End of the Magic Era

Falton, a member of the Holy Land, suddenly came to the Horn of Fertility… This was extremely suspicious, to begin with. Zeuss was almost certain that it was linked to the secret of Ancient God Constantine.

‘This is a bit tricky…’

Although Zeuss Watson was only a 7th Rank Archmage, he had already reached the peak of the 7th Rank over a hundred years ago. He had been unable to break through the 8th Rank for a long while, but as time passed, his strength increased. He could already contend against an 8th Rank Archmage a few decades ago and managed to remain undefeated.

But Falton clearly wasn’t simple. Zeuss couldn’t pinpoint the height he had reached, but one thing was certain: He had no confidence that he could defeat that mage from the Black Tower.

After calming down, he remembered that three major forces would enter the spatial tear. In addition to the Black Tower, there was also the Merlin Family.

But he did feel the people dispatched by the Merlin Family were quite shabby. They might not have known about the Ancient God at all. They probably only thought that a scepter was hidden behind that spatial tear.

But although the Merlin Family’s power was meager, they still had a bit. If he killed this commander named Mafa, it would inevitably affect their plans.

It would undoubtedly push the Merlin Family towards the Black Tower…

After all, Falton was his biggest competitor. His strength was a profound mystery, and if he gained the support of the Merlin Family’s people, it would make it much harder for Zeuss to obtain the Ancient God’s corpse.

He definitely couldn’t kill Mafa Merlin, at least for the time being…

They might even benefit from cooperating with Mafa Merlin…

His grandson’s business was definitely negligible when compared to the Family’s major plans. As a Representative of the Watson Family’s Council, he had to do his utmost to uphold their interests. If he killed Mafa Merlin on impulse and it caused the Watson Family to suffer defeat in this exploration, then even an important Representative like him would be held accountable.

Although Zeuss’ anger dissipated a bit as he thought of this, he still sneered. “Mafa Merlin, I think you should properly thank Rhett. Had he not spoken on your behalf, you would have already become a cold corpse…”

He could only resist the urge to kill Mafa Merlin for the moment…

However, as he finished his sentence, a few of the people there reacted poorly. The one who seemed most displeased was Mark Watson. He had even gotten ready to deal with the young mage himself, but his grandfather’s words forestalled his actions. He rubbed his forehead and confirmed to himself that he hadn’t misheard. At that time, his face turned somewhat pale. “Grandfather, you… How could you let that wretched guy off? Have you forgotten? He not only provoked the Watson Family, but he also had me beaten up…”

“Shut up!”

Zeuss’ mood was quite poor to start with, but it sank when he heard his grandson’s critical tone. He reprimanded him in a low voice, “Alright, Mark, your grudge with Mafa Merlin ends here. Act as if it never happened…”

“But… But…” Mark was in disbelief. ‘How can we just call it here? Mafa Merlin made me so miserable, how could possibly I treat it as if nothing happened?’

This really was really letting Mafa off lightly…

“Mark, you have to remember my words…”

“Yes… I will keep it in mind.” His grandfather’s warning startled Mark, making him nod like a child. But this outcome clearly disappointed him.

He truly couldn’t understand how it could have reached this point…

‘Why is that damned Mafa Merlin so lucky?’

“…”

Rhett awkwardly stood to the side. He had been scared and on edge at first because Zeuss had looked so resolute about attacking Mafa Merlin.

But he hadn’t expected such a sudden change.

This was undoubtedly a good fortune amidst terrible luck. As for the words Zeuss just said, Rhett knew that it was an excuse. Zeuss must have had some other reason for not making a move against Mafa Merlin now.

Whatever the case, this was still good. At least he could look for another opportunity to explain to Zeuss what he had experienced.

“Haha…”

Among everyone there, Lin Yun was the calmest one. He didn’t say anything, and if anyone were to carefully examine him, they would notice a hint of regret on his face.

Indeed, he regretted that Zeuss hadn’t done anything to give him an excuse to deal with him.

He could naturally guess that Zeuss, who was comparable to an 8th Rank Archmage in strength, hadn’t come for the scepter. And just like himself, he was paying attention to Black Tower’s Falton.

Then…

If Lin Yun had guessed right, Zeuss and Falton both knew some secrets.

This wasn’t good news for Lin Yun.

He had hoped that the infuriated Zeuss would attack first, and then he would retaliate with full power without giving him the slightest chance.

He wouldn’t have dared to kill a member of the Watson Family normally… After all, the Ancestral Lands of both Families had come to an agreement to look for the Volcanic Mountain Range’s Ruins together. If the agreement was broken off because of him, then not only would the Merlin Family suffer a loss, but he might end up missing the chance to get the Book of Ten Thousand Mantras.

However, the circumstances here were clearly special. Ancient God Constance’s corpse was very important to him, and he would obtain it by any means necessary. It would have been great if he had a proper excuse to take out a competitor right here.

But for some unknown reason, Zeuss no longer seemed to be planning to attack him here, and he even reprimanded Mark.

He couldn’t understand Zeuss’ motivations.

Whatever the case, after this minor disturbance, the three major forces all came together, totalling ten people. But these people were all Archmages, without any exceptions.

The Black Tower only had three people, but they were all powerhouses that couldn’t be ignored: Weiss, Suval and Falton. The Watson Family had one more person: 7th Rank Sword Saint Arthus, Representative Rhett, Mark’s grandfather, Zeuss, and 3rd Rank Archmage Mark Watson was surprisingly tagging along.

Lin Yun only brought Frost Dragon Reina, Draconic Beastman Xiuban, and the Heaven Puppet.

At this time, the three major forces gathered and discussed a few details regarding entering the spatial tear. Falton and Zeuss didn’t participate, and when everyone came to an agreement, they proceeded to enter.

Thus, everyone flew above the Wailing River, one after another, and instantly felt the blast of the heatwave. They quickly reached the middle of the Wailing River and caught sight of the area isolated from the flames. Arthus and Rhett, who were at the forefront, took the lead for the descent after confirming that there was no problem with the route.

But then, a screech echoed.

“Hell… F*cking hell!”

Something suddenly happened to that isolated area just as Arthus and Rhett reached it. Countless flames recklessly rushed over and broke through the spell set up around the spatial tear, flooding Rhett and Arthus in countless burning flames.

If that had been all, these two 7th Rank powerhouses wouldn’t have panicked. Although the flames of the Wailing River were different from ordinary flames, they couldn’t cause any substantial injury to powerhouses like them.

What they focused on were those snake-like Elementals slowly moving in the Wailing River. They were Flame Pythons born from the Wailing River, a rather unique kind of Elemental lifeform. They spent their lives in the Wailing River, and they would immediately die if they left it.

“Damnit, how could there be so many?” Arthus, who was wrapped in a layer of Aura, looked at these roaming Flame Pythons, pale from fear.

There were at least several hundred of them.

He had heard of these before, but it was his first time seeing them. The Flame Pythons were four to five meters long and possessed fierce poisonfire. As for their aura, it was exactly the same as the Wailing River’s, which was the reason they hadn’t discovered them before landing.

It now seemed that a group of Flame Pythons had been attracted by the spatial tear. The Flame Pythons instantly destroyed the magic isolation when the two of them descended.

“These damned Elementals…” Rhett’s expression was unsightly as he cursed, feeling somewhat worried.

All the fire-attributed lifeforms living in the Wailing River, like the Flame Pythons, were terrifyingly powerful. Even a 5th Rank Archmage might have a hard time surviving when meeting such a group of Flame Pythons…

If there were only one or two dozen, he and Arthus could easily deal with them…