End of the Magic Era

That was a soul fragment of an Ancient God…

What were Ancient Gods? They were the most tyrannical lifeforms in the history of Noscent, their strength only described in legends. This was the only opportunity for Lin Yun to see this kind of power, so he was quite reluctant to give up on it.

Shawn’s words were right…

The Ancient Gods were taboo. Any search for their remnants would bring countless disasters. Even a true name could easily destroy a plane. Lin Yun leaving a fragment of an Ancient God’s soul behind was a very dangerous matter, even if that fragment was stored in an empty Demiplane…

But Lin Yun still did it.

Lin Yun had personally witnessed Noscent’s destruction, had personally felt the powerlessness of having knowledge but no power… In order to extract a wisp of mana, Lin Yun could sleep in the scalding desert for a week, in order to cast a lesser spell he would even spend a few nights without sleeping to build the ideal spell matrix just to make that spell use as little mana as possible.

Lin Yun’s thirst for power wasn’t something Shawn could understand.

For such an opportunity, Lin Yun was willing to take great risks.

“You are already insane! Just like that lunatic Barov, always yelling about some recurring disaster, you are already insane!” After roaring these words, Shawn angrily severed the mental communication, leaving Lin Yun at a loss.

He was confused by the scolding and wanted to ask Shawn to clarify, but the latter didn’t say anything. No matter what threats or promises Lin Yun gave, he no longer responded at all.

In the end, Lin Yun had no choice but to pack up and lead the Draconic Beastman out of this open forest.

It was evening by the time Lin Yun and Xiuban returned to the camp.

As he’d expected, the beast tide had already withdrawn, and the camp had once again regained its order. A dozen bonfires were lit in the middle of the camp, and after the rough day, they were all grouped around their fires, eating roasted meat and drinking some alcohol, talking about the fight they had won and laughing very loudly…

To them, it had been a proud battle. By relying on their simple and crude camp’s defenses, they had been able to withstand the attacks of twenty Thunder Elephants, over a thousand Flame Crows, and several thousand other magic beasts, before they managed to force the frightening beast tide back.

They didn’t know the real reason the beast tide retreated.

No more than thirty people in the camp knew the real reason.

They were now grouped on the side of a bonfire, striving to be the first to express their gratitude to Lin Yun.

After returning, Solomon told everyone what had happened. Whether it was Sasu, Sauss, or even Monchi, they all knew that the beast tide had retreated because the young Great Mage had found the origin of the beast tide.

“Haha, everyone is too polite…” After saying a few perfunctory words, Lin Yun also sat next to the bonfire, asking about the circumstances inside the camp.

“Merlin, it is truly thanks to your reminder that our side’s losses were minimal.” The most qualified to answer was Sasu. As the commander of this battle, Sasu credited almost everything to Lin Yun.

“I was just lucky with my guess.” Lin Yun shook his head and didn’t say anything else.

After this battle, Lin Yun could clearly feel that the leaders gathered here were very enthusiastic towards him…

Of course, it didn’t mean that they hadn’t been before…

After all, quite a few of them had come to visit him during the trip, and their enthusiasm couldn’t be hidden. But the enthusiasm at the time was purely due to their utilitarian natures, to curry favor and avoid conflict with him, making it somewhat out of place.

But now, it came from the bottom of their hearts.

It was pure gratitude.

They all knew that if they hadn’t had this young Great Mage with them this day, they would have ended with two choices: withdrawing from the Four Seasons Canyon, or fighting the beast tide to the death. Regardless of the choice, it would have been an unbearable loss to all of them.

Fortunately, that young Great Mage stood out and saw through the origin of the beast tide, successfully resolving the crisis. Those who were still unfamiliar with Lin Yun’s strength gradually understood the choices of the Black Horn Auction House, the Silver Moon Mercenary Group, and the Sage Tower…

They were the three closest forces to the Gilded Rose.

Especially the Sage Tower…

Solomon almost always called on the young Great Mage whenever something happened.

They couldn’t understand before, but they all started to understand now.

With such a seemingly omnipotent ally, why wouldn’t they call on him?

Among the major forces, only one of them was in an awkward spot, which was naturally the Monchi Family.

Monchi was regretting quite a bit right now.

If he had known that Mafa Merlin would reach such heights, he wouldn’t have participated in causing Locke Merlin’s shipwreck, and certainly wouldn’t have agreed with Solan’s arrangement to scheme for the house that Locke Merlin left behind.

He wouldn’t have stepped foot in the alchemy business and opened the Twin Moons Splendor.

Unfortunately, these hypotheticals couldn’t fix the past…

He had already caused Locke Merlin’s death and schemed to try to get his house. As for the Twin Moons Splendor, it was open all over Thousand Sails City, and although it struggled under the pressure of the Gilded Rose, everyone knew that it was the Gilded Rose’s competitor.

All of this had already happened…

It put Monchi in a very awkward situation.

He didn’t dare to think of setting himself against Mafa Merlin or against the Gilded Rose now. It was already like a sun in Thousand Sails City, and even the Sage Tower was showing signs of abdicating their position as the most powerful force of Thousand Sails City.

As for Mafa Merlin himself, he was even more unfathomable. The unruly Sauss didn’t dare to get angry in front of him. Thousand Sails City’s strongest High Mage, Solomon, treated him as an equal, and even the Alchemist Guild’s Leader, the newly promoted Master Alchemist, admitted that he wasn’t as good as Mafa Merlin in the field of alchemy.

It was as if there was a halo above Merlin’s head now.

Unless Solan came back from the Dark Azure Plane as an Archmage, he wouldn’t have the slightest opportunity to raise his head in front of Mafa Merlin.

But how could it be easy to enter the Archmage realm?

If it were easy, Solan wouldn’t have entered the Dark Azure Plane, and neither would he have convinced his brother to act against Merlin.

At that time, Monchi thought of acting like the other leaders, taking advantage of this opportunity to show some goodwill towards Merlin.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t.

Other forces might be able to show some goodwill, but that was because they had never had any grudges towards the Gilded Rose. But that wasn’t the case for himself. He had acted against the Gilded Rose quite a few times, and even if he tried to extend an olive branch now, it was hard to say if the other side would accept. And if he was refused, the reputation of the Monchi Family would be trashed.

Monchi’s current mood was very awkward and confused. He wanted to show appreciation, but was afraid of the consequences… But he was also afraid of reprisals if he didn’t…

With such a contradictory mood, it was hard for Monchi to sit near the bonfire with the others.

Fortunately, while he was suffering in silence, a shadow reached the camp and interrupted this rare bonfire party.

“I’m looking for Fran.” The newcomer with a serious expression and ostentatious blonde hair was one of Nolan’s numerous disciples, second only to Karon, Suyass.

“Sir, you are?” Solomon was the first to stand up and use this rare honorific, because he had clearly seen that this middle-aged man had entered the camp using Flight.

It was the sign of an Archmage.

Even if Solomon was a lot more courageous, he wouldn’t dare to be rude to an Archmage. The difference between a 9th Rank High Mage and an Archmage was a thin line, but that line was the horizon separating heaven and earth. There were countless 9th Rank High Mages in Noscent who spent their whole lifetimes chasing after that line, but unable to go past it.

“Who I am doesn’t matter. I’ll say it once again, I’m looking for Fran.”

“Haha…” Solomon was the disciple of the Star Sage. Even if the other side was an Archmage, it was very normal for Solomon to get angry when faced with that kind of attitude. But Solomon didn’t dare to explode in anger and only forced out a chuckle as an answer.

“Fran! Come out!” Fortunately, Suyass had no intention of arguing with Solomon.

Suyass hadn’t yelled very loudly, and it was just as if he was talking normally, but his words spread through the entire camp, echoing in everyone’s ears.

“Su… Suyass, how come you are here?” And ‘everyone’ naturally included Fran. After hearing that voice, Fran rushed out of his tent in panic. His expression filled with shock and fear when he saw his fellow disciple…