End of the Magic Era

 Lin Yun was completely speechless. This was quite a formidable line-up. It wasn’t easy to see high ranked Archmages and Sword Saints in Okland. The 5th Rank was a dividing line. Archmages before 5th Rank were classified as low-ranked Archmages. But after 5th Rank, they were classified as high-ranked Archmages. The difference in power between the former and the latter was huge.

But the seven old people in front of him were all high-ranked Archmages and Sword Saints. That kind of force was truly frightening.

The number of high-ranked Archmages and Sword Saints he had met before coming to the Ancestral Land was very small.

“Ryan, you seem to have forgotten to introduce yourself…”

Oren, who was sitting at the edge of the table, faintly smiled. He looked at Lin Yun and said, “He is Ryan Merlin. He became an Archmage two hundred years ago, and he is now a Peak 8th Rank Archmage. He is the Archmage with the best chance of becoming a Heaven Mage. Moreover, Mafa Merlin, I officially welcome you to become part of the Family Council!”

Although the old man had a kind voice, it also felt imposing. Lin Yun couldn’t help feeling nervous when facing this old man. But he still had doubts. “What is the Family Council?”

“Haha… I almost forgot. In fact, the Family Council is the center of power of the entire Merlin Family. Not only for the outside Merlin Family, but also the Merlin Family in the Ancestral Land, in every major plane, and all the branches scattered throughout Noscent. They are all under the control of the Family Council, and you now officially became the 8th member of the Family Council.”

In fact, Rio hadn’t left after bringing Lin Yun in. Instead, he stood to the side. When he heard Oren’s words, Rio was startled speechless and couldn’t help looking at Lin Yun with envy. This was the Family Council, after all!

Rio, who had been in the Ancestral Land for several hundred years, clearly knew what the Family Council represented. It was the symbol of supreme authority, and they were in control of the entire Merlin Family’s fate. He really didn’t expect that this Mafa Merlin would become a member of the Family Council after entering the Guardian Tower for the first time.

If not because of the difference in status, Rio would have asked if this wasn’t too careless.

After all, this was the Family Council.

How could one easily become a member?

Every single one of the seven members had lived for several hundred years, and they were qualified in terms of power and experience. These people were essential to the Family Council. But that Mafa Merlin was only a twenty-year-old youth, yet he became a member of the Family Council less than a year after entering the Merlin Family Manor. It felt like a dream.

But after recalling his own battle with the young mage, Rio couldn’t help but shiver. Perhaps Sir Oren made the right decision. This youth was indeed not simple. Despite being just a 5th Rank High Mage, he had impressive fighting power, and even a 5th Rank Archmage wasn’t his opponent.

If this kind of genius matured, he might end up becoming another Santon Merlin and becoming the Family’s 4th Heaven Mage!

Moreover, the way the young mage said or handled things seemed very old-fashioned, not at all like a youth. Thinking through it, Rio more or less accepted the fact that Lin Yun was becoming a member of the Family Council. He was even looking forward to the path that the young mage would take in the future.

At this time, the way Rio looked at Lin Yun completely changed. There was a deep-seated fear within his eyes. What happened earlier made him realize that the young mage would easily hold a grudge. Now that he had become a member of the Family Council, he definitely couldn’t provoke him.

“By becoming a member of the Family Council, shouldn’t I be qualified to know the Merlin Family’s true strength?” Lin Yun scratched his cheeks as he asked. Oren might have been speaking casually, but his words didn’t give Lin Yun the opportunity to accept or reject the position. It was directly finalizing it, making him the 8th member of the Family Council.

But this clearly was something good…

He could naturally see that the standing of a member of the Family Council was extremely high. It was equivalent to being one of the decision-makers of the Merlin Family. To be honest, he hadn’t cared much about the Merlin Family when he first came to Okland. He’d assumed that he would have no more contact with it after undergoing the bloodline ceremony.

But his way of thinking had changed as he got a deeper understanding of the Merlin Family. This force truly wasn’t weak. Even in all of Noscent, the ancient Merlin Family should be at the top.

“Of course you are qualified…” Oren smiled. “In the past thousand years, three Heaven Rank powerhouses were born in the Merlin Family, but they aren’t in the Ancestral Land. Santon Merlin’s situation is not as bad. He last went to the Blood Moon Plane. As for the other two, there is no news of them. As for how many Sword Saints and Archmages there are, I can’t give you an exact number right now, but it should be over 300! The current Merlin Family has about thirty private planes and a dozen more in the middle of being conquered. I can say for certain that what you can see right now is only the tip of the iceberg. A portion of the powerhouses aren’t in the Ancestral Land but are instead divided among the major planes, or otherwise helping the Merlin Family expand in some part of Noscent.

“Regarding the troops, Ryan will show you. Alright, young man, do you have any other questions?” Oren’s tone was monotone, as if he was narrating an insignificant matter.

“Sir Oren, I want to know the matters regarding the Raging Flame Plane…” After hearing Oren’s introduction to the Merlin Family, Lin Yun remained silent for over ten seconds before asking this.

To be honest, he was already prepared when he asked about the Merlin Family’s power, but he still ended up feeling surprised. Over three hundred Archmage level powerhouses, about thirty privately owned planes…

Was this really the Merlin Family he knew?

But then, Lin Yun quickly recalled the matter of the Raging Flame Plane, and after learning about the true strength of the Merlin Family, he didn’t have to think much to know that the fight over the Raging Flame Plane wasn’t as simple as he had thought. Otherwise, Ryan wouldn’t have come to the Merlin Family Manor a few months ago and chosen him as a commander.

It showed that the Family Council was very concerned about the battle over the Raging Flame Plane. It was a doubtful point by itself, not to mention the cooperation with the Watson Family.

After all, the Watson Family was a hostile force. Over three hundred years ago, they joined forces with the Charlotte Family and suppressed the outside Merlin Family. Had it not been for the young genius Santon Merlin coming out of Ancestral Land at a critical time and reversing the flow of the lost battle, the outside Merlin Family might have collapsed.

Naturally, after understanding some of the matters happening behind the scenes, Lin Yun understood that the true Merlin Family couldn’t be so easily defeated.

Not falling out when facing a former enemy was good, and cooperation showed that there were many hidden secrets behind this.

But unexpectedly, Oren who had only been direct so far actually answered with a question unrelated to the Raging Flame War. “Mafa, you know about the Draconic War?”

Oren no longer had a relaxed expression, looking quite serious. Moreover, the atmosphere in the conference hall was a lot more solemn than when Lin Yun was announced as a member of the Family Council.

“I know…”

Lin Yun nodded. The Draconic War was famous in Noscent’s history. How could he have not heard of it? That was a war that was sung about by bards and minstrels. It gathered many human powerhouses and happened at the end of the Nesser Dynasty. The dynasty ruled by the Chromatic Dragons and Pure-Blooded Elves was gradually heading towards its end.

All the Dragons appearing during the Draconic War were adult Chromatic Dragons that had reached Heaven rank. There were even terrifying existences such as the Three-Headed Gold Dragon.

That war was the beginning of the end of the Nesser Dynasty, and even though Mankind ultimately prevailed, they paid an extremely bitter price. Many Heaven Rank powerhouses had fallen.

During his trip to the Heaven Enlightening Plane, Lin Yun’s cousin, William, obtained a crest of the Merlin Family. It was after seeing that crest that Lin Yun suspected that an ancestor of the Merlin Family had participated in the Draconic War, because only those who had participated in the war could use that kind of crest. It represented the highest honor.

Hearing Oren mention the Draconic War, Lin Yun linked the two together and felt that this might have something to do with the Merlin Family’s ancestor.

“It’s good that you know. In reality, the true ancestor of the Merlin Family can be traced back to the end of the Nesser Dynasty, and that ancestor was a very powerful existence, far more powerful than anyone could imagine. All the information concerning him clearly stated that this ancestor was far more powerful than Charles the Emperor. At the time, he used his own power to decide the outcome of the Draconic War.” Oren seemed a bit emotional. “But all the clues leading to that ancestor are dead ends. We can’t seem to find out who he was. And in the initial stage of the 3rd Dynasty, the Merlin Family thrived for a very long time, but after the disappearance of that ancestor, as well as some unforeseen event, the Merlin Family gradually declined…”

“Unforeseen event? The Merlin Family gradually declined?”

Lin Yun was quite calm this time. Although he had been a bit surprised at first, he had already obtained a lot of clues beforehand, especially regarding the Well of Stars and the family crest, making him suspect that the Dark Sage was the ancestor of the Merlin Family. It reached the point where he was already numb when Oren told him these secrets.

It looked like his guess wasn’t preposterous. The Dark Sage was most likely the ancestor of the Merlin Family, and even if he wasn’t, he was definitely linked to the Merlin Family in countless ways.

“The information gathered showed that this ancestor had several disciples, and after the ancestor disappeared, one of them brazenly made a move against the Merlin Family and stole the inheritance left behind by the ancestor. Because of this, the Merlin Family lost their part of the inheritance and slowly started declining. Even now, we still don’t know the identity of the ancestor.” A trace of anger appeared on Oren’s face. “The decline continued until a thousand years ago, when my father, Lorr Merlin, left the Ancestral Land and gradually let the Merlin Family recover.”

“May I ask, how is this related to the Raging Flame Plane?” Lin Yun awkwardly interrupted Oren.

“Haha…”

Oren Merlin laughed, his anger gradually disappearing. He looked at Lin Yun and said, “I’m not done, so how could you know if it was related to the Raging Flame Plane or not? The family name of that disciple was Watson, the ancestor of the current Watson Family! He stole half of the ancestor’s inheritance and it resulted in today’s Watson Family. The truth behind the Watson Family wanting to suppress our Merlin Family a few hundred years ago was because they wanted to snatch another part of the inheritance. Doesn’t it feel weird? Why would the Merlin Family cooperate with this kind of mortal enemy? In fact, the key reason is that inheritance.”

“The inheritance is related to the Raging Flame Plane?” Lin Yun understood when he heard this and made a bold guess.

“Yes…”

Oren Merlin nodded. He took a deep breath and continued, “The ancestor left a ruin in the Raging Flame Plane, but all the relevant clues were incomplete. Only by collaborating with the Watson Family can we seek out the location. To be more exact, that ruin is in a volcanic mountain range.

“A volcanic mountain range…”

After saying that, Oren took out a damaged map from his pocket and spread it out in front of Lin Yun. After a few seconds, Lin Yun was stunned and in disbelief.

‘It’s that Volcanic Mountain Range!’