Chapter 1882 - 21 - 30

Chapter 21: The Matrix

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

"Instruction confirmed. Initiating The Matrix. Scanning owner's identity. Creating folders. Owner's identity confirmed. Do you want to bind account?"

After a long while, a monotonous digital voice rang again and echoed in Merlin's head.

"Yes!"

Merlin did not hesitate. He knew once he had bound his credentials, he would be able to use The Matrix. Others could not even see it because this advanced quantum calculator was injected into the blood in the form of liquefied metal. It merged completely in the flesh and blood of the owner and no one could destroy it.

"Collecting blood samples. Binding successful! Reading folder. Folder crashed. Building a new folder… Please name the new folder."

"New folder, huh."

Merlin's eyes shone and said in a deep voice, "Folder name Merlin!"

"Naming new folder successful. Welcome, Mr. Merlin to use The Matrix, the quantum calculator!"

At this time, the voice of The Matrix had turned into a sweet girl's voice. Her voice sounded relaxing.

Merlin was sitting on the high wooden chair quietly. Although he seemed calm, his shining eyes had betrayed the excitement he felt on the inside.

For a Spell Caster to construct a suitable Spell Model, he would need to spend a few dozen years to make all sorts of simulation and calculation of the Spell Model. Even so, many final Spell Model of the Spell Casters was still not satisfying.

The creation of Spell Model had wasted many of the Spell Caster's time. Now, Merlin had this quantum calculator with him. It represented the most advanced technology in his previous life. With its aid, maybe Merlin would not need to waste much energy on creating a Spell Model.

"Anyhow, let's test it. Let's see if The Matrix is useful."

Though excited, Merlin still kept his head cool. He knew he had to use The Matrix to test these Spell Models. He needed to see if this could work.

Merlin immediately ordered, "The Matrix, create a Fireball database."

The Matrix immediately began its scan and recorded all the Spell Models of Fireball that old man Etha had studied for years into the database.

"Fireball database successfully created."

"Immediately analyze these Spell Models!"

Along with Merlin's order, the powerful quantum calculator began its work. Its speed was unfathomably fast. In the blink of an eye, The Matrix had immediately created up to ten thousand of Spell Models for Fireball with old man Etha's Spell Models as the base. On top of that, the number was still increasing.

"Dee! Analysis completed. In total, one hundred and eighty-six thousand five hundred and nineteen models created."

Hearing the voice of The Matrix, even Merlin was dumbfounded. One hundred and eighty thousand Spell Models. Just from old man Etha's few Spell Models as the foundation, one hundred and eighty thousand new Spell Models were created.

This was the forte of this calculator. If it was pure manpower, they could not have thought of all the possibilities no matter how creative they were or how strong their Mind Power was, not to mention creating one hundred and eighty thousand Spell Models.

Of course, most of the Spell Models found were not what Merlin needed. Merlin still had to filter the overall best and the most suitable Spell Model for himself.

Merlin thought the first element of choosing a Spell Model was its stability, not power. With stability as the foundation, he would increase the strength of the spell. Spell Model created from this line of thought would be the best Spell Model for him.

Merlin closed his eyes. With a serious look on him, he placed his hands lightly on the table, hitting a frequent yet dynamic rhythm. This was Merlin's habit. Whenever he was thinking and preparing to make a decision, he would naturally do this action.

After a long while, Merlin opened his eyes and said, "The Matrix, use the Spell Models in the database and choose all Spell Models that have stability above Spell Model No.1!"

Merlin's so-called Spell Model No. 1 meant the Spell Model created by old man Etha with the highest stability. It was the one old man Etha was most satisfied with among all. Its specialty was its stability. Once he simulated it in his mind with Mind Power, the possibility of it falling apart was very low.

Merlin's choice was undoubtedly focused on stability. Without chasing after the mere strength of a spell, Merlin knew only a stable Spell Model would be a good foundation for higher-level Spell Model in the future.

This was just like a building. Zero-level Spell Model was the foundation. The more stable the foundation, the higher the building could be possibly built in the future.

Merlin had thought a lot about it before making the decision.

"Filtering begin… Dee! In total, one hundred and thirty-eight Spell Models are more stable than Spell Model No.1!"

The Matrix had completed filtering in lightning speed. In addition, the result also surprised Merlin.

There were one hundred and thirty-eight Spell Models that were more stable than the Spell Model created by old man Etha after building it for several years.

This was the effect of high-speed calculation incomparable to the human mind no matter what.

From these filtered results, Merlin wanted to filter them further.

"From these Spell Models, choose the Spell Model that causes stronger explosion than No. 13."

Merlin issued his order to The Matrix. No. 13 was the most powerful model among the Spell Models created by old man Etha. However, its structure was greatly unstable. Once No. 13 was forcefully used, it could fall apart easily. Since it was highly dangerous, old man Etha advised in his Spell Manual numerous times against choosing such Spell Model which was easily collapsible.

"Dee! Filtered ended. There's no Spell Model that fits the criteria."

Merlin frowned. There was no Spell Model among these one hundred and thirty-eight that was stronger than No. 13.

However, after some thoughts, he calmed down. A Spell Model that was stable and powerful was not easy to find. Stability and strength – one could only choose one trait or reach a compromise.

After understanding this point, Merlin continued his order, "Change of filter criteria. Find the strongest one among these one hundred and thirty-eight Spell Models."

Soon, an extremely complicated Spell Model appeared in Merlin's head. It was the Spell Model that The Matrix had found which fit Merlin's criteria.

This Spell Model was stable enough. As for its power, Merlin thought about it then asked The Matrix softly, "As compared to No.13, how strong is this Spell Model?"

"According to the structure of this Spell Model, this Spell Model's strength was about seventy percent of No.13!"

"Seventy percent? More than enough. It's much better than Teacher Etha's Spell Model No.1."

Merlin sighed in relief. It was good enough to have seventy percent of the strength of Spell Model No.13 and it was far stronger than old man Etha's Spell Model No.1.

Then, Merlin closed his eyes slightly. He began to carefully study this Spell Model that was chosen from one hundred and eighty thousand Spell Model where it was deemed the most suitable for Merlin.

Moreover, this Spell Model could be considered as the best compromise between stability and strength. The Spell Models old man Etha used a few dozen years to create could not compare to the Spell Model that was created using The Matrix in a short amount of time.

After choosing the Spell Model, the last step was to simulate it in his mind with Mind Power. This process was the step that took the longest time to complete and easiest to fail.

If he had weak Mind Power, even remembering the complex Spell Model would be difficult, not to mention simulating it in his mind. That would be more than difficult.

Although old man Etha had left a note noting Merlin's strong Mind Power and his potential to become a Spell Caster, Merlin had to complete the last step to become a true Spell Caster.

Thus, Merlin closed his eyes in silence and focused his mind. He began to simulate the Spell Model of Zero-level Fireball.

The Spell Model modified by The Matrix was even more complex as compared to old man Etha's Spell Model. It was even difficult to draw all the curved lines on a paper and moreover, he had to simulate it with Mind Power.

Facing such a complicated Spell Model, the consumption of Mind Power was beyond imagination. Merlin had already felt the exhausting effect from trying to simulate the Spell Model with Mind Power.

One hour, two hours…

Snow suddenly fell outside the window and so, the temperature in the house seemed lower.

Merin had sat on the wooden chair for two to three hours. His legs were numb from the cold but he could not feel a thing right now. This was because his attention was all focused on the Spell Model in his head.

After simulating it repeatedly, Merlin finally felt a slight change in his Awareness.

Awareness was the place where Mind Power resided and was the most mysterious place in the brain. The Spell Model in which Merlin simulated with Mind Power had taken its form by now and appeared in the empty Awareness.

"Finally, it's done…"

Suddenly, Merlin opened his eyes. His voice even trembled from excitement.

Finally, after spending three hours, Merlin had successfully simulated the Spell Model of Fireball in his mind with Mind Power.

As soon as the Spell Model had formed its shape, Merlin had a feeling that was slightly different than before. Even though he had sat without moving for a few hours and his limbs had gone cold, but now there seemed to be a ball of heat surrounding him.

He could see it if he closed his eyes. The Spell Model of Fireball in his Awareness was spinning slowly right now. There seemed to be a small spark of fire being absorbed into the Spell Model from the outside.

That fire spark made Merlin thought of Fire Element!

When Merlin was asking Macy how he could sense Fire Element, Macy had described the shape of Fire Element. Since Merlin did not possess an affinity to the Fire Element, he could not attract Fire Element into his body by nature so he could not become an Elemental Swordsman.

However, now that he had the Spell Model of Fireball, he could feel endless Fire Element entering his body in a frenzy. They were rapidly merging into the Fireball's Spell Model. It was as if the Spell Model in the Awareness was a black hole, crazily engulfing the endless Fire Element around it.

Chapter 22: Fireball Spell

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

It was chilly outside the castle. Snow was falling heavily and formed a thin layer of frost on the ground. However, Merlin could not feel the cold at all. Instead, he felt overly warm. He even took off his thick coat, leaving only a thick shirt on.

The Spell Model of Fireball finally formed in his Awareness. What Merlin was about to do now was to test the strength of the Fireball.

Merlin scanned the room. His surrounding was not suitable for him to do the Fireball testing, so Merlin wore his coat and headed out.

He recalled there was a secret basement in Wilson Castle. It was very hidden and wide. Only Old Wilson, the butler and Merlin knew about this basement.

Merlin wanted to test the Fireball and the basement was the perfect place for him.

Recalling his memory, Merlin went straight to Old Wilson's room. He pressed a brick on the wall lightly. That was the switch that gave the way to the basement.

"Ka-chak."

With a creak, a wall in Old Wilson's room gradually pulled apart from two sides. Dust flew about and fell on the ground.

In a couple of moments, a dark tunnel stood before Merlin. He took a candlestick on Old Wilson's table and lit the candles. With the weak light, he walked into the opening.

The passage was extremely dark as no one had come in for a long time. There was a heavy and unbearable stench in it. Merlin proceeded cautiously without stopping.

This passage headed downward. A long stone staircase led him to a place a hundred meters below ground. At two sides of the passage, there were many candlesticks. Whenever Merlin met a candlestick, he would light the candles. Thus, the dark passage turned bright and clear as he walked further.

Walking on for a few minutes, the stone staircase had disappeared and Merlin had reached a wide basement.

This basement was just a hall. There were more than ten small rooms storing weapons, shield and armors.

Merlin could still recall the few times he was brought here by Old Wilson when he was ten years old. When Old Wilson was repairing the castle, he had referenced the structure of a few military fortresses. Thus, there was a basement which only allowed one person to enter. If there was any danger, one could simply hide in it.

If one had prepared way beforehand and stocked the basement, the supplies here would be enough to feed a few hundred people for a year.

However, many years had passed. Blackwater City was peaceful without many wars, so the basement was gradually neglected.

Albeit neglected, the basement provided enough space for Merlin to test the power of Fireball.

Thus, Merlin stood at the center of the underground hall and began to sense the Spell Model in his Awareness quietly.

The Spell Model in his Awareness was still rotating slowly. Even the slightest Fire Element underground was absorbed into the Spell Model.

The Fire Element that was absorbed by the Spell Model was the Magic Power of the Spell Caster itself! The longer the time Spell Model existed, the more the Magic Power it accumulated. So, once the Spell Model was created in the Awareness, one could just leave it alone. The Spell Model would automatically accumulate Magic Power.

Merlin read old man Etha's Spell Manual carefully and was clear about the method to cast a spell. It was easy where he would need to stimulate the Spell Model with Mind Power.

"Fireball!"

Merlin shouted. His Mind Power directly stimulated the Spell Model of Fireball. In the blink of an eye, a fireball which emitted scorching heat appeared from the empty space less than a meter away from Merlin.

Merlin was filled with elation but he was not able to control his Mind Power, so the fireball dissipated as quickly as it had been formed.

The fireball dissipated because Merlin had not controlled his Mind Power properly. Once the fireball was cast, the Spell Caster had to control it with his Mind Power.

Even though he failed the first time, Merlin did not give up. He concluded his experience and lesson and cast another fireball.

This time, he controlled the fireball well with his Mind Power and began to direct the fireball to fly around in the air.

"Boom!"

The fireball crashed into a stone wall. This fireball in the size of a fist seemed to contain a large amount of energy. It caused the tough wall to tremble and burned a half-inch hole in it.

That was not enough to show the true strength of Fireball. Merlin took a heavy armor from the storeroom in the basement. This was the standard equipment of a heavy-armored knight. Once he had this on, even the sharp knight's spear could not pierce his armor.

It was naturally just right for Merlin to use this armor to test the power of Fireball.

He hung the armor on the wall but he did not continue to cast Fireball. Instead, he sat down for a rest.

Merlin rubbed his head with both hands. Since he had cast Fireball for two times, he realized the Magic Power accumulated in the Spell Model had been emptied. If he wanted to cast it again, he would need to wait for his Magic Power to recover.

Looking at the Spell Model in his Awareness which absorbed the Fire Element from outside slowly, Merlin thought to himself as he murmured, "It seems like the time is too short since the creation of the Spell Model. I can only cast Fireball for two times."

As for lack of Magic Power, Merlin could not do anything. The accumulation of Magic Power could only rely on the time the Spell Model was given to accumulate. There was no shortcut to it.

After an hour, the Spell Model slowly recovered. Merlin could cast Fireball once again.

"Go!"

Merlin cast it again. This time, he was already familiar with the casting of Fireball, so he could do it swiftly. He controlled the fireball in front of him and smashed it into the armor on the wall.

"Ssss."

There was no huge noise as he had imagined. A fist-like hole burnt through the protection of the armor that covered the front chest by the small fireball. The hole was still hissing smoke.

Even Merlin had broken into a cold sweat. He was aghast. Even though he had assumed the strength of the Fireball would be remarkable, he did not expect it to be this powerful.

This was a heavy armor made from iron. Its defense was top notch among other armor – even the knight's spear could not pierce it.

However, the Fireball could easily burn a hole in an armor of such defense. The small fireball Merlin cast contained a terrifying power and temperature.

"Hmm? What's this?"

Merlin came back to his senses. When he was checking the Spell Model in his Awareness, he found something new. In his Awareness, there was a grey horizontal frame beside the slowly rotating Spell Model.

Merlin was worried about the appearance of this grey frame in his Awareness, especially near his Spell Model.

"When does this appear?"

Merlin furrowed his eyebrows. He remembered clearly that this grey frame was not there when he built the Spell Model. It must had appeared lately.

Thus, he observed it more closely. He realized half of this grey frame was slightly bright while the other part remained dull.

Merlin observed for a long time but he still did not know what this frame was nor did he know when it had appeared in his Awareness. However, he did not plan to waste his time studying this frame. He needed to spend a long time trying to familiarize the process of casting the Fireball.

Thus, Merlin released the fireball again. His Mind Power guided the fireball and crashed it into the heavy armor.

"Boom!"

This time, the whole fireball exploded and flew all over the place. Even the armor with high defense strength was blown into pieces.

This was the effect of Mind Power. Not only could it guide the direction of the spell but also made many changes to it. For example, he could let the fireball explode when it approached the enemy. If he needed to deal with hard objects, he would not let it explode and instead, he would burn a hole through it due to the heat.

These were all techniques used in casting spells. It required long practices and battle experiences to gradually discover all effects of spells.

Since Merlin had just built his Spell Model, he would usually empty his Magic Power after casting two Fireballs. He must rest during this time to wait for his Magic Power to recover.

If he forcefully stimulated the Spell Model, he could cause the Spell Model to fall apart and caused a detrimental effect on the Spell Caster indirectly.

These taboos during the process of casting spells were recorded in detail in old man Etha's Spell Manual. Merlin had memorized all by heart.

When he was resting, Merlin found that grey frame again in his Awareness. However, the strange thing was that the frame was no longer grey. It had become red.

Looking at the red frame, Merlin had a strange feeling so he tried to touch it with his Mind Power.

"Woom."

After being stimulated by Merlin's Mind Power, the red frame shone a bright light. The static Spell Model which was slowly recovering suddenly spun in a fast movement.

At the same time, the Magic Power that had recovered was rapidly emptied by Spell Model. Before Merlin even understood what was going on, a large fireball immediately appeared in front of him. It slowly hovered in the air and its internal part seemed greatly unstable. It seemed it was about to explode anytime.

Merlin gawked at the large fireball in shock. If his previous fireballs were the size of a fist, then this fireball was almost the size of three to four fists.

"Not good."

The fireball was not guided by Merlin's Mind Power. Moreover, its internal part seemed greatly unstable and seemed as if it might explode anytime. Merlin felt a sense of danger and immediately directed the fireball with his Mind Power to collide with the ground.

Chapter 23: The Incident I

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

"V-room!"

A huge yet heavy noise rang. It was as if the whole basement was shaking.

After a while, Merlin stood up from the ground. He patted his head slightly to find that his head and clothes were covered with dust. The place where the large fireball collided with directly caused a gigantic hole, almost half a meter in diameter. It only showed what terrifying power was contained within that fireball just now.

Merlin quickly checked his Awareness. He noticed that the frame had turned grey again. Meanwhile, the Spell Model remained the same except that it had exhausted its Magic Power.

Looking at the gigantic hole, Merlin still felt overwhelmed. The power of that fireball was out of his expectation and its appearance must be closely related to the horizontal frame that appeared out of nowhere in his Awareness.

After that, Merlin tried all ways to observe the change of frame in his Awareness. Finally, Merlin found the usage of the frame.

It turned out that after Merlin had cast Fireball for three times, the color of the frame would turn from grey to red. At this time, once he used Mind Power to stimulate the frame, the Spell Model would be triggered and released a gigantic fireball. Its power was terrifying and at least three times stronger than the normal fireball.

Merlin could not understand the reason behind the appearance of the frame. Maybe it was because "The Matrix" had redesigned the Spell Model. Or maybe it was because Merlin had passed through from another life.

However, no matter what, this frame at least brought a great advantage to Merlin. It could bring out a spell which had a force three times greater than that of any normal Zero-level spell. Even though Merlin did not know how strong a First-level spell was, the fireball created from triggering the frame would not be any less than the First-level spell.

Moreover, this was Merlin's hidden power. He could use it as his trump card.

With the gigantic fireball released by the frame in mind, Merlin named this triggered Fireball as Large Fireball since the name fit the image well.

Merlin then continued his Fireball practice in the basement.

When the night had fallen, Merlin was bending over his writing desk under the weak candlelight. He was flipping through the final volume of the Spell Manual carefully.

Old man Etha's Spell Manual consisted of three volumes. The first volume talked about his introduction about Spell Casters and his experience of casting spells.

The second volume recorded all sorts of Spell Models in which old man Etha had spent years to create relentlessly. Merlin had completed reading the first two volumes of the Spell Manual. He had rebuilt his Spell Model and even simulated the Spell Model of Fireball in his Awareness. However, during his practice of Fireball in the basement, he found some weaknesses he had currently.

The most crucial weakness was his lack of Mind Power!

Spell Model determined whether a person could become a Spell Caster while Mind Power determined whether the Spell Caster could become a strong one. So, a strong Spell Caster must be excellent in both creating Spell Model and using Mind Power. Only with this, he could be able to overcome all difficulties and become the ever-strong Spell Caster.

To increase his Mind Power, his only way was to meditate.

Merlin's current Mind Power could barely control a Spell Model. If he wanted to construct a second Spell Model in his Awareness, he would not be able to do it. Thus, Merlin decided to read through old man Etha's Spell Manual. He believed that old man Etha must have left a Mind Meditation Method in his Spell Manual.

Merlin slowly flipped the mysterious third volume open. From just a few pages, he found a few Mind Meditation Methods, but according to these notes, these were only beginner methods where their effects were limited.

These methods had their own specialties. Some specialized in Mind Power recovery. Once he had exhausted his Mind Power, he could recover himself quickly through this method.

Some could increase Mind Power. This was what Merlin needed – Mind Meditation Method that could increase Mind Power.

After careful consideration, Merlin chose a beginner Meditation Method and began to do as this method told. He closed his eyes and maintained the steady state of his Mind Power.

Mind Meditation Method like this had to be practiced for a long time to properly induce a change. So, after Merlin had grasped the steps of this method, he opened his eyes and stood up. He did not check the state of his Mind Power since he did not expect the method to have any immediate effect.

"Young Master Merlin."

Outside his door, Lucia's voice reached him.

"Come in."

Merlin had already woken up and dressed properly by now.

Lucia pushed the door open and entered the room with her head lowered. She said to Merlin, "Young Master Merlin, the butler asked me to take Young Master's body measurement so that we can make some clothes for you."

Merlin lowered his head to look at his body. He felt it too recently. The clothes on him seemed to be slightly smaller. For some reason, his body shape had turned muscular rapidly in these few months as if he was an inflated balloon. His usual clothes seemed to be ill-fitting and restricted his movement greatly.

"Alright."

Merlin hesitated for a moment but he still took his coat off. Wearing only a thin shirt, he opened his arms wide and signaled for Lucia to take his body measurement.

Lucia came forward hurriedly. With a body tape measure, she measured Merlin's height.

Merlin had become a lot taller in these few months, so Lucia was unable to reach his head. She could only stand on tiptoe and stood lightly against Merlin's front chest and measured Merlin's height in difficulty.

Lucia was raising her head as she measured it. She wore her white maid uniform and the neckline was rather wide. Merlin could see her fair skin the moment he lowered his head for just a little.

Lucia was a beautiful woman to begin with. She had freckles on her face which did not affect her beauty but it made her look fetching. Merlin squinted his eyes while his unscrupulous gaze fell all over Lucia. Suddenly, even if it was freezing outside of the castle, Merlin felt a scorching heat rising in his body.

"Young Master Merlin, I'm done."

Lucia seemed to notice Merlin's stare and she looked nervous. She took a few steps back and lowered her head. She did not dare to look at Merlin.

"Alright. You may go now."

Merlin waved his hand and asked Lucia to leave. He walked in front of the mirror and stared at his young face. Merlin smiled a little and mumbled to himself, "It seems I've abstained for too long…"

Since Merlin had arrived in this world, he had always felt a sense of danger. No matter what he did, he did it carefully and because of that, he seemed meticulous and cautious.

Then, he found Magic and immersed himself in it.

However, this body was only sixteen years old. It was the age that was filled with passion and excitement. Even if he did not have those thoughts, his body would react nonetheless.

Merlin wore his coat back and went downstairs but he did not find Macy anywhere in sight.

"Butler, where's Macy?"

"Young Lady Macy had left for the church."

Merlin nodded. He had been busy practicing Fireball for this whole month, sometimes not even seeing Macy at all. However, since Macy had been going out early and coming back late every day, it seemed like she had not overcome the barrier to become an Elemental Swordsman.

Merlin only knew a little about Elemental Swordsman. To overcome the barrier to become one, Merlin was unsure about the exact ways as well.

However, he knew the most important thing to be an Elemental Swordsman was the accumulation of Element. Only when the Element had been stored in the body to a certain extent, she could become an Elemental Swordsman.

Macy had an affinity to Fire Element so she needed to accumulate Fire Element. Merlin's Spell Model in his Awareness also absorbed Fire Element. Both matters should have something in common.

"When Macy is back, let's find a time and test it out. Let's see if I can help her to overcome the barrier to become an Elemental Swordsman."

Merlin decided in his heart.

After having breakfast, Merlin wore a grey scarf and headed straight out of the castle.

The butler asked in surprise, "Young Master Merlin, you're heading out?"

"I'm going out for a walk."

"Young Master Merlin, please wait. Let me call Moss."

Merlin shook his head. "Don't have to. I want to go for a walk by myself."

After that, he left the castle directly despite the Butler's surprise.

Merlin walked for a while and reached old man Etha's small wooden house.

Staring at the small house, Merlin had a complicated expression.

The small house had been abandoned completely because this was the place where the evil heretic had lived so there was no one around. The garden in front of the small house still had some flowers but they were covered by snow at the moment where it formed a blanket of whiteness.

Merlin stuck his hands into his pocket. With a hat on him, he looked around the place. After making sure there was no one around, he pushed the rusty iron fence open and climbed the wooden stairs.

Merlin took off his hat and gently brushed the snow off. He raised his head and took a glance at the second floor. When he was about to go upstairs, suddenly his expression stiffened as he squinted his eyes.

"Footsteps. Someone's here."

Merlin said it softly. He noticed a series of clear footsteps on the supposedly dusty staircase. Moreover, the footsteps were covered in moist mud. Obviously, these footsteps were not left here a long time ago. Someone was here. The person might even be upstairs now!

So Merlin looked upstairs cautiously. Then, he wore his hat lightly and went up softly and quietly.

The footsteps still seemed clear as no one had cleaned the house for a long time. So, the stairs were exceptionally dusty. That was how he was able to spot the footsteps so clearly.

Reaching the second floor, Merlin checked the door handle carefully. There was almost no dust on it. Someone had opened this door by this handle.

"Who is it?"

Merlin did not enter the room bluntly. He squinted his eyes. In his mind, multiple familiar figures flashed across his eyes. The footsteps looked small. Rather than a man's footsteps, it seemed more likely to be a woman's.

"Could it be Miss Carice?"

Merlin could not help but think of Carice. After all, old man Etha was the evil heretic. People of Blackwater City would not come to this place at all. The people who were friendly with old man Etha and used to frequent this place was Merlin and Carice.

Right at this time, Merlin's sharp hearing suddenly caught the soft sound of footsteps outside of the house. Someone was heading toward the main door.

Merlin responded swiftly and hid on the left side of the main door. His eyes stared at the main door sharply.

Chapter 24: The Incident II

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

Merlin listened closely to the sounds in the house. Since he had practiced the posture of that mysterious relief sculpture relentlessly, Merlin's senses had been greatly sharpened. He could hear any slight sounds in the house.

"Why isn't there any sound?"

Merlin frowned. He heard a series of light footsteps just now and it seemed the person had reached the door. Suddenly, all sounds had stopped.

"Boom."

With a loud bang, the wooden door beside Merlin was smashed broken by someone, sending the broken wooden debris flying around. Following that, a hand quickly reached out from the hole made in the wooden door. A white light flashed by.

"Phew."

It was a sharp dagger headed directly toward Merlin.

"I have been found!"

Merlin immediately realized that he had been found out.

The dagger came at him at the speed of lightning. Merlin could not even defend against it. The only thing he could do was to roll sideways, barely dodging the hit.

"F*ck!"

Merlin was so infuriated that he spat out a curse. He almost got killed even before he had a clear view of the person's face. It turned out he was still too clueless.

After that, Merlin did not wait for his doom. Instead, his body curled up like a fierce leopard and dashed toward the wooden door brutally with his explosive strength.

"Ka-chak."

The wooden door was completely destroyed by this hit. Merlin felt himself crashing into a soft body, bringing the person into the wooden house.

The wooden house was dark with all the curtains shut tight. They must have been shut off by the people from the City Defense Troop. The whole house was almost sealed off. Moreover, since the place was not ventilated for a long time, the house reeked of an unbearable, moldy stench.

After crashing into the person, Merlin quickly jumped up from the ground. His alerted gaze set tightly on the person as he asked, "Who are you?"

The secret person in front of him wore a long black coat. The wide coat had covered his body shape so her figure could not be seen. Also, she wore a large, black cloak over her head so her face could not be seen.

Faced with Merlin's question, the secret person did not speak. Instead, she held up her dagger. Her wide black coat slowly began shaking. It was as though there were gusts of wind blowing beside her.

"Hmm? Wind Element? Elemental Swordsman?"

Merlin was already extremely sensitive toward Elements. The Wind Element on the person was extremely strong and surrounded her completely. She was an Elemental Swordsman. From the wave of Wind Element about her, she should just be a First-level Elemental Swordsman.

"Swoosh."

Her figure flashed when her speed had reached its peak. In the dark wooden house, Merlin still could not grasp the secret person's figure even when his senses had already been sharpened greatly. His opponent's speed was simply too quick.

Merlin could only stay still and remain imperturbable in this incident. Once he sensed some movements near him, he would send his fist that way without thinking. However, each punch seemed to only hit empty air. This made Merlin fairly upsetting because all his strength had not been put to correct use.

"Tsk."

Suddenly, Merlin felt a chill at his neck. A sense of immediate danger could be felt and he quickly turned his neck sideways. The sharp dagger directly pierced Merlin's skin.

It was great fortune that Merlin was able to dodge in time. Moreover, his body had become extremely sturdy due to the practice of posture. So, this attack only ended in a scratch.

However, this made Merlin break into a cold sweat. Just by a small margin, his neck would have been pierced.

"D*mn it. Too fast!"

Merlin cursed in a low voice. His opponent was a Wind Swordsman that specialized in speed. Her figure that came and went like a shadow was simply too quick. Merlin even had difficulty to catch the person's figure by sight, not to mention getting a hit.

The house was too dark. Under such an environment, fighting with a Wind Swordsman only put him in a disadvantaged situation.

Thinking about that, Merlin turned around abruptly and dashed outside.

"Huhu."

However, the secret person's speed seemed to be quicker. She came right in front of Merlin and stabbed at Merlin's chest.

"Got you. Go to hell!"

Merlin's mouth quirked into a smile. With the light by the door, he could clearly see the shadow in front of him. This was the time he struck.

"Fireball!"

A fireball appeared out of nowhere and flew right at the secret person. The flying fireball emitted terrifying temperature and was more apparent in the dark house.

The fireball's speed was quick. The person also seemed to be shocked by the fireball that appeared abruptly. She only managed to dodge sideways as the fireball got a direct hit on the person's black cloak.

The heat given off by the Fireball was extremely high. Without almost anything to stop it, it quickly burnt off half the person's black cloak, revealing her beautiful blonde, long hair.

The house was still dark. Although Merlin could not see the person's facial expressions, he could guess that the person must be aghast.

When the person was still in shock, Merlin dashed forward. With his hands like leaf fan, he caught hold of her long coat and smashed her onto the ground.

"Bang."

Merlin's strength was exceptionally strong. She was immediately thrown into a state of confusion from this smash. Still, she was an Elemental Swordsman nonetheless. Her physical attributes were still excellent, so she still had the energy to stab at Merlin's neck.

"Hmph!"

Merlin groaned as his left hand grabbed the person's and his right hand grabbed her hair. Without the slightest hesitation, he smashed her head into the wall.

"Bang bang bang."

After smashing her in the wall consecutively for three times, the secret person no longer struggled and went slumped. Merlin only stopped after seeing that.

Merlin took in large mouthfuls of breath. This was his first time facing such a dangerous opponent. Moreover, it was a matter of life and death. Although in terms of their actual strength, Merlin was a strong Wizard who could easily win against any First-level and Second-level Elemental Swordsman, he almost died in the person's hand just now.

If he could not apply his spells in real battles, then it would be totally useless even if he got hold of strong spells.

Old man Etha had only grasped two Zero-level spells back then. He was the same as Merlin, an Entrance-level Spell Caster. Amongst the ranking of Spell Caster, Entrance-level could be counted as non-professional. Those Entrance-level Spell Caster could not even be counted as true Spell Caster. Only those who had grasped three Zero-level spells and had upgraded all three into First-level spells were able to become First-level Spell Caster.

Even if old man Etha was only an Entrance-level Spell Caster, he still dealt with the Guardian Swordsman from Grand City with ease. Even Second-level Elemental Swordsman like Swordsman Bogg was far from being his opponent. This also proved the strength of the Spell Casters. It was not something that could be compared to Elemental Swordsman.

However, Merlin was almost killed by a First-level Elemental Swordsman today. This showed how alarmingly lacking he was in terms of battle experiences. In the beginning, he did not even have a chance to cast his spell. As a Spell Caster, this was a deadly weak point.

Merlin touched his neck with his palm. He could feel some thick blood flowing out of it, but it was simply a small cut on the surface. Moreover, there was no more blood, so the figure was fine.

This was a great lesson to be learned!

"If I have cast Fireball and blasted the door open in the beginning, he won't be able to hurt me regardless of his speed."

Merlin was concluding his weakness from the battle just now. He had not gotten used to his identity as Spell Caster and his habit to attack first. Spell Caster should finish his enemy off from afar, not fighting close combat with an Elemental Swordsman.

The woman in a black clothing was still lying on the ground. Since she was smashed by Merlin for a few times, it might still take a while for her to regain consciousness. Thus, Merlin stood up and approached her. He uncovered half of the black cloak that remained on her.

After fighting for such a long time, Merlin had not gotten a close look at her face.

The black cloak was uncovered, revealing her blonde hair in which a part of it was burnt. The hair was still releasing a burnt odor.

"Too bad she had such a beautiful hair."

Merlin shook his head slightly as he praised this beautiful, long hair. It was a shame that Merlin's fireball had burnt a part of such beautiful hair. The blonde hair also appeared slightly black and extremely odd.

The person was lying on her side with her hair covering her face. Merlin put her hair slightly off her face and looked at her.

"Hmm?"

Merlin's eyes squinted. His stare became sharp immediately.

"Gia?"

The person lying on the ground was, to his surprise, Gia who taught his history class.

Merlin could still recall that even Gutt had not found Gia's true background with his family's influence back then. He did not expect to see Gia at this place.

Moreover, according to how she acted, she was not a normal teacher. It was not as simple as that.

Just when Merlin was guessing the relationship between Gia and old man Etha, Gia groaned slightly and was about to wake up.

Merlin stood up and took a step back, with his eyes staring dead at Gia.

After a while, Merlin heard Gia's breathing became rapid, so he pulled a light smile. "Stop pretending. Why don't you open your eyes if you're awake?"

Hearing Merlin's words, Gia opened her eyes as expected. She looked at Merlin and said in a calm tone, "Wilson Merlin? I can't believe Mr. Etha has really taken you as his true disciple."

Just when Gia was struggling to stand up, Merlin waved his hands. Following his motion, a fireball appeared and directly collided towards the ground beside Gia.

"Boom."

The fireball hit the ground and exploded directly. It blasted a hole off the wooden floor, leaving black smoke sizzling above the hole.

"Done with the game. Otherwise, the fireball will be exploding on your body the next time."

Merlin warned Gia directly with his action. After a month of an excruciating practice of his Mind Meditation spell, his Mind Power had finally improved. Most important of all, he was even more skillful in manipulating his Fireball so the situation of fireballs going out of control would not happen again.

Chapter 25: True Identity

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

A fireball emitting a scorching heat that was floating around Merlin. Deterred by the fireball, Gia did not dare to move. She only looked at Merlin silently.

Merlin nodded in satisfaction and said with a low pitch, "When I ask a question, you answer."

"Merlin, we are not enemy. You are Mr. Etha's disciple. You…"

Even before Gia finished her sentences, Merlin waved his hands again. A fireball dived right towards Gia who was still lying on the ground. She was shocked and quickly shook her dagger, trying to block this fireball.

"P-chink."

Although the fireball was only the size of a fist, its temperature was enough to melt iron. Thus, once Gia's dagger met the fireball, it immediately melted into liquid iron.

Meanwhile, the small fireball went forward, brushed by Gia's arm and hit the wall.

Gia's sleeve was directly burnt off, becoming torn pieces of debris. A black mark was also burnt on her white and delicate arm by that horrifying heat. An odor of grilled meat even filled the wooden house.

The excruciating pain made Gia break into a sweat. A tinge of fear was mixed in her gaze at Merlin.

"Now you should understand. When I ask a question, you answer."

Gia gritted her teeth and nodded. She did not dare to utter a single word more.

"What is your relationship with Teacher Etha?"

Merlin began the questioning.

Gia lightly pulled her body to lean on the wall. She answered, "Mr. Etha is my boss. I work under Mr. Etha. We are sent here by the Kingdom of Blackmoon."

Merlin finally understood. It turned out Gia and old man Etha were the people sent by the Kingdom of Blackmoon to the Kingdom of Light to fish for information. No wonder Gutt could not attain Gia's background at all.

"Teacher Etha is found by the church. Why aren't you found as well?"

"We almost never see each other. We have always exchanged information with codes. Mr. Etha is found because he is a Spell Caster. Mr. Etha made a trip to Grand City and was accidentally found out by the church. No matter what identity he holds, a Spell Caster will be eradicated by the church."

"If so, the church did not realize Teacher Etha was sent here by the Kingdom of Blackmoon? It's simply because his identity as a Spell Caster was found out?"

"It should be this way. Or else, with the church's capabilities, I would have been taken away by them a long time ago."

Merlin stared right at Gia. From her response, Merlin did not find anything illogical, so her response should be true.

Merlin was clear that heretic was not tolerated in the Kingdom of Light. Old man Etha was also hunted down by the Wizard in Inquisitor because his identity as Spell Caster was found out.

Perhaps, even the church had not realized his true identity. Except as a Spell Caster, he was also a member of the secret intelligence unit sent by the Kingdom of Blackmoon.

The atmosphere became heavy. Merlin's silence had caused great unrest in Gia's heart. She knew the man before her was thinking how he should deal with her.

"Other than you, does anybody else know about Teacher Etha's identity?"

Merlin thought about it for quite a while. His tone had become stern. If someone still knew about old man Etha's identity, then the person might use this fact against him. Merlin did not want to get involved in the matters between the Kingdom of Blackmoon and the Kingdom of Light.

So, once there was someone who still knew about old man Etha's identity around, then Gia could not be left alive.

Seemingly realized Merlin's intention, Gia appeared rather flustered. She quickly said, "Except for me, no one else knows about Mr. Etha's identity. Merlin, I am still of use to you. Even though you have become an honorable Spell Caster, but in the Kingdom of Light, you are seen as a heretic. You still bear the risk of being found out by the Church of Light anytime. With me, at least I can scout for information for you. Until you decided to leave the Kingdom of Light, I can help you to…"

Gia's pitiful figure and her beautiful face truly hit a soft spot in people's heart.

"Get up."

Finally, Merlin spoke slowly. The fireball before him also gradually dissipated, turning into a wisp of smoke.

"Hu…"

Gia who leaned against the wall finally sighed in relief. She took a large mouthful of breaths as she wiped the cold sweat on her forehead. Holding her injured arm, she stood up in jittery.

She stood up, but she did not leave immediately. Instead, she began to take off her clothes. First, she took off the black cloak, revealing a thick, white fur coat.

Without the cover-up of the black cloak, Gia's prideful shape then showed itself. Only that she seemed pale and covered with sweat now. It appeared that her arm was badly injured. This made her beauty seemed less attractive at this moment.

"Please, take care of this for me."

Gia pointed to the clothes she had thrown to the floor. There were some blood stains on the black cloak. Wearing that out would alert others without fail.

Merlin simply raised his right hand and a fireball flew off instantaneously. It fell on the floor and burnt the clothes in a blink of an eye. Soon, the clothes on the floor had turned to ashes.

"I will leave first. The people from City Defense Troop will come around here sometimes. It's not safe here."

After saying that, Gia pressed her injured arm lightly and dashed out of the house.

Merlin looked at Gia as her figure disappeared out of his sight rapidly. Then, he moved around in old man Etha's small house. Almost everything in the house had been moved away. Only the empty room was left about.

Seeing that there was nothing more of value left in the house, Merlin was prepared to leave. After all, staying long hours in this place was definitely unsafe, regardless of whether there were people of City Defense Troop poking around.

**********************************************************

A beautiful figure went to the streets for a few rounds before pausing. It was Gia who had just left the small house.

Gia bit her lips as her arm was still bleeding. The clothes tied around her arm had almost turned red. She turned around to look at the direction of old man Etha's wooden house and groaned. She cursed in a soft voice, "Idiot!"

After that, Gia seemed to have touched her injury again, causing her unimaginable pain. She could only lean against the wall and slowly moved towards one of the courtyards in front.

The courtyard had a high fence built around it. There was a classic-styled penthouse inside. The environment was comfortable, but the garden was empty. Not a single human could be seen.

Gia held her arm as she entered the garden totteringly. At this moment, the clothes could no longer stop the bleeding wound. Drops of blood dripped onto the ground. It was a ghastly sight to behold.

"Master Rolin!"

Gia came to the small house, but she did not knock. Instead, she called out softly with respect.

"Gia, are you hurt? What happened?"

A husky voice came from within the house. It came with a tone of shock.

"Master Rolin, when I went to Mr. Etha's house, I saw Wilson Merlin. I can't believe Mr. Etha actually took Wilson Merlin as his true disciple. He is now a Spell Caster. I was hurt by him."

Gia explained the incident briefly.

The person in the house said slowly after a long pause, "These Spell Casters are always reckless and unscrupulous. They don't think for the Kingdom at all. Old Etha even went to Grand City without warrant for a casting tool. In the end, he is found out by the Church of Light… Hmph. Thank goodness he is dead now. He didn't give away us. Or else, our effort in these few years are all in vain!"

'Master Rolin' in the house seemed to be resentful against Spell Casters, especially old man Etha. Gia did not dare to discuss such a matter much. No matter if it was Spell Caster like old man Etha or 'Master Rolin' in there, their status was still far above her.

After 'Master Rolin' ranted about his dissatisfaction with old man Etha, he asked in a heavy tone, "This Merlin. Does he know about us?"

Gia's expression changed slightly and quickly explained, "Master Rolin, Mr. Etha seemed to only teach Merlin about the knowledge of Spell Caster. He did not talk about us to Merlin. Otherwise, I am afraid I won't be coming back today."

"This Merlin is a hidden danger after all. We must not give ourselves away. So, we must eliminate Merlin! Gia, since he has let you go, then he should be less cautious about you. You must find a way to bring him here. Hmph. At that time, I will eliminate him myself."

'Master Rolin' was full of killing intent.

"Master Rolin, this Merlin has already become a Spell Caster. I am afraid it's not easy to kill him."

Gia said, a little worried.

"No need to worry. He has just become a Spell Caster. Since I am doing it by surprise, killing him is a piece of cake! With his guard off, these Spell Casters are nothing different than Normies…"

Master Rolin said without a doubt. Gia could only nod, but her expression was a little dark.

"Gia, it has been almost a year since you are sent to the Kingdom of Light. I will ask for your return to the higher-ups."

Although spoken softly, Gia had heard the words. Her dark expression immediately showed a hint of happiness. Her pale face due to blood-loss seemed to recover a little due to her excitement.

"Thank you, Master Rolin!"

Upon saying that, Gia left the place quickly.

**************************************************************

In the Wilson Castle, Merlin returned to his room and took off the scarf lightly. Blood stains could be seen on the scarf.

Merlin stood in front of the mirror and looked at the injury on his neck. The cut had already formed a scab and the bleeding had stopped. The cut was not long. It only looked like a cut caused by the branches.

Cuts like this would heal completely in two days. Not even a scar would be left.

Merlin threw the blood-stained scarf into a bowl and threw a fireball into the bowl. Then, the scarf slowly burnt into ashes in the scorching fire.

Following that, Merlin opened his window for ventilation. Until the strange odor caused by the burning scarf had disappeared, he opened the door and went downstairs.

The butler was still directing the servants in the castle to cut down a huge tree in the yard and move it out of the castle.

The tree had collected a thick amount of snow on its branches. Due to the howling wind yesterday, the tree had been uprooted by it, now lying on the ground.

Merlin squinted his eyes to see the servants busy running about in sweat. Suddenly, he could hear a series of sound made by horse hooves outside of the castle. Moss' carriage that was sent to pick Macy up had returned.

Merlin quickly stood up. The reason he was here was to wait for Macy's return.

Chapter 26: Whisper

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

Macy entered from the door. Her face was red from the cold. After she brushed off the snow on her, she quickly came near the fireplace and kept rubbing her hands to keep warm.

"Macy, you returned so early today."

Merlin also came in front of the fireplace as he said casually.

Macy took a glance of Merlin in surprise and said softly, "Swordsman Pero said it was too cold. He let us return early for these few days."

Merlin nodded but did not say anything more. He sat in front of the fireplace, seemingly keeping warm. In fact, he was observing the Fire Element within Macy.

Since Merlin had constructed the Spell Model of the Fireball in his Awareness now, he had become more sensitive toward Fire Element. He could clearly feel that the Fire Element around them was entering Macy's body in small amounts at one time.

This was the unique part of Macy's affinity to the Fire Element. It could attract Fire Element into the body. If the Fire Element was accumulated to a certain extent, Macy would be able to control the Fire Element in her body and triggered the burst of strong power of the Fire Element.

However, Merlin noticed that even if there were a lot of Fire Element entering Macy's body from outside, a lot of Fire Element were also leaving Macy's body at the same time.

That was to say, in this situation, Macy could not trap the Fire Element that entered her body at all. This was the largest difference between an Elemental Swordsman and a Spell Caster.

Once a Spell Model was constructed, a Spell Caster's Spell Model would be able to absorb the Elements around him by force. The Elements could be trapped in the Spell Model and became the Magic Power of Spell Caster. The Elements would not be lost in this case.

Meanwhile, Elemental Swordsmen could not trap the Elements by force. They could only collect more Elements by relying on their unique physical attributes to absorb the Elements. The difference between the two was obvious. The difference was too large and could not be discussed on the same level.

Merlin wanted to see if he could help Macy to overcome the barrier to become true Elemental Swordsman! However, after careful observation, he found that when he stood beside Macy, the Spell Model would, in turn, forcefully absorb the Fire Element around them. Even the Fire Element in Macy's body was forcefully absorbed into the Spell Model.

Therefore, Merlin could not help Macy at all. He would get in the way of Macy trying to collect Fire Element.

There was nothing Merlin could do in this situation. Instead, he shook his head and stood up. "Macy, since it's so cold, you should rest early."

After that, he went upstairs and returned to his room.

*********************************************************

Sitting in Moss's carriage, Merlin was meditating with his eyes closed.

After cultivating for a few days, his Mind Power had an obvious enhancement. However, it still forced for him to construct the second Spell Model in his Awareness.

"Young Master Merlin, we are here."

The carriage came to a pause. Moss pushed back the curtain and said.

Mind Meditation Method could be cultivated anytime and anywhere. He could also wake up from it anytime and anywhere. He did not particularly need a quiet room to cultivate it. Thus, upon hearing Moss's words, Merlin opened his eyes and jumped off the carriage.

Merlin was going to his etiquette class today. He found that there was not much meaning to practicing Fireball more in the castle anymore. He could already control the fireballs with precise Mind Power now, so he did not need long-hour practices anymore.

Merlin walked straight to class. He saw Gutt and Anson on the second floor, but they seemed to have not noticed Merlin. They were staring at the faraway Tirath.

Tirath was holding many invitation cards in his hands as he handed to the people who came to the etiquette class.

Merlin approached the two and patter Gutt's shoulder. He asked softly, "What is Tirath doing?"

Gutt jumped in surprise. He only relaxed after seeing it was Merlin. He curled his lips. "What more? Today's Tirath's birthday. He is going around to invite people to attend his birthday ball."

"Birthday ball?"

Merlin was not interested in this at all. Moreover, with his relationship with Tirath, the latter would never invite him.

"Hey. Merlin, you may not know about this. The good part always comes last. Tirath came here today to specially invite Teacher Gia."

Gutt sneered. As soon as he finished his words, Gia came down from upstairs.

Merlin squinted his eyes slightly. Gia was not lightly injured yesterday, so her face still appeared slightly pale. However, the red mark caused by Merlin on her forehead had now disappeared. He did not know what medicine Gia had used that could heal her wound that quickly.

After Tirath saw Gia, he quickly approached her. With proper noble's etiquette, he handed the invitation to Gia with both hands respectfully. He said with smiles, "Teacher Gia, today is my birthday. I have organized a birthday ball and I hope you will attend the event!"

"Your ball?"

Gia raised her head and took a glance at Tirath. Following that, her expression became cold and stiff as she said. "Apologies. I have some business to attend to today. I'm afraid I can't attend the event."

After that, without caring about Tirath's shocked expression, she headed straight towards Merlin.

"Merlin, come with me. It's something important. About you."

Gia came close to Merlin's ear and whispered to him.

Merlin's expression changed but quickly recovered. He saw the people around him were full of shock. Gia's 'whispering' to him and her coldness towards Tirath had caused a distinct comparison. It had obviously caused some misunderstandings amongst the crowd.

"Let's go."

Merlin had a calm expression. After that, he followed Gia and left the building.

Tirath glared at the backs of Merlin and Gia as they disappeared from his line of sight. He stayed rooted at the same place for a long time, with his face livid. The invitation card in his hands had also fallen to the floor. He had not thought that Merlin had gotten hooked up with Gia silently just like that.

"Haha. Sad Tirath. What a surprise. Little did I expect Merlin to hook up with Gia just like that. Look at them. Something must be going on between them!"

Fatty Gutt snickered, but he also seemed a little confused. So, he asked Anson, "Anson, do you know when Merlin and Gia got together?"

Anson's expression kept changing. After a while, he heaved a long sigh and shook his head. He said, "I don't know. How many times have Merlin come here in total?"

Anson felt complicated. After all, he could not forget about Gia as soon as he met her. Now that Merlin had become so close to Gia, it was hard for him to accept this.

Merlin was right behind Gia. They came directly to the wide yard. The view here was great. They could see if there was anyone around in just one glance. They would not have to worry about people listening in on their conversation here.

"Gia, say it. What's the matter?"

Merlin gradually halted his footsteps and asked calmly.

Chapter 27: Fierce Battle I

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

Gia also came to a halt. She turned around and said softly, "The thing is Mr. Etha has left something with me. I didn't know what it was before. Yesterday, after I went back, I opened it and found Mr. Etha's message in it. He asked me to pass the thing to you."

"Teacher Etha's thing is with you?"

Merlin stared right into Gia's eyes and continued asking, "Where is it now?"

"I have hidden it in a secluded place. Come with me."

After saying that, Gia turned around and left.

Merlin squinted his eyes and stared at Gia's back. At last, he followed Gia away.

Walking out of the building, Moss approached him and asked, "Young Master Merlin, do you need the carriage?"

Merlin waved his hands. "No need for that. I'm only out for a while. You just wait here."

Moss saw Merlin going out with a beautiful woman, so he did not ask any further sensibly. He returned to his carriage again.

Thus, Gia and Merlin walked around a few streets to finally arrive at a pleasant courtyard.

"Let's go. The thing's inside."

A gleam that was not easily noticeable flashed in Gia's eyes. She brought Merlin into the place.

The yard was extremely wide. There were only a few bald trees, but there was no snow accumulated on the ground. This showed that someone had often cleaned this place.

There was a staircase made of rock here. Going up the stairs, they reached the main door. It appeared to have led to the parlor.

The door was shut tight. As Gia came to the front step, she suddenly turned around and asked, frowning, "Merlin, the thing's inside. Why have you stopped?"

Merlin paused. He looked at the door and a smile appeared on his face.

"Gia, how many people are there inside?"

Gia was stupefied, but she still acted calmly and said, "This is my secret stronghold. Only I know about it."

"Is that so? Let me test it out then."

As soon as he finished his sentence, two fireballs appeared beside Merlin. They floated silently in the air, emitting horrendous heat with their presences.

"Master Rolin, do it!"

Gia immediately howled. Her whole being retreated into the house at a great speed. However, Merlin was even quicker. The fireballs flew towards Gia at an incredible speed according to the guidance of Merlin's Mind Power. They left a whiff of smoke in their track.

"Boom, boom."

With two explosions, a fireball was crashed into Gia's thigh directly, but she seemed to have prepared for this. A delicate shield in her hand had blocked the fireball just in time. However, since the fireball exploded, the strong impact had pushed her into the house. Merlin did not know if she was alive or dead.

Another fireball crashed into the sturdy door. The scorching heat had burnt a hole in the door.

"Swoosh, swoosh."

A series of black arrows shot out from the house. These arrows were very short and blotted out the sky and land. One glance at it, one could tell that these arrows were shot from a crossbow rather than a usual bow.

The arrows had a great speed. In an instant, ten arrows had approached him. The Spell Model in Merlin's Awareness trembled violently, then two fireballs appeared again.

Merlin quickly jumped to the back. Right after that, two fireballs instantaneously exploded. A strong impact had blown off the approaching arrows that instead fell to the ground.

The yard was quiet again. Merlin looked at the house on alert. A figure slowly came out of the house. He stood at the top of the stairs, gazing upon Merlin condescendingly.

"You actually found us out… Have we shown a flaw? Or does the problem lie in Gia?"

After the dust had fallen, Merlin could clearly see the figure standing on the stairs. He was a middle-aged man about forty years old. He was near two meters in height and seemed muscular. His face was also bearded. He held a huge sword that imposed a strong condescending air around him. It was as if he was a beast in a dormant state.

The Spell Model in Merlin's Awareness was absorbing the Fire Element from the outside with all its might. He had cast four Fireballs in total just now. That grey frame had already turned red, indicating that he could trigger the Large Fireball.

"Gia lied to me. But haven't I used her as well? Her words are full of loopholes. I didn't kill her in Teacher Etha's house because I want her to bring you guys out into the light."

"Although the Church of Light is dangerous, they won't notice a small city like Blackwater City, so I will be safe. But you are different. You know my identity. You bunch are a hidden danger to me and have to be eliminated!"

Merlin's tone had turned cold and stiff. In truth, back when he was still in old man Etha's house, Merlin had already realized Gia was lying. However, if he killed Gia on the spot, the people behind Gia from the Kingdom of Blackmoon would track him down by following the clues.

Thus, Merlin let Gia go in the meantime and went with her plot. He prepared to deal with everyone behind Gia who came from the Kingdom of Blackmoon.

The bearded man seemed calm and said faintly, "Young Spell Caster, you are indeed smart. But, you Spell Casters are all the same. Egoistic. Arrogant. Especially Etha, that old thing. He doesn't even listen to my order. For his casting tool, not only did he leave Blackwater City without a warrant, he even took you as a disciple. Hmph, he should feel lucky that he died so early. Or else, I will let him know Spell Casters are nothing to be arrogant about!"

The bearded man's spirit elevated once again. The incredible pressure pressed towards Merlin and invoked a sense of danger in Merlin. His opponent must not be a normal Elemental Swordsman. He might be a Third-level Elemental Swordsman or above.

Moreover, from the man's words, Merlin felt that he seemed to resent the old man Etha a lot. He even had a biased opinion against Spell Caster.

This was a person that abominated Spell Caster greatly.

"How can you compare yourself to Teacher Etha? Stop the trash talk! We'll know after we fight!"

Merlin stopped the talking. He waved his hands slightly and a fireball flew straight towards the bearded man in a swoosh.

Even before it had come close to the man, he stomped his feet to seemingly caused trembles to spread throughout the whole yard. In a blink of an eye, a devouring flame rose around his body.

The flame was half a meter tall and almost warped the air around him due to the heat. He was a strong Third-level Fire Swordsman!

This was Merlin's first time seeing a Third-level Fire Swordsman. The strongest Elemental Swordsman he had seen before was Swordsman Bogg who followed the church's Wizard Jason to Blackwater City recently. However, Swordsman Bogg was only a Second-level Elemental Swordsman and was far less strong than the bearded man.

"Hehe. Zero-level spell, Fireball? Young Spell Caster let me show you the power of flame controlled by Fire Swordsman. Flame Cleave!"

The bearded man raised the huge sword in his hands. As if he was not afraid of the fireball emitting horrifying heat at all, his huge sword was swung down ferociously downwards.

Chapter 28: Fierce Battle II

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

The flames on the greatsword leaped up another meter ferociously; when the blade was slashed down, the power of the violent flames immediately erupted. Even Merlin, who was a few dozen meters away, was able to feel the violent impact.

Before this violent impact, the fireballs that Merlin had unleashed were instantly swallowed up by the ferocious flames on the greatsword.

A slight chill went through Merlin's eyes. This was his first encounter where the Fireball had not worked. Moreover, his Fireball had been broken through with such a violent, forceful method.

"Your Fireball is only a Zero-level spell. If you want to talk about brutality, my Third-level Fire Swordsman power can completely suppress your Fireballl. Young Spell Caster, you will be the first Spell Caster to die under my sword, haha!"

The bearded man began to guffaw. His eyes were filled with fervor and craze, as though to be able to slash a Spell Caster to death was something he had always dreamt of.

Merlin hurriedly took a few steps back. The bearded man seemed to understand Spell Casters and magic very well, and the reality was, indeed, just as the other party had mentioned; Merlin was currently at a disadvantage. His Fireball was unable to be of much use at all against the bearded man.

Of course, Merlin was also clear that his current feeling of being overextended was not because a Third-level Elemental Swordsman was truly more powerful than a Spell Caster.

Even an Entrance-level Spell Caster was definitely not someone a Second, or Third-level Elemental Swordsman could match.

Merlin was now at a disadvantage because, in reality, there were just too few spells that he had mastered by now. He only had one spell; if he could build and structure a binding sort of spell in his Awareness, then the situation right now would be greatly different.

Therefore, he also had to be very prudent when choosing his spells. A powerful spell might not be suitable for himself; the best spells should be the ones that were in tandem with his usage, to be able to achieve the optimum results.

The offensive nature of Merlin's current Fireball could be considered very strong amongst Zero-level spells. However, no matter how powerful it was, he was still bound hand and foot now without a Binding spell, being suppressed by the bearded man.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

All of a sudden, a few black arrows flew out from the house, shooting toward Merlin silently.

Nevertheless, Merlin's Mind Power had enveloped the many meters surrounding him. He could immediately sense any changes the moment they occurred so he was already aware of when the arrows flew out of the house.

Merlin was unable to dodge the violent attack of the bearded man in front. He could only unleash another Fireball to block him.

"There's not much Magic Power left. At most, only four or five more Fireballs can be cast!"

Although Merlin had been constructing the Spell Model for quite some time, it had still only been slightly more than a month. He was already at his limit to be able to cast a dozen plus Fireballs now.

"Looks like they can't be killed if the Large Fireball isn't cast."

A glimmer of light flashed across Merlin's eyes. Judging by the direction the arrows from which the arrows had been shot, there should be two people in the house holding powerful bows, paying as much attention as they could here. Once they found a suitable opportunity, they would not hesitate in shooting and unleashing their arrows. This was an extremely great threat to Merlin.

So, he had to fight and end the battle quickly!

Having thought until there, Merlin no longer hesitated. His Mind Power was immediately triggered and was already turning into a red horizontal frame.

"Large Fireball!"

Merlin stretched his hand and pointed; a cluster of fireballs that was thrice the size of the previous smaller fireballs appeared in the air. The terrifying temperature burned the air so much that it became contorted. The internal structure seemed to be extremely unstable and needed Merlin's Mind Power to forcefully suppress it. Otherwise, a huge explosion could happen.

Such a gigantic fireball could be said to be a leviathan 1 ; it was impossible for it not to attract attention.

"Not good. Is this a First-level spell?"

The bearded man's face changed when he felt the immense energy contained within the gigantic fireball. His entire person made an immediate decision and instantly backed off. He had an excellent understanding of magic; even though the gigantic fireball before him was not a First-level spell, it was already impossibly close to it. Such tremendous power was definitely not something he, as a Third-level Fire Swordsman, could block.

By then, the bearded man was no longer thinking about how Merlin could suddenly cast such a powerful spell. Instead, with a burst of energy, he frantically retreated backward, wanting to distance himself from the gigantic fireball in the air.

Even as he was retreating, he took the greatsword in his hand and, as though he was throwing a flying spear, concentrated all of his power and swung his right hand forwards brutally.

The greatsword turned into a beam of white light. In a beautiful line of a parabola, it shot speedily toward Merlin. The friction between the greatsword and the air even produced slivers of sparks. It could be seen just how fast it was.

"Explode."

Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly; his Mind Power immediately triggered the detonation of the gigantic fireball.

Boom.

Despite the fact that the fireball was still a meter or two away from the bearded man, the power produced from the explosion of the fireball was far too great. The violent impact immediately sent the body of the bearded man flying.

As for the greatsword thrown out by the bearded man, it had also been blasted by the fireball into a few pieces.

After the smoke and dust settled, Merlin saw the bearded man lying on the ground. He was facing downwards, sprawled over the stone steps, unmoving. There was a pool of blood on the ground. It was a startling sight.

Merlin did not go up hastily. Instead, he released another fireball, which landed directly upon the back of the bearded man. A bloody hole was blasted open on his back, revealing the densely packed white bones inside.

Merlin only went forward upon seeing that the bearded man was not moving at all, bent over the ground with half his brains practically blasted open. He was already dead.

The might of the Large Fireball caused even Merlin to be somewhat astonished.

However, Merlin did not think about it further; there were still people in the house. He had to kill them all before he could breathe easy.

Swoosh.

With a swift step, Merlin immediately leaped into the house. Inside the pitch dark building, he instantly dodged a few cold glistens of light. Those were black arrows. Luckily, Merlin had come prepared. Two clusters of fireballs speedily flew towards the direction from which the arrows had been shot.

"Explode."

Merlin immediately detonated the two fireballs. The people hiding in the Darkinstantly let out agonizing cries; the moment the fireballs had exploded, in the weak light of the fire, Merlin saw two men in black outfits being sent flying by the explosion and falling to the floor, never to move again.

Having gotten rid of the two crossbowmen, Merlin continuously searched the house with his eyes. He had blasted Gia into the house using his Fireball previously but seeing that Gia's corpse was not on the floor, it was very clear that Gia was not yet dead. She must have concealed herself.

The house was very dark inside, but some traces of blood could vaguely be seen on the floor, stretching to a corner in the house. The corners of Merlin's lips revealed a hint of a smirk as he followed the traces of blood on the floor and searched.

In the corner of the wall, Gia was stubbornly clutching at her thigh, with her back leaning against the wall. The blood on the floor had flown out from her thigh; although she had blocked Merlin's fireball just now with a shield, her thigh had still been injured by the impact of the violent explosion.

"Merlin, don't kill me, I'm forced to do this as well. Now that you've killed Master Rolin, and the headquarters set in Blackwater City by the kingdom have been completely destroyed by you, I can serve you from now on. I can help you seek out information, you can do whatever you want to."

Forcing herself to withstand the pain in her thigh, Gia straightened her torso and proudly puffed up her ample bosom, her eyes filled with provocation.

Chapter 29: An Unexpected Gain

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

"Whatever I want to?"

Merlin's eyes narrowed slightly as they swept across Gia's ample bosom unscrupulously.

"Yes, I'll follow you by your side from now on. You can do whatever you want to."

A smile broke out on Gia face as she spoke in a charming and fascinating manner.

"Too bad, you're already of no use…"

Merlin's slightly narrowed eyes revealed a cold glint of his intention to kill.

Swoosh.

A cluster of fireball immediately shot out from Merlin's hand and brutally crashed into Gia's chest. Instantly, a bloody hole was burnt through on her voluptuous chest; the flesh that had been charred black sharply contrasted the pale white skin of her breasts.

Gia's eyes opened up, big and wide, as though she was finding it somewhat difficult to believe.

After Gia had been killed, Merlin once again walked to the corpse of the bearded man. After fumbling about with the body, Merlin found a few pieces of paper which were slightly yellowish from the body of the bearded man.

"En? Is this… a Spell Model?"

Merlin was rather stunned. He had not imagined that he would be able to find a Spell Model from the bearded man's body, something that only Spell Casters could use. However, this was not the time to carefully look at what the Spell Model was in particular. He still needed to deal with it quickly here first.

Thus, Merlin dragged out those few corpses and piled them up in the yard before releasing a fireball. Eventually, these four corpses were quickly burnt in the fiery blaze, becoming deformed. No one could recognize who they had been.

Following that, Merlin simply dug a hole in the yard and buried the ashes that had been produced after the four corpses had been burnt.

After he had handled all that, Merlin left the yard immediately.

Hoo…

Merlin had just walked out from the yard when a chilly wind hit him, as though there was still a faint scent of blood. He turned his head once more to glance at the yard; after tonight, there would not be any smell of blood anymore, basically. As long as no one went in and looked carefully, no one would be able to see the bloodshed that had happened here.

Going against the cold wind, Merlin wrapped his clothes around him and walked along the street corners with a calm expression on his face.

Merlin returned once more to the small building. Seeing that Moss was still sitting inside the carriage, he went forward and called out softly, "Moss, send me home."

Moss gave Merlin a glance of suspicion, but he did not ask any questions. Driving the carriage quickly, they went back to Wilson Castle again.

***

In the room, Merlin sat on a high, wooden stool. The dim, yellow candlelight flickered unceasingly, as Merlin closed his eyes. He was still reflecting on today's fight and kills.

This was his first time killing people, both in his past and present lives, and he had killed four! However, Merlin had not felt uneasy at all while he had been killing them. Instead, he had felt very calm.

"That courtyard was the secret headquarters of Gia and the others, so definitely no one knows about it. They'd even refrained from communicating with the other people in Blackwater City to maintain their secrecy. That's a good thing for me. At least no one will notice it."

Merlin carefully thought about the possible dangers that this incident might bring. If there was any danger, he was afraid that it would be because Gia and the rest still had companions out there. However, the probability of this was very small. They would definitely have gathered their strongest forces to face a Spell Caster.

After pondering for a while, Merlin stopped thinking about it. He took out the yellowish pieces of paper that he had found on the bearded man's corpse. Surprisingly, there was a Spell Model on them.

Merlin had not looked at them carefully while he had been getting rid of the corpses, so he was not sure what kind of Spell this was.

Merlin pushed the candle lightly and put the yellowish papers under the candlelight, carefully looking through them.

"Frost, an Ice-type Zero-level spell."

There was a burst of glee in Merlin's heart; this was a Zero-level spell, and coincidentally, also a binding Spell he had been dreaming of.

Merlin already had the Spell Model for a Whirlwind. It was the second type of Zero-level spell recorded in old man Etha's Spell Manual; back then, the old man Etha had also cultivated the Whirlwind.

Nevertheless, the Whirlwind and the Fireball were the same; both of them were offensive spells. After analyzing, Merlin had come to the conclusion that this Whirlwind was actually not a Spell that was the most suitable for him.

He already had the Fireball, and its power was immense. What he urgently required was a support type or a Binding spell.

Now, he had obtained a Binding spell by accident, which coincidentally matched the usage of a Fireball. The combative effect would definitely be excellent.

As a Fire Swordsman, the bearded man had kept on him the Spell Model of Spell Casters. This was very strange in itself. However, thinking about how the bearded man seemed to be mysteriously hostile towards Spell Casters, Merlin could make a vague guess.

The bearded man must have also wanted to be a Spell Caster. Perhaps it was because of the fact that his Mind Power was too weak, he was unable to become a Spell Caster. Therefore, although he had the Spell Model of a Frost, there was nothing he could do with them.

Therefore, as time passed, the bearded man had nurtured an animosity toward Spell Casters.

The bearded man possessed a Spell Model but had been unable to cultivate it. Now, that had become an advantage for Merlin.

"Mind Power's still somewhat insufficient and unable to support two Spell Models. Looks like I'll have to wait a while before I can cultivate the Frost."

Merlin frowned. There was some resentment in his heart.

Although he was already cultivating the Mind Meditation Method, the growth of his Mind Power could only take place after a long period of time. It would take days and months for it to accumulate and grow. Merlin was unable to support a second Spell Model with the standard of Mind Power that he currently possessed.

"Looks like I have to spend some time meditating."

Merlin's Mind Power had now become his shortcoming. Because he owned The Matrix, all Spell Model construction problems that plagued every Spell Caster were not a bother at all to Merlin. What he lacked was a tremendous amount of Mind Power that would be able to support even more Spell Models.

***

On the second day, Merlin sat in Moss' carriage. He got Moss to drive the carriage on the streets, making a huge round; in actual fact, he was observing the courtyard where the bearded man and the others had lived in.

Just as Merlin had expected, there was no more scent of blood outside the yard now, and there were not many people in the area. To maintain their secrecy, the bearded man and the others kept minimal contact with the people around them. Therefore, even if they were to disappear for a year or so, it would not attract much attention.

Merlin let out a soft sigh of relief. The best ending to that would be for him not to be discovered.

However, there was still Gia. Her appearance was unusual in itself, therefore it had been very easy for her to attract attention. Moreover, she was the etiquette class teacher. Some suspicions would definitely arise if she were to disappear.

Therefore, Merlin attended etiquette classes over the next few days to understand the reactions of the people regarding Gia's disappearance, so that he could prepare himself to take countermeasures at any time.

***

The landmark building of Blackwater City was indisputably the Castellan's Mansion.

The Castellan's Mansion was encircled by great city walls. There was a castle inside with conical roofs. In front of the castle were even more knights of the City Defense Troop walking to and fro; it was difficult for Normies to even get close to the Castellan's Mansion.

Suddenly, a troop of knights who were charging ahead quickly appeared not far away from the Castellan's Mansion. By the looks of the attires on this troop of knights, they were vastly different from the knights of the City Defense Troop.

It was only until this troop of knights had come close that they could gradually be seen more clearly; there were twenty or so men in this troop of knights, counted from both the front and the back. They seemed to be escorting a carriage in the middle.

Escorting the carriage, these knights closed in on the Castellan's Mansion at high speed.

Chapter 30: A Distinguished Guest

Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared

The captain of the knights of the City Defense Troop immediately stepped forward, shouting at the troop which was galloping toward them from the distance, "Which aristocrat is it?"

Ordinary people were not allowed to form troops of knights; only aristocrats had the right to form them with a certain amount of knights to guard the safety of their territory. As for the others such as merchants, wealthy men and so on, all of them were not allowed to form troops of knights. They could only employ the services of some powerful Swordsmen at best.

The troop of knights before them slowly decreased their speed. The leading knight was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a helmet that looked like fire and a suit of heavy armor. Riding a mighty black steed, he slowly came forward and said in an indifferent and condescending manner, "I'm Baron Vingult Bore. I've brought an important guest to visit the honorable castellan today."

"So, it's Baron Vingult. Please hold on for a moment, I'll go and inform the honorable castellan about your arrival."

Naturally, the captain of the City Defense Troop knights knew who Baron Vingult was as he was an important aristocrat in Blackwater City. However, before he left to make his report, he gave a deep, hard look at the carriage that was in the middle of the knights. The identity of the person in the carriage must be extremely respectable, to be personally escorted by Baron Vingult.

Therefore, the captain of the knights did not dare to tarry. He hastily entered the Castellan's Mansion.

As Baron Vingult gazed at the great Castellan's Mansion, a hint of a blazing glow flashed across his eyes. Following which, he called out softly to someone behind him, "Tirath."

Tirath had followed as well, in the midst of the troop of knights. Hearing Baron Vingult's voice, he hurriedly took a few steps forward and said in a respectful tone, "Father, what are your orders?"

Baron Vingult's eyes narrowed a little. He lowered his voice and said, "In a while, Augustin definitely won't allow entry to all of you, so you take charge of the knights in the castle and be on guard here. Wait for me to come out."

Tirath squinted his eyes slightly. He asked somewhat worriedly, "Father, would there be any danger, if Augustin disagrees…"

"Disagrees? It'd be even better if he disagrees. After the business is done, who knows, the master of this Castellan's Mansion might have to be changed. As for danger… With the presence of that honorable sir, what danger could there be?"

Baron Vingult looked to the horse carriage behind him. There was even a hint of fear on his face.

In just a short while, the knight who had gone to send his report returned. He respectfully looked at Baron Vingult and said, "The honorable castellan has ordered that only the baron and the distinguished guest in the carriage may enter."

Baron Vingult nodded. "Lead the way!"

Saying thus, Baron Vingult and the mysterious carriage slowly followed the knight and entered the Castellan's Mansion.

Inside the reception hall of the Castellan's Mansion, the current castellan of Blackwater City, Baron Augustin, sat on a chair. He furrowed his eyebrows as he gazed out with bright, piercing eyes.

"Castellan, sir, Baron Vingult has arrived."

Baron Augustin hurriedly waved his hand, saying, "Welcome, Baron Vingult."

His voice fell when Baron Vingult strode into the hall with a big smile, before bowing slightly toward Baron Augustin as a form of etiquette between aristocrats.

Baron Augustin's expression did not change. He merely gave Vingult a cold look before saying calmly, "Baron Vingult, is there anything of importance that pushed you into not staying in your castle, and instead, coming to this Castellan's Mansion of mine?"

Despite Augustin's chilly tone of voice, Vingult was not offended. His expression remained the same. All he did was to lower his voice as he spoke, "Baron Augustin, I'm not the one who has come to find you this time. It's a distinguished guest instead!"

Having finished speaking, another man dressed in a white robe, with a silver crossed-swords embroidery in front of his chest, came into the hall.

When he saw this white-robed man, Augustin's expression changed greatly; he immediately stood up and said in a deep voice, "Wizard Jason, haven't you already killed the evil heretic the last time? Could there still be evil heretics in Blackwater City?"

Astonishingly, this white-robed man was Wizard Jason who had previously come from Grand City to Blackwater City and killed old man Etha.

Wizard Jason had a pair of extremely clear eyes that seemed to be able to see through a man's heart. He did not reply to Baron Augustin's question. Instead, he said with a spurious smile, "Baron Augustin, you should be making your decision already!"

Hearing those words, Augustin could no longer maintain his composure. He sat on his chair with a stunned expression as he hung his head, his face as dark as deep water.

Wizard Jason's purpose did not have anything to do with any evil heretic; it was for him to make his decision!

"Is the church finally taking action? Can't they wait a while longer?"

Augustin asked, with an ashen white face.

However, Wizard Jason's expression was somewhat indifferent and cold. He said with a sneer, "Baron Augustin, we've given you ample amount of time to consider this matter. Once we take action, the promise before this would be considered invalid!"

Augustin's lips were drying up. He looked at Vingult, who was beside Wizard Jason; he knew that if he still did not agree, the Vingult family would be the ones gaining an advantage eventually. As for the Augustin family, they might go on a complete decline due to a wrong decision made by him.

He could not afford to pay such a huge price!

After a long moment, Augustin slowly lifted his head. He took a deep breath and said in an extremely grave tone, emphasizing every word, "Wizard Jason, my City Defense Troop knights will obey your every assignment at any given time!"

"Haha, Baron Augustin. You're willing to return into God's embrace, and you'll still be God's most faithful believer. God will never abandon a faithful believer. Don't worry, we'll not be moving immediately, but we still need the cooperation of the castellan for what comes next."

"Wizard Jason, tell me, what should be done? I, from the Augustin family, am God's most faithful believer!"

Since the decision had already been made, Baron Augustin's heart relaxed instead.

"It's very simple. The castellan only has to invite all aristocrats in Blackwater City to the Castellan's Mansion for a discussion on the recent problem of frequent bandit attacks on the small towns. I believe all of them will come. By then, we'll naturally treat the aristocrats who are willing to have faith in God and become a believer well. But, if they're stubborn and foolish, I'll personally strike and kill them!"

After hearing Wizard Jason's plan, a chill pierced through Baron Augustin's heart. If this plan really succeeded, they would be able to capture all of Blackwater City's aristocrats in a single swoop.

Seeing that Wizard Jason's eyes had looked over to him, Augustin hurriedly said, "Wizard Jason, please don't worry. I'll surely inform all aristocrats of Blackwater City to come forth in my capacity as the castellan."

The matter was just about to be settled when Baron Vingult, who was on the side, suddenly stepped forward. In a low voice, he said, "Wizard Jason, Wilson is currently not in Blackwater City. He has gone to a land within his territory and has not return until now. If he isn't dealt with, I'm afraid that, by relying on the heavy armored knights in his hands, he would bring us a lot of trouble."

"Wilson? Castellan, what do you think should be done?"

Wizard Jason's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Baron Augustin coldly.

Baron Augustin glanced at Vingult; everyone in Blackwater City knew about the grudges between Vingult and Wilson.

After a moment of contemplation, Augustin said in a low voice, "Wilson has been in the army for twenty years and has accumulated various achievements in war before finally becoming a baron. He could be said to have plenty of experiences on the battlefield! The heavy armored knights trained by him, close to two hundred of them, are the most elite amongst the elite. Even my City Defense Troop knights wouldn't be able to block the attack of the heavy armored knights under Wilson, I'm afraid. Moreover, Wilson himself is a Second-level Elemental Swordsman. His power is great, making him very difficult to fight!"

"But, you can't dismiss getting rid of Wilson if you wish to control Blackwater City. Based on his nature, it's absolutely impossible to get him to betray the Royal Family and rely on the church, so he has to be eliminated. In this case, we could delay the time of the meeting slightly so that Wilson has time to hurry back from his territory. By then, with Sir Jason in the city personally, what trouble could Wilson stir up that we should be afraid of?"

Wizard Jason nodded, seemingly in approval and praise. With a smile, he said, "Not bad, not bad, Wilson has to be dealt with! But it's unnecessary to delay the time. The castellan should still send people out to pass the invitation to all aristocrats, including Wilson Castle. As for Wilson, hehe, he won't be able to return, forever…"