune to have found this place!"

The sphinx guardian fell silent after finishing, quietly awaiting Merlin's decision.

Merlin had a strong interest in this secret place. Whether it was the transformation between living and non-living beings like the sphinx or the shockingly huge stone carvings or these treasures, Merlin had never seen any of them before.

There were even more legends hidden here, making Merlin unable to resist.

"Please help me pass this sacred golden armor to Great Wizard Byron outside. I'll continue onward."

Merlin made his decision after a long moment.

"Very well. Of course, there won't be a problem to send this sacred golden armor outside but defeating me won't be easy. I can't be compared to those two fools outside."

The sphinx guardian smiled. Then, his body swelled rapidly like blowing up a balloon until it expanded several times.

Immediately, Merlin felt a violent force sweep over. The feeling of danger was much more than before.

Merlin took a deep breath. He knew the sphinx guardian was not ordinary. It was not an ordinary Legend. However, he did not dare to be careless, and a large multi-colored Wizard Heart appeared behind him immediately.

The invisible forces collided with each other, evenly matched.

"Good. It's been a while since I've met such an opponent. Come, defeat me, and you can get unimaginable benefits!"

The sphinx guardian growled. A huge pair of hands frantically crushed downward like a millstone. The air itself seemed to be squashed.

The heavy pressure made Merlin instantly feel like he was suffocating. This was pure strength!

"What a powerful force! Ice Seal!"

Merlin gave a loud roar, and the Wizard Heart trembled slightly. Immediately, cold air appeared and froze the surroundings. Even the sphinx guardian's arm was frozen.

However, even those solid ice crystals seemed to be cracked lightly by the powerful force.

Merlin's Wizard Heart moved slightly again, and a surging wind swept the sphinx guardian away. The terrifying force seemed to be able to strangle everything.

Under the attack of two spells, the sphinx guardian went completely berserk. The violent strength fiercely split open Ice Seal, and his hands ripped apart Merlin's squall.

"It's so powerful!"

Merlin could tell that the sphinx guardian had not reached the strength of an Honored Legend, similar to Merlin. Ordinary spells would not be enough.

"Since it's a living being, it should be affected by Hallucinating spells."

Merlin felt that it would be very challenging to defeat the sphinx guardian just by relying on the Wizard Heart. Therefore, he immediately mobilized the Illusory World. Anything would be affected by Hallucinating spells as long as it had consciousness and had a life force.

"Rumble."

The incorporeal Illusory World immediately enveloped the sphinx guardian. Its fierce and powerful strength was not inferior to Merlin's multi-colored Wizard Heart, but now, as the sphinx guardian had a consciousness, it was dragged into an illusion with the power of the Illusory World.

"Bang."

Merlin used spells to form a large hand, and viciously hit the sphinx guardian that was still trapped inside the illusion. The sphinx guardian was immediately heavily injured.

"What was that?"

The sphinx returned to its senses with a hint of surprise on its face.

"It was a Hallucinating spell. Your strength is enormous, so I could only use a Hallucinating Spell to trap you in an illusion. Fortunately, your will wasn't too firm, so you easily fell into the illusion."

Merlin did not hide anything and directly explained.

"I lost… Please tell me your name."

The sphinx guardian stood up again, seemingly a little desolate.

"My name is Merlin!"

"Wizard Merlin, in so many years, you're the first to defeat me. Congratulations, you can enter the world created by Master. Inside are creatures that Master had created. They're completely different from your Spell Caster civilization but Master wasn't satisfied, so he sealed them. Moreover, there are some of Master's insights that were left behind. If you can obtain them, your accomplishments would be hard to imagine."

What the sphinx guardian said stunned Merlin once again. Although he had been surprised many times since entering this secret place, he was still shocked this time.

Creating a world could be understood as creating a dimension. Ultimate existences could generally accomplish that. For example, the Spell Caster civilization's three great Arcane Cities were created by the Arcane Wizards.

However, creating life from nothing was reversing the natural order. It was not something that Arcane Wizards or ultimate existences from the Void Zone could do.

"Who exactly is your master?"

Merlin asked word by word, staring at the sphinx guardian with a serious expression.