End of the Magic Era

It was because of Merlin.

Everyone in the exploration team was aware that the one who contributed the most wasn’t the Archmage, Suyass, and neither was it the leader, Lys. The one who contributed the most was the young Great Mage who joined the team with his two subordinates and had the loot priority on all magic materials.

Fran hadn’t been the only one to complain. At first, a few of the leaders of Thousand Sails City’s forces also disapproved. However, they hadn’t insisted on it because the Gilded Rose was formidable and no one dared to offend that young Great Mage. Even if they didn’t agree, they consoled themselves, thinking that at least they would get to improve their relationships with the Gilded Rose.

But as the expedition got further and further, everyone could see that letting the young Great Mage have loot priority wasn’t unfair.

He saved the joint exploration team multiple times from being wiped out when they were besieged by beasts and Thunderbirds.

At that time, their attitudes had already changed, from initially suffering in silence to willingly accepting it, or else there wouldn’t have been so many people standing alongside Lin Yun against Fran when the latter wanted to take the magic materials by force.

It was also because of those that Xiuban and William, these two deadweights, had been tolerated by everyone. Otherwise, they would have been kicked out long ago.

No one had expected that at such a critical time, the first to step forward would actually be William.

Their gazes converged on William, to see whether it was truly the crafty deadweight.

This was too illogical.

Merlin had already made clear that this trip was extremely deadly, that even an Archmage might fall instantly. He even said that it might be better for them to not go, apart from Xiuban.

According to William’s nature, he shouldn’t even think of going there.

They all wondered if he had been hit on the head, and if he had properly heard what his cousin had said.

“Cousin, I’ll follow you.” William’s behavior defied their expectations. He came out from the crowd with an exceptionally resolute expression.

“You had best reconsider, this is very dangerous this time. I truly cannot guarantee your safety…”

“I thought about it clearly.” William’s determination wasn’t swayed by Lin Yun’s persuasion. This crafty young mage was determined to follow Lin Yun across that plane.

This surprised even Lin Yun.

After looking at WIlliam for a while, Lin Yun helplessly shook his head. “Okay, then be careful.”

“I will.” William’s expression seemed extremely calm.

In the entire exploration team, only William knew why he was taking this risk.

William definitely wouldn’t have chosen to go just a few minutes ago.

That mysterious plane was too dangerous, and anyone that went could die, so how could William dare to go…

But it was very different now.

Because William had felt that the most fortunate moment of his life was meeting that cousin in Thousand Sails City.

In a short few months, he had already become a 9th Rank Great Mage, just one step away from the High Mage Realm he had been yearning for.

This was like a dream to William Merlin.

No, this was even more outrageous than a dream.

In the past, he would have only dared to dream of becoming a High Mage before turning forty.

But now, he was still a long way from forty, yet he was already about to enter the High Mage Realm. This was all due to this cousin.

Furthermore, there was also the Crimson Heart.

The shock William felt when he learned about the Crimson Heart was too great.

What Solomon assessed as the number one Meditation Law Set of the kingdom was only used as a foundation by his cousin… This was a terrifying thought.

If the Crimson Heart was just a foundation, then how formidable would the core Meditation Law Set that his cousin was planning to give him be?

That Crimson Heart made William realize that the most important thing he had to do in his life was to follow the footsteps of his younger cousin.

No matter where he went, regardless of what he did, he only needed to follow behind him.

Even if he had to follow him through a dangerous and mysterious plane.

These were William’s true thoughts.

Naturally, Lin Yun didn’t know about it.

After nodding and accepting William’s determination, he looked at everyone else one by one. They had already made their decisions and the group was divided in two once again.

“We will return.” To Lin Yun’s surprise, Suyass and Fran also chose to follow… Well, Fran had already lost the right to make a decision and only followed Suyass.

“Oh?”

“Merlin, I know that Fran’s actions were terrible. I’ll tell Teacher everything after returning, and Teacher will naturally punish him. I only hope that this matter doesn’t affect your relationship with the Mercury Tower. In order to express our sincerity, we will cross this mysterious plane with you and we will give up on anything we find along the way and give it to the Gilded Rose.”

Hearing Suyass’ words, Fran opened his mouth, wanting to disagree. But Suyass wasn’t as polite as before and directly glared at him, making Fran shut his mouth.

“Haha…” Lin Yun smiled. “Fran is Fran, the Mercury Tower is the Mercury Tower. I can still differentiate them.”

“Thank you.” Suyass sighed in relief. Although the young Great Mage didn’t make a direct statement, he had still shown his attitude, and this was enough for Suyass.

After Suyass and Fran, it was Solomon and Lys.

These two were the ones who supported Lin Yun the most. Suyass and Fran had already made their choice, so these two didn’t want to fall behind.

But after them, no one else said a word.

They couldn’t be blamed for demurring. That mysterious plane’s power exceeded their imaginations. They were at most on par with High Mages, and they would be nothing more than ants if they entered. They could easily be burnt to ashes as soon as they went any further.

It might have been different if they were ordinary people, but these people were leaders of major forces and had hundreds of subordinates. They had a lot on their shoulders and didn’t dare to take the risk of following the young mage.

“Alright, we will split up here. I already repositioned the Planar Path, as long as everyone follows it back, you’ll be able to return to Noscent within three hours.”

“Well… Merlin, be careful.”

After watching that group of people leave, Lin Yun chanted a spell and the surrounding space started twisting. The visible mana fluctuations began wreaking havoc in the void. It looked like heavenly power.

Lin Yun didn’t even look at it before chanting a long incantation. Each character carried a mysterious power, and each sentence seemed to be able to control the world. An explosion was heard as the last character left Lin Yun’s mouth.

Then, the Planar Path was ruptured!

Yes, the endless Planar Path ruptured, and the few of them remained there on some sort of island amidst the void.

“Merlin, this..” Lys’ expression changed. The Planar Path rupturing also meant that they didn’t have a way back.

“Rest assured, I already prepared the way back for everyone, but it’s not suitable for opening right now…”

“But… but…” Lys didn’t feel too reassured after hearing Lin Yun’s explanation. After mumbling for a bit, he clenched his teeth and said, “But there is no need to rupture the Planar Path… Isn’t it better to have one more way out?

“It can’t be helped, Leader Lys. We can only cross that mysterious plane if we rupture the Planar Path…”

“Ah?” Lys was stunned.

But before he could ask for clarification, Lin Yun already cast a spell and the small island they stood on was already plunging into the endless void.

“That part of the Planar Path will become our ark to cross the plane!” Lin Yun explained no further as he started controlling this part of the Planar Path with his mind.