End of the Magic Era

That Beastman was the young genius of the Thawing Fire Tribe, Yass. He led his army to destruction in the battle several days ago and was captured alive, imprisoned by Lin Yun.

Yass no longer had his previous graceful bearing. He was riddled with scars, and his aura was very weak. Any random High Mage would be able to take care of him.

“Rumble!”

As Yass cursed under his breath, a Flame Burst flew out with a long trail of fire and exploded in front of him. The surroundings turned silent as Yass was sent flying before landing heavily on the ground, becoming even weaker. However, Raging Flame Beastmen had innate resistance to fire magic, so Yass was still barely able to endure Lin Yun’s Flame Burst.

“I hope you can sincerely answer my question,” Lin Yun expressionlessly said as he looked at Yass laying on the ground, a few embers still flickering on his chest.

The suffering Yass didn’t dare to say anything. He was looking at Lin Yun in fear for a while before nodding. ‘How come this seemingly harmless human is so ruthless when he makes a move?’

“How much do you know about the Ghost Valley? It’s best you tell me everything you know…”

“Eh… The Ghost Valley’s mana is very rich. If we cultivate here, our rate of growth would be very fast.” After saying this, Yass cautiously looked at Lin Yun, only to find him frowning with an icy gaze. Yass was instantly scared into a cold sweat and promptly added, “I, I still know a legend!”

“Speak…”

A long time ago, a rumor spread among our Thawing Fire Tribe. It was said that a frightening fiend was hiding within the Ghost Valley and that a disaster would happen if that fiend came out! Moreover, our Thawing Fire Tribe apparently has a certain thing that can release the fiend from the valley. It is in our Sacred Mountain, but I really don’t know what it is supposed to be,” Yass blurted in fear.

“A certain thing, release the fiend… Sacred Mountain…”

Lin Yun waved his hand and had the others lead Yass away before he calmly pondered about it. The legend that Yass talked about might be an important clue. He could check the Sacred Mountain to find what he was talking about and see if it was related to the Raising Dragon Array. After all, the Chromatic Dragon Crystal was of great importance, so he couldn’t let go of any probably leads.

He removed the soundproof force fields and the arrays before leading the fifty High Mages back to camp.

No major events happened during the next five days. Occasionally, Lin Yun and Weiss would discuss some of the details regarding the collaboration and how to reorganize this huge allied army.

Soon, the imposing army advanced towards the headquarters of Thawing Fire Tribe, the Sacred Mountain. The combined army was quite formidable. There were over ten Archmages, and they had powerhouses like Lin Yun, Weiss, Suval and Thorne. As for High Mages, there were a few hundred from the Merlin Family, and the Caster Legion brought by the Black Tower was entirely composed of High Mages.

Such a force could only be described as frightening. No Beastman could stop their momentum. Within ten days, the army made great progress, capturing four forts in a row.

These four forts had originally been under the control of the Thawing Fire Tribe and had always been occupied by formidable defenders, making them very hard to take over. Whether it was the Black Tower or the Merlin Family, they had attacked these forts quite a few times, but with no success. However, together, they managed to break through the four forts in just ten days.

This kind of result would make any of the other forces of the Raging Flame Plane jealous.

It could be said that these two major forces had attained the greatest victories in the fight over the Raging Flame Plane. The Merlin Family had been operating in the Raging Flame Plane for a few centuries but had only captured three forts before. But now, four forts of the Thawing Fire Tribe had been seized, and the spoils of war couldn’t just be described as generous.

In fact, these four forts were the four natural barriers protecting the path to the Thawing Fire Tribe in the Sacred Mountain. Each fort had impressive defenses, but the allied army of the Merlin Family and the Black Tower was too strong. The Beastmen there didn’t last long before their forts were broken though.

The allied army didn’t give the Beastmen any chance to breathe. The day after they broke through the fourth fort, they reorganized and started moving towards the Sacred Mountain. After half a day, the army pitched camp thirty kilometers away from the Sacred Mountain. Everyone understood that a world-shaking war would soon take place. It would be the decisive battle between them and the Thawing Fire Tribe.

If the tribe lost, there would only be twelve tribes left in the entire Raging Flame Plane. This was the most crucial battle for them, and the Thawing Fire Tribe was bound to send all their most powerful forces to stop the allied army at the foot of the mountain.

Winning this fight would mean eliminating the Thawing Fire Tribe and fully securing those four forts and the Ghost Valley for the Black Tower and the Merlin Family, greatly benefiting these two major forces. In the future contest over the Raging Flame Plane, they would inevitably have the advantage.

The last pre-war preparations were ongoing within the camp. There had been a meeting between the Merlin Family and the Black Tower before the attack on the four fortresses. They had discussed the details of the battle as well as the deployment. Only four people were qualified to participate in that meeting: Lin Yun, Thorne, Weiss, and Suval…

The meeting room had been thrown together in a hurry, looking simple and crude, but none of them cared about these details.

Although Lin Yun had participated in each meeting, he rarely talked, since conducting a battle wasn’t something he was proficient in. He had even taken the initiative to hand over the command of the Planar Legion to Thorne in the previous fights. It was the same during the meetings. Thorne and Weiss would be the ones discussing most of the time.

Although Suval’s situation was different, he spoke very little like Lin Yun, just going through the motions of every meeting. However, the old Representative’s eyes were shining today.

As Thorne and Weiss were discussing passionately, Suval put down the cup in his hand, glanced around at everyone, and then spoke his mind. “I have something to say! This battle is the final confrontation between our forces and the Thawing Fire Tribe. It is the most crucial battle, and no mistakes can happen. I have a suggestion that I would like to share with everyone. You should know that our forces commanded their own legions during the previous battles, causing unpreventable losses. Thus, my suggestion is to have this final battle led by one person.”

He had no change of expression after saying these words. He picked up his cup of water and took a sip, before looking at Thorne on the other side of the room. “Thorne Merlin, the power dispatched by our Black Tower is far superior to your Merlin Family’s. Moreover, I am a 7th Rank Archmage. There is no one stronger than me here, right? I was already a Representative of the Black Tower three hundred years ago and led forces through numerous battles. In the Black Tower, apart from Sir Harren, no one is more qualified than I am. Thus, I feel that I should direct the Merlin Family and the Black Tower in the final battle.”

Suval had felt very depressed lately. The four forts had been broken through, and the army reached the Sacred Mountain, making him anxious. He didn’t like it. If he didn’t do anything, the Thawing Fire Tribe would be easily eliminated and the Merlin Family would obtain countless benefits. This wasn’t what he wanted to see.

However, after thinking about it, he found a method that he could put into action in the final battle.

It was very simple actually… Just as he had said, the final battle was bound to be very difficult. They would face the strongest of the Thawing Fire Tribe, and any mistakes could cause inconceivable consequences.

It would be a lot easier to handle the Merlin Family if he could gain the authority to command the two armies. During the battle, he would casually give out some orders that would cause huge losses to the Merlin Family’s Planar Legion.

It was for this reason that Suval asked for the commanding authority over the two forces for the final battle. In fact, he had no interest in commanding the battle, but he would have to do so in order to deal a blow to the Merlin Family…

“Sir Suval, this isn’t good…”

Sitting across Suval, Thorne’s expression became unsightly. Although the final battle was vital, he didn’t want to give the commanding authority to a member of the Black Tower, just in case the other side had some selfish motives and would deliberately make poor decisions when issuing orders to the Planar Legion, causing huge losses in the process. After all, the battle was extremely important, and they would be facing their strongest foes yet.

He’d heard that this Representative Suval held a grudge against Santon Merlin…

“What? You think I don’t have the qualifications? Or do you want the right to command for yourself?” Hearing Thorne’s tactful refusal, Suval’s expression suddenly became icy as he sneered.

“No, no… You misunderstood, Sir Suval.” Thorne turned deathly pale. Beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead, but he couldn’t wipe them at such a time. He could tell that this Representative with high prestige was dissatisfied with him.

To be honest, Thorne didn’t dare to offend Suval.

So what if he had high status? As a Planar Commander in the Raging Flame Plane and a 5th Rank Sword Saint, he was still far inferior to Suval, who was a Representative of the Council of Seven and was far stronger than Thorne.

“Since you aren’t opposing it, then I shall lead the Black Tower and the Merlin Family’s troops…” Suval expressionlessly looked at Thorne as he reasserted his position.

But at that time, the silent Lin Yun suddenly hit the table, attracting everyone’s attention. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Sir Suval, does Sir Harren know that you want the right to command?”