End of the Magic Era

As he arrived beside Lin Yun’s group, John examined Lin Yun with that mocking expression before sneering with disdain.

“I thought you were supposed to be a being of formidable power… Turns out you are only a youth who doesn’t know the height of Noscent. How could your Merlin Family be so thick-skinned to follow us without any sort of power? It was actually you, that Mafa Merlin…

“Your Merlin Family is just that? Fifty people? And you have the nerve to go to the Storm Fort while walking with our Black Tower? Even if you aren’t ashamed, I am ashamed!

“When we reach the Storm Fort, people from other forces will see you walking with our Black Tower and will definitely compare our Black Tower to the likes of you. You, a newly advanced Archmage, can actually serve as a Commander of the Merlin Family. That’s unfathomable! It was a 5th Rank Sword Saint before, and now you. It’s truly becoming trashier and trashier…

“Okay, I won’t bother speaking with you, just take your people and leave, don’t make us look bad…”

John was truly disapproving of the current situation.

A young man who seemed to be just over twenty had to be very gifted to advance to the Archmage realm. Unfortunately, this wasn’t Noscent or their Family. Here, anyone under the 5th Rank of the Archmage realm was considered cannon fodder.

‘Hmpf, the Merlin Family has already declined, for this kind of cannon fodder to come to the Raging Flame Plane as their Commander… Isn’t this just throwing lives away? And he is not only throwing away his own life, but he is also bringing others along with him!

‘And now, he still has the cheek to follow us and let us help him open a path for him. I don’t know why Weiss would agree to let the members of the Merlin Family follow us. Moreover, that Mafa Merlin seems to think that tagging along with us is something perfectly normal. Truly trash! Hmpf, next time we meet magic beasts, I’ll lead some here. Maybe that Mafa Merlin will soil his pants…

‘Yes, that’s perfect! It looks like we are going to reach the territory of a level 37 magic beast. I just have to lead that magic beast over, and most of these fifty people will die or be injured before reaching the Storm Fort. Let’s see if he still has the courage to follow us then! If he doesn’t clean up his act, he might as well die.

‘Really, that newly advanced Archmage is just following along and being a burden to our Black Tower….’

After John finished speaking, the fifty High Mages expressionlessly hurried over and, just like in their drills, their magic staves shone, and the power of fire elements crazily converged.

This time, the fifty High Mages were following Lin Yun to battle. They were all in high spirits and were afraid of disappointing their master and benefactor.

They had once been uncertain members of the Merlin Family, the lowest of the low. They had poor talent and terrible comprehension of magic. They had no background and could only become Mages through luck, and perhaps, they would one day die as cannon fodder.

The Merlin Family sent them to Lin Yun as nothing more than a cheap gift, but then, everything changed. They ate properly, had good drinks, and all kinds of natural resources were used to increase their power. Furthermore, a formidable Artisan like Mafa Merlin personally crafted their staves.

‘Hell, can the rest of the Merlin Family even ask for an Artisan to make a move? And craft fifty staves at once? That’s too much, isn’t it?’

From Mage to Great Mage, to the current High Mage realm… It was just like a dream. They all thought about it by themselves and felt that their current selves were all due to Mafa Merlin.

They finally had the chance to fight with Sir Mafa, but there was actually a fool that dared to mock him. This was asking for death!

‘Just one frown from Sir Mafa, and we shall tear that damned idiot to pieces…’

The yawning Xiuban suddenly shook. He’d had good naps over the course of the past month, and he had grown bored and sleepy again on this trip. He was wondering whether he should go and stretch his muscles the next time they met a magic beast, so that arrogant person gave him a chance to have some fun.

Xiuban put down Carnage from his shoulder and bared his teeth at John.

“You dare to talk to Sir Merlin like this? Damn, don’t you know that you are courting death? Sir Merlin doesn’t need to move a finger, Lord Xiuban only needs one bite to get rid of you…”

As he said that, he spat out. The saliva flew like an arrow and crossed several meters in an instant, ruthlessly spraying towards John.

John was startled by this and promptly dodged. He heard a clear sound echo and saw that there was unexpectedly a huge hole in his robe from the saliva. The saliva sounded like an arrow as it ultimately hit the ground.

“Damnit! Barbarians are barbarians, and Merlins are really stupid beasts, just like Mafa Merlin…”

John stomped on the ground in fury as he cursed at Xiuban. At the time, the people in the front reacted to what was happening behind. The fifty High Mages simultaneously gathered their mana at a frightening speed. It was like a giant creature had suddenly awakened.

Weiss turned around, and his expression suddenly turned unsightly as he instantly flew to the back.

While still in midair, Weiss loudly shouted, “John, you damned fool! What the hell are you doing? Do you think you are especially powerful? That you can rule the Black Tower? You’re speaking to an ally like this when we are about to reach the Storm Fort!? You are disturbing our army, this is sabotage!”

John completely hadn’t expected that Weiss would have such a huge reaction. He opened his mouth as he intended to say something.

But Weiss’ eyelids fiercely twitched and he instantly cut John off.

“John, one more word and I’ll send a letter to Sir Harren right away and let him personally handle this matter!”

John’s expression changed. He had been following Barok and was considered one of his followers, but Barok had silently disappeared. It was said that he had been recalled by Sir Harren. If Sir Harren knew of his reckless behavior, he’d definitely be in a lot of trouble…

Even just thinking of what would happen if he was recalled made John’s face turn pale. Rumors that Sir Barok had been harshly dealt with by Sir Harren had been spreading in the Fort. If Sir Harren also took notice of him, John would no longer have any standing in the Black Tower.

He wouldn’t have to do anything directly… Harren could just send him to a remote branch and he would be screwed.

John lowered his head and hastily returned to the Black Tower’s group, and thinking that this wasn’t safe enough, he headed to the front.

Weiss awkwardly looked at Lin Yun. Lin Yun hadn’t said anything, yet all the people around were ready to tear John to shreds.

“Err, Sir Mafa… That guy is a brainless idiot, please don’t mind him. If you are unhappy, I can send him back now. But there is a dire need of manpower for the upcoming battle, so this…”

Weiss was wiping the cold sweat off his head, at a bit of a loss. He personally felt that although Lin Yun only had fifty people, it wouldn’t be easy to beat their group…

Lin Yun waved his arm and had Weiss leave, as his mind was focused on the distant Storm Fort.

To be more exact, he was focused on a small valley beside the Storm Fort!

That valley was filled with black mist, and when walking over from a distance, only that valley was completely black, looking very strange.

Lin Yun looked at that valley in a daze, thinking that it wasn’t just strange, but that there must be another reason behind it.

But he then thought of the Storm Fort that had been occupied there for so many years, and he hadn’t heard or read about anything related to it. It looked like the Black Tower’s people were already accustomed to that strange region, as none of them looked surprised, so Lin Yun temporarily set his doubts aside.

They soon reached the gates of the Storm Fort. As the biggest fort of the north, it could already be considered as a huge city. The city walls were over thirty meters tall, and there was a defense mage tower every fifty meters. As long as an enemy was found, the Storm Fort’s armies of mages could instantly enter the defense mage towers to counterattack.

At the peak of each tower was a bright light that kept flickering with power. The surface of the towers was also covered with arrays. Lin Yun could see with a single glance that it would be very difficult for anyone under the Archmage realm to destroy these defense towers. The mage armies could cast spells without worries within the protection of the defense mage towers.

Divine Archers and Sword Saints were patrolling on the walls, and every group was well set up.

Mage, shield-bearing Sword Saint, greatsword-wielding Sword Saint, Divine Archer. Almost every squadron had a complete fighting team and seemed to be very powerful.

A large number of magic plants had been planted outside the city walls, and those thistles and thorns covered over a hundred meters. The only way to attack the Storm Fort was through the city gates.

As he recalled the Flame Demon Fort’s mana crystal cannons, Lin Yun estimated that the defensive power of the Merlin Family’s fort should be on par with that of the Storm Fort. It was just that the Black Tower and the Cloud Tower had far more troops than the Merlin Family, so defense mage towers were more suitable.

There was a lack of manpower on the Merlin Family’s side, so using mana crystal cannons that didn’t consume a lot of a mage’s mana and could fire as long as there was a supply of mana crystals was most suitable for them.

The inside of the Storm Fort was bustling with activity. Ordinary citizens only occupied a small portion of the population, and they were doing odds and ends. The vendors on the streets and their clients all had some degree of power.

Lin Yun kept observing the layout and defenses of the Storm Fort and inwardly sighed, ‘The defense is really tight. It looks like there is nothing, but there are arrays at fixed distances, and there is no gap in the patrols. After so many years under their control, this has turned into a solid steel fortress of the Cloud Tower and the Black Tower.