End of the Magic Era

Lars Watson looked around as he walked into the Flame Demon Fort, disbelief flickering in his eyes.

‘Damn, what happened here? Did the entire Merlin Family eat something wrong?

‘Hey, isn’t that Geru Merlin? That guy was a 9th Rank High Mage last month, how come he’s a 1st Rank Archmage now?

‘That guy had been stuck at the High Mage realm for twenty years, hadn’t he? How did he advance?

‘And it’s not just him, there are a few others that weren’t as strong a month ago. How come they’ve advanced now?’

Doubt flashed in Lars Watson’s eyes, but he still felt disdainful. The Flame Demon Fort mostly had Great Mages. There weren’t many High Mages, and the Archmages had fallen… So how could that Geru advance to the Archmage realm?

It wasn’t as if they were all weak, but besides Mafa Merlin and his entourage, the entire Merlin Family here looked as if it would easily collapse. ‘Their Commander, Thorne Watson, is only a 5th Rank Sword Saint… I really don’t know what the Merlin Family is thinking. They are so weak, yet they think of sharing the benefits of the Raging Flame Plane…

‘Truly a pile of trash, except Sir Mafa Merlin, of course. Sir Green was a 6th Rank Archmage from the Ancestral Land, but he was actually crippled by Mafa Merlin, and Sir Zeuss didn’t even help Sir Green out.

‘After returning, the entire fort could hear Sir Zeuss scolding Sir Green, and people said that he was so angry that just a spurt of his saliva was enough to wash over Green’s face.

‘That huge warship had been driven back here by Sir Mafa. I heard that this warship annihilated all the Raging Flame Beastman of the Fireblade Tribe in a few minutes… truly terrifying.

‘Sir Green was incredibly stupid. Sir Zeuss repeatedly warned me before leaving that the Tribal Chief of the Fireblade Tribe, Hoppet, was personally killed by Mafa Merlin, and he was a Peak 8th Rank Arch-Warlock.

‘And reportedly, Mafa Merlin didn’t have an especially good relationship with the Merlin Family upon his return. After coming to the Raging Flame Plane, the people there refused to comply with him.

‘Truly a bunch of idiots…’

Lars Watson followed the guide in front of him and suddenly noticed a sleeping Beastman sprawled on his back atop a large tent, snoring loudly. His body was emitting a dangerous aura.

‘Isn’t that Sir Mafa’s follower, Sir Xiuban? Truly powerful. It was said that he has followed Mafa Merlin for more than a year and, from a stupid Beastman, became a 4th Rank Sword Saint. But his aura feels stronger than a 5th Rank Sword Saint.

‘It was also said that a frightening Frost Dragon was also the follower of Sir Mafa.

‘Unfortunately, I’m from the Watson Family, so Sir Mafa would definitely look down on me, or else I would have thickened my face to become one of his followers.’

“You can wait here, Sir Mafa is working on an important alchemy experiment, wait until he comes out.”

A voice interrupted Lars’ delusion. Lars turned and arrogantly nodded.

Disdain flashed in his eyes as he watched the back of that person. Besides Sir Mafa, there wasn’t a single Merlin that could be looked up to.

‘Hmpf, the Merlin Family is filled with cowards and idiots. Seeing Sir Mafa’s strength, they could only thicken their faces and pull him back into the family.’

Lars sat in the empty reception room, not worried at all. It was said that Mafa Merlin was also a formidable Master Alchemist that might have already advanced to the Artisan realm. Waiting on an Artisan wasn’t an issue. Many people would actually hope for such an opportunity without ever receiving one.

After a dozen minutes, Lin Yun looked at the solution that kept changing in his beaker and nodded with satisfaction.

‘Hmm, this still needs another half an hour before the next step. Let’s meet with the visitor from the Watson Family.’

Lin Yun noticed his messy hair and filthy clothing, but he didn’t care. Time was pressing, and he didn’t have time to waste. After quickly tidying himself, he walked towards the reception room.

After pushing open the door, he immediately heard a shout. “Hmpf, who let you come in?”

Lars was coldly looking at this youth with a ruffled appearance. ‘His clothes are filthy and his hair is a mess, he looks like he walked into the wrong room. He even entered without knocking, truly boorish of him.

‘The people of the Merlin Family’s headquarters are becoming more and more embarrassing. No wonder they are all a bunch of trash. In this Flame Demon Fort, only someone like Sir Mafa can be considered a powerhouse.’

A trace of amazement flashed on Lin Yun’s face, and he truly thought he had gone the wrong way for a moment. He even checked, but this was really the reception room.

Lars sneered as he looked at Lin Yun.

“You are really uneducated. You don’t even know how to knock after opening a door! I am the messenger of the Watson Family and Sir Mafa Merlin’s guest, I have an important matter to discuss with Sir Mafa, yet you are so bold as to come in like that. Is the Merlin Family that lawless?”

Seeing Lin Yun’s stunned appearance, Lars immediately looked down on him. ‘So stupid, you don’t even know how to apologize and leave? Forget it, for the sake of Sir Mafa Merlin, I won’t bother to bicker with that idiot.

“What are you looking at, why aren’t you leaving yet? What are you doing still standing there? Don’t you know how to show proper etiquette? You should apologize, leave, and close the door behind you.”

Instead of getting angry, Lars suddenly got the idea of properly educating that fool, so he kept chattering.

If it weren’t for the fact that he was worried about possible reprisal from the ill-tempered Mafa Merlin, he might have made that fool suffer.

Lin Yun was totally amazed at this person’s words, but then he looked at his clothes and understood why that guy had misunderstood…

“If there isn’t someone else called Mafa Merlin here, then the person you are looking for should be me…”

“… You see, apart from Sir Merlin, who else in your Merlin Family… Mafa Merlin… What, you are Mafa Merlin?”

Lars suddenly reacted to Lin Yun’s words.

His face turned as white as a ghost, and he instantly jumped up from his chair as he remembered what he had just been talking about.

“You… You are Sir Mafa Merlin… This… Err…”

Lars was terrified, and his legs were continuously shivering. Cold sweat was dripping down his back as if he was facing a Heaven Rank monster.

He recalled what Sir Zeuss had discussed with him, fearing that he would cause trouble:

‘Lars, after you leave, please do not offend Sir Merlin. To tell you the truth, the Tribal Chief of the Fireblade Tribe was personally killed by Sir Mafa, and very easily.

‘Sir Mafa isn’t like the weak members of the Merlin Family. If you want to die, please do not drag me into it. Sir Merlin has a good friendship with our Watson Family, and Watsons shouldn’t destroy this friendship, am I being clear? Do you understand?’

Lars was morose, feeling so scared that he looked like he was weeping. His mouth was wide open, but he was unable to talk properly. Sir Zeuss had said that offending Sir Mafa would result in an unsightly death that the Watson Family wouldn’t bail him out of.

“Sir Mafa Merlin, this… Err… I truly didn’t know it was you… Please… Please don’t mind it…”

Lars felt like sobbing. His hand was gripping the table tightly, and his legs were already shaking.

“What did Sir Zeuss send you for?” Lin Yun casually asked.

Lars hurriedly took out a letter from his bosom and put it on the table with trembling hands.

“Sir Zeuss sent me to deliver this letter… This… Sir Mafa Merlin, I really didn’t know it was you, please be merciful, that…”

Lin Yun waved his hand, disinclined to bicker with that scaredy-cat, lest he made him soil his pants.

Lars saw Lin Yun’s movement and felt as if the scythe of the Grim Reaper had left his neck. He rushed out, but because his legs were shaking, he ended up sprawled on his stomach. But he didn’t dare to stop, so he crawled up to deeply express his thanks to Lin Yun while crying before rushing out of the reception room.

After leaving, Lars’ face turned deathly pale, and without caring about his image, he madly rushed out of the Flame Demon Fort, as if he was being chased by a Heaven Rank monster.

Lin Yun didn’t pay attention to Lars. He waved at the envelope on the table, which opened, allowing a letter with polite wording to appear in front of him.

After a bunch of polite words at the top, there was only one sentence regarding the actual matter. It was time, everyone had to start converging towards the Storm Fort, and Lin Yun had to lead the elites of the Merlin Family hurry there.

With a wave, the letter turned to ashes, and Lin Yun once again returned to his laboratory. His important experiment was still underway, so he had no time to waste.

Lin Yun got into the laboratory and forgot about other matters. Meanwhile, an unexpected guest had arrived at the Flame Demon Fort.

A middle-aged man wearing a long, black robe and reeking of pride swaggered into the Flame Demon Fort, not even caring about the defenses.

As he walked in, the Merlins wanted to confront him and ask why he was here, but the middle-aged man immediately burst out with formidable mana. The mana fluctuations were just like gales that sent everyone within a few dozen meters flying away.

9th Rank Archmage!

Everyone was instantly alarmed, and the leader of the guard also understood who had come.

The number of 9th Rank Archmages in the entire Raging Flame Plane could be counted one hand, and a black-robed person reeking of arrogance and treating others like filth could only be someone of the Black Tower.