Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The snowstorm persisted for a few days before it gradually stopped. The sky outside was finally bathed in a warm stream of sunlight. However, the sun was not fierce in the entire Subzero Snowfield, and even the frost would not melt. Under the illumination of the sunshine, one could clearly see that Subzero Snowfield was piled in a thick blanket of snow.
“It’s time to leave!”
Merlin cast a glance at Wizards Ernie and Watson in the cave. Now that they had recovered most of their strength, they could hurry on their way. It was just that Merlin did not know where to go.
He had only been in Subzero Snowfield for not too long and was not even familiar with the place. Before this, when they had left the Thousand Miles Snow Cave, he had merely flown off without a direction in mind and did not know where he should head toward.
“Ernie, where should we go now?” ( NovelFull )
Merlin directed this question at Wizard Ernie. Wizard Ernie, despite appearing relatively old, had a lively mind. He was fond of trying to figure out Merlin’s thoughts and was rather similar to Wizard Bammou in terms of personality.
“Erm… Master, if you don’t mind, let’s go to where I stay first.” Ernie spoke carefully. Naturally, he understood what Merlin meant. After the past few days of observation and learning, Ernie and Watson now knew that Merlin was an outsider who came to Subzero Snowfield and was not familiar with the situation in Subzero Snowfield.
Merlin pondered for a moment. “Alright, just as you suggested then. We’ll head to your place first.”
Therefore, this band of three took flight once more, heading toward Wizard Ernie’s residence.
In the sky, the view below was an expanse of whiteness as the ground was completely covered in snow. It was extremely astounding. Merlin had never experienced such a spectacular view.
“Hoo…”
Suddenly, a colossal gust of snowstorm appeared in mid-air, rolling toward Merlin and the other two. Most snowstorms would not be much of a threat to them but this current one appeared extremely fearsome. Even Merlin was stunned to his core.
“Keep away from it, move!”
The Runic Heartprint between Merlin’s brows abruptly flickered once more. Merlin quickly set up a simple Runic Magic Circle to block the snowstorm in front.
“Crack.”
It was as if the Runic Magic Circle served no purpose as it was completely crushed and swept away by the snowstorm, turning quickly into fragments. Fortunately, Merlin and the rest had evaded in time.
“What a formidable snowstorm!”
Merlin and the rest looked at the snowstorm with lingering trepidation. However, the weather was calm now, so how could there suddenly be this peculiar snowstorm?
Moreover, even though this snowstorm was powerful, its range did not cover a large area. Conversely, it only covered a very small region.
“That’s not right. It’s not a snowstorm!”
Merlin narrowed his eyes slightly. He sharply perceived that this snowstorm contained an extremely veiled trace of Elemental fluctuations. Such fluctuations would only appear when someone had cast a spell.
“Hoo hoo hoo…”
Before Merlin could find out the source, another wild gust of snowstorm rolled in from the distance. Wizards Ernie and Watson’s expressions shifted greatly.
“D*mn it, what’s really happening here?”
Wizard Ernie and Wizard Watson could not help but begin cursing. They felt as if after meeting Merlin in the Thousand Miles Snow Cave, they had nothing but bad luck, and now they had encountered such an odd snowstorm.
These snowstorms contained terrifying strength. Even as Seventh-level Spell Casters, they dared not resist it by force. There was a possibility that the snowstorm would tear their Defensive spells apart, crushing them into pieces.
“Come on, let’s go over for a look. There’s something wrong about these snowstorms!”
After the gusts of the snowstorms had disappeared, Merlin immediately flew into the air, his Mind Power unreservedly sweeping in all directions. With this, not even the most concealed things could escape its detection.
“Hmmm, what intense Ice Element. Those seem to be frozen Spell Casters?”
Merlin’s Mind Power suddenly came across a queer area. It was a lake of unparalleled size. However, the lake could no longer be seen for it was frozen under a thick layer of ice crystals.
On the frozen lake, there were many frozen Spell Casters in all sorts of positions and appearances. Their postures were exceedingly amusing as well. Nonetheless, upon closer look, one could see that their current postures were, in fact, a reproduction of how they normally moved.
Still, on this frozen lake, these Spell Casters were frozen in place, dead forever. The ice sculptures left behind merely preserved the postures of their final moments.
There were even shards of ice crystals which had shattered upon falling to the ground. It must be those who tried flying across the lake, not expecting to be frozen, and ended up falling.
“There’s something weird about this lake!”
Merlin’s expression turned solemn. Thereafter, he lightly waved one huge hand, and a flash of thunderbolt appeared on the lake.
“Crack.”
He was not surprised in the slightest that even the thunderbolt was frozen immediately, shattering on the ice as it fell.
Merlin drew in a deep breath, becoming even more apprehensive of this lake. It should be known that although his Thunder-type spell was not merged with Pandora Demon Ability, and he had not constructed a Fourth-level one, its might should not be underestimated. Now, it was frozen in place instantly.
As he considered this, Merlin wanted to investigate the true nature of this lake even more. Thus, his gaze landed on Wizards Ernie and Watson. ( NovelFull )
Ernie and Watson, upon seeing that Merlin was staring at them, immediately erupted into grievances deep in their hearts. This frozen lake was so terrifying. Who knew whether they could withstand its effects and avoid being turned into an ice sculpture?
However, they could only carry out this perilous task. Why did they have to be Merlin’s slaves?
A slave’s duty was to fulfill their master’s every wish, including acting as cannon fodder.
Nevertheless, Wizards Ernie and Watson had agreed to become Merlin’s slaves because they were hoping to survive. Now that they were facing such a dangerous lake, they were very unwilling to take the risk.
Therefore, Wizard Ernie cautiously suggested. “Master, it seems like there’s nothing interesting to investigate about this lake. It’s far too dangerous. We’d better leave quickly.”
“Leave?”
Merlin’s icy glare swept across Ernie and Watson, following which his tone became even more chilly, causing both of their hearts to tense up.
A slave possessed a slave’s intuition. Wizards Ernie and Wizard Watson, upon receiving Merlin’s frosty glare, dared not linger any longer. They hurriedly began to cast their Defensive spells, gnashed their teeth furiously, and flew toward the lake.
Nevertheless, as they reached the lakeside, they did not have the courage to fly in directly. Instead, they summoned a few alchemy puppets from their rings.
These alchemy puppets did not possess the slightest life force, and were only half-complete, and could not even be activated. However, they shared a common point, which was being made of extraordinary material. As a result, they were extremely durable and difficult to destroy, and their sturdiness was capable of withstanding the peak of a Sixth-level spell without being damaged.
With that, Ernie and Watson got ready to let the alchemy puppets to give it a try so that they could be better prepared.
“Go forth.”
They flung the alchemy puppets with all their strength. In an instant, as soon as the alchemy puppets approached the overhead vicinity of the lake, they were immediately frozen and dropped from the sky.
“Crack crack.”
The two alchemy puppets made of incomparably durable material was unable to defend against the freezing of the lake. They dropped from the air and instantly shattered into fragments.
Seeing that even the sturdy alchemy puppets could not withstand the power of this strange lake, Wizards Ernie and Watson turned green in the face. They looked toward Merlin.
However, Merlin still wore the same, cold expression, causing them to fall into supreme despair.
“D*mn it, why am I, Ernie, so unlucky? Never mind that I’ve met a Wizard who was so strong but he caused a such a mess. Although it’s a lowly state to be a slave, there’s still a day where I’ll finally win back my freedom. Why did we have to encounter such a peculiar and dangerous place on our journey?”
Ernie was foul-mouthed and appeared very unwilling. Still, since they were already Merlin’s slaves, they dared not disobey Merlin’s commands, and could only put on a bold front as they slowly walked toward the lake.
“Whoosh.”
By the time they had rushed to the center of the frozen lake, they had each cast their Defensive spells. The frigid cold conditions immediately assailed the surface of their bodies, freezing their Defensive spells in an instant.
Although their spells were not shattered for now, as the ice crystals thickened, they felt an increasing pressure as if their spells would fracture at any second.
Once their Defensive spells were shattered or they had exhausted their Magic Power, they would be not far from death, likely to end up like those ice sculptures on the frozen lake.
Merlin narrowed his eyes slightly. He was sensing the extreme chill of the lake, which only seemed to have absolute dominance over spells below the Seventh-level, freezing them instantly.
However, once it was a Seventh-level spell, the frigid cold conditions of the lake could not do much besides releasing a terrifying chill. This would freeze Wizard Ernie and Wizard Watson to death, and it was completely depleting their Magic Power.
Under the assault of the frigid chill, Wizards Ernie’s and Watson’s Magic Power was placed under a great strain. In a short moment, they would no longer be able to hold on, and the chill would invade their bodies, turning them into ice sculptures.
“The Seventh-level is the limit! The frigid chill of this frozen lake must be at its limit. Seventh-level spells can defeat it!”
Merlin glanced at Wizard Ernie and Watson who were casting spells in desperation, no longer calculating how much energy was being consumed. There were plenty of benefits in taking both on as slaves. At the very least, when they encountered future dangers, he could send them ahead to bear the brunt.
If they were in a perilous area, he could let them forge ahead. Merlin was able to save himself much trouble by having two slaves with such powerful abilities, and he did not have to take a risk.
Even if they were cannon fodders, Wizards Ernie and Watson were high-grade cannon fodders. They would not die so easily and could likewise bring Merlin plenty of benefits.
It was just like how they came across this mysterious lake this time around. Merlin did not need to risk himself to try it out for Ernie and Watson had already tested out the limit of the frigid chill of the frozen lake.
“Fiery Collapse!”
Since Merlin now knew the limit of the frigid chill of the frozen lake, he no longer hesitated. He raised a hand and pointed abruptly at the frozen lake. Instantly, in the air above the lake which was as spotlessly white as a mirror, dense pale white flames appeared and burned furiously.
“Boom!”
After Merlin had unleashed the flames, the entire frozen lake began to tremble violently as if a fearsome power had been residing in the frozen lake and was now gradually reviving.
