Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Glinde brought Merlin to a luxurious living room. It was not the manor’s conference hall, but the courtyard where the eighth prince usually rested. Generally, the eighth prince rarely met with Spell Casters here.
“Your Royal Highness the eighth prince, Wizard Merlin has arrived!”
Wizard Glinde waited respectfully outside the living room as he announced softly toward the living room.
“Wizard Merlin, come in.”
The eighth prince’s voice came from the living room. Outside, Wizard Glinde displayed a smile on his face and ushered Merlin into the living room.
The lighting in the living room was a little dark. Merlin did not use Mind Power to check around the living room either. Instead, he squinted and simply scanned around the room. Then, he saw the eighth prince’s figure sitting on a chair in the living room.
There was a cup of red bloody liquid in the eighth prince’s hand. He was carefully tasting it, seemingly enjoying the exotic delicacy.
“Your Royal Highness the eighth prince, I wonder what you need from me?”
Merlin asked slowly after he gave the prince a slight bow.
When the eighth prince saw Merlin, he stood up right away and pointed to the other cup of red bloody liquid on the table. He said with a smile, “Wizard Merlin, come and taste it. This is Bloodfire wine, a tributary gift that Waleson City had just given to His Majesty. Tsk tsk, it tastes really good. I’ve only managed to get this little after much effort.”
“Bloodfire wine?”
A unique wine smell had also wafted into Merlin’s nostrils. Curiosity got the better of him as he picked up the Bloodfire wine on the table.
“Thank you, Your Royal Highness.”
After Merlin expressed his gratitude to the eighth prince, he savored the opportunity and tasted it gently.
“Ah…”
A touch of coldness emanated from the tongue, and then the rich fragrance of the wine spread out in the mouth. Its taste was indeed very mellow, but this alone, was naturally not enough to fascinate the eighth prince so much.
Just as Merlin was about to put down the wine glass, there was immediately a burning sensation which spread from the throat straight to the stomach. This burning sensation then spread quickly toward the entire body, just like he was placed in a blazing flame. However, this scorching feeling was not at all uncomfortable. There was a feeling of heartiness in it instead.
“It’s a terrific wine!”
Merlin’s eyes glinted brightly too as he could not help but give praises to the wine. On the aspect of taste, this Bloodfire wine had definitely topped the charts indeed.
“Wizard Merlin, have a seat.”
The eighth prince smiled and sat on his chair. He was shaking his wine glass slightly, and he stared at Merlin with a narrowed gaze.
Merlin did not utter a single word either, displaying a calm look. Eventually, it was the eighth prince who spoke first, “Wizard Merlin, I heard that you came to Prakash City from the Kingdom of Light. I wonder how much you know about the Church of Light?”
“Hmm?”
Merlin’s expression changed slightly. Nevertheless, when he thought of the eighth prince’s power, it was absolutely a walk in the park for him to investigate his background. After all, many people in Prakash City knew that Merlin and the Wilson clan migrated here from the Kingdom of Light.
Merlin only replied slowly after a long moment, “I don’t really know much about the Church of Light. Just that after coming to the Kingdom of Blackmoon, I heard that the Church of Light had controlled the entire Kingdom of Light, and even strived to wipe out the Royal Family of Light. They had successively annexed several small kingdoms too, forming the Holy Light Empire.”
The eighth prince nodded and gently lowered his glass. His expression gradually settled. He muttered, “Yes, the Church of Light has now replaced the Royal Family of Light and controls a huge country – the Holy Light Empire!
“The Holy Light Empire has been quiet for a few years, but recently they had suddenly made a move, deploying two hundred thousand soldiers to the border. In addition, they are still increasing the number of troops. Wizards from the Church of Light had faintly made an appearance too. I’m afraid that soon, the Holy Light Empire will launch another crusade again!”
“Crusade!”
Merlin’s heart shuddered a little. Upon mentioning a crusade, the Slaughterhouse War had to be brought up. It was seemingly the most brutal war ever. Countless ordinary soldiers and Spell Casters had served in the Slaughterhouse War. Yet, only very few had survived.
In such a war, even a Seventh-level Spell Caster would appear to be very minute!
Previously, when Merlin returned to Wilson Castle, he had heard Charise mention this incident. The Holy Light Empire and the Kingdom of Blackmoon had both increased their troops along the border. The two sides seemed to be ready to wage a full-scale war and the situation was extremely tense.
Merlin was still somewhat unmoved by that. However, now that the news came out from mouth of the eighth prince, it would naturally not be the same. The Holy Light Empire might really be brewing a barbarous crusade.
Although news of the crusade had somewhat rocked Merlin’s heart, he quickly recovered his calmness. Instead, he looked at the eighth prince with suspicion. He feared that the eighth prince did not only tell him about the crusade just because that he had previously been in the Kingdom of Light.
Surely enough, the eighth prince continued. “Crusades may be brutal, but it’s undeniably a good chance for my royal family to expand our power. If there really is a crusade, then all the city-states must participate in the war. I’ll plead His Majesty to let me command our troops at the front line!”
Merlin faintly understood what the eighth prince really meant. He intended to use the crusade as an opportunity to weaken the power of the various city-states and strengthen the royal family’s rule.
Even if they could not be weakened, then the eighth prince could also take advantage of this opportunity to expand his power. By the time when he faced the competition from the ninth prince and the thirteenth prince, he would then have a greater advantage. After all, besides the fourth prince, there were still the ninth prince and the thirteenth prince, who were still eyeing the throne with covetous desire from outside the Imperial City. Hence, it was logical that the eighth prince should make the necessary preparations earlier.
“Wizard Merlin, if the crusade really breaks out, I hope that Wizard Merlin can give me a helping hand. I can also fulfill Wizard Merlin’s wish. After conquering Blackwater City, I’ll grant it to Wizard Merlin!”
The eighth prince’s purpose was to firmly secure Merlin in his battalion. After all, Merlin’s strength was comparable to that of a Sixth-level Spell Caster. Moreover, he had Wizard Bammou as his aide. Such a pair of forces may not be as important as Wizard Leo, but it was also vital enough.
In the eighth prince’s heart, Merlin was now the most worthy person to be recruited apart from Wizard Leo.
“Blackwater City?”
Little fatty Gutt, Miss Carice, and the others, as well as Charise’s eager gaze, flashed in Merlin’s mind. Charise always wanted to return to the Kingdom of Light, but she never had the chance to.
After a long ponder, Merlin replied very cautiously, “Your Royal Highness, I’m very willing to help you, but it’s just that I’ll return to the Dark Magic Region in the future, so I don’t know if I’ll have such a chance…”
The eighth prince could figure out that Merlin meant a “polite rejection” as he did not directly agree too. The eighth prince was naturally disappointed, but he still responded with great enthusiasm, “Very well, Wizard Merlin, I welcome you back any time!”
Merlin bowed a little. After asking for permission to leave, he turned around and left the living room.
…
“Crusade, Blackwater City, Kingdom of Light…”
Merlin returned to the quiet courtyard, still mumbling under his breath. His mind still reverberated with the crusade mentioned by the eighth prince.
With regard to the Kingdom of Light, Merlin did not have any nostalgic feeling at all. He just wanted to go back to Blackwater City. In the beginning, the eighth prince’s suggestion did sway Merlin a little because he offered to give him Blackwater City.
When Merlin left Blackwater City, he said that he would definitely return to Blackwater City. Now there was such an opportunity, Merlin had to think carefully.
However, the crusade was way too dangerous for Merlin now!
“I still don’t have enough strength. In a crusade, even a Seventh-level Spell Caster would appear to be minute and will easily get killed. Below the Seventh-level, I can almost be considered mere cannon fodder… If I really want to go, I should at least have the strength of a Seventh-level Spell Caster!”
Merlin was very clear about the atrocity of crusades. Back then, Old Wilson had personally experienced the crusade, and he had even survived the most brutal Slaughterhouse War.
In the horrific Slaughterhouse War, those Spell Casters below the Seventh-level were no different from cannon fodder.
Merlin was merely a Third-level Spell Caster now. Although he had the enhancement from Pandora Demon Abilities, he still could not rival a Seventh-level Spell Caster. At most, he only had the strength of a peak Sixth-level Spell Caster.
To participate in the crusade with such strength would be very dangerous, and his fate would most likely bode ill rather than well. Therefore, though he wanted to return to Blackwater City badly, he still had no choice but to reject the eighth prince’s invitation.
“It seems that it’s better if I increase my Mind Power as soon as possible, and strive to reach the stage where I can construct Fourth-level spells earlier!”
Merlin’s current strength had reached a bottleneck. Apart from becoming a Fourth-level Spell Caster, it was basically difficult to further improve. Nonetheless, constructing Fourth-level spells required much larger Mind Power. His current Mind Power was far from sufficient.
The Mokra Potions had all been consumed too, so now he could only prepare Mokra Potion first. Fortunately, Merlin obtained the full support of the eighth prince and had gotten thousands of Mokra Potion materials.
With enough potion materials, the only thing Merlin lacked now was adequate time.
Thus, Merlin began preparing the Mokra Potions.
…
Half a month later, Merlin had already prepared a few Mokra Potions. During this time, he had fully devoted himself to the brewing of Mokra Potions and did not bother to learn about what was happening outside.
“Master, Wizard Leo has asked you to go over. It seems that there’s a very urgent matter.”
Wizard Bammou’s voice was heard from outside the house.
Merlin frowned. When preparing potions, the last thing he wanted was to be disturbed because once he was disrupted, he might not be able to accurately grasp the heat of the potion, which would then lead to the failure of the potion brew.
Currently, Merlin was preparing a Mokra Potion, but he was interrupted by Wizard Bammou. The potion brew had officially failed, so there was vaguely some fury deep in his heart.
“Creak…”
Merlin fiercely pushed the door open, staring coldly at Wizard Bammou. He sighed, “What happened? I thought Teacher Leo is meditating?”
Feeling the anger beneath Merlin’s tone of voice, Bammou did not dare to linger and hastily said, “Wizard Leo seemed to have received some news from the Dark Magic Region, so he asked me to look for you, Master.”
“News from the Dark Magic Region?”
Merlin was slightly surprised. The anger in his heart had also diminished significantly . Since the Dark Magic Region had sent a message to Wizard Leo, there might really be an emergency.
Hence, Merlin could not care about brewing potions anymore. Alongside Wizard Bammou, he hurriedly rushed to the courtyard where the Wizard Leo was staying.
