Chapter 511: Armies at the Sacred Mountain
In an instant, Councilor Suville's face turned ashen, unable to utter a word. His attempt to seize command authority over both factions and secretly target the Merlin Family was a spur-of-the-moment idea—there was no way Chairman Heron, stationed far away at Darkmoon Fortress, could have known about it. The young mage's question was simple enough under normal circumstances, and shouldn't have thrown Councilor Suville off so badly.
But that question struck Councilor Suville right where it hurt, as if threatening him with Chairman Heron's authority. He vividly remembered Chairman Heron's rebuke more than two months ago, and the stern warning that if he provoked Matthew Merlin again, he'd be sent packing back to the Sanctuary...
“Heh, I think we should just drop this matter...”
Seeing things take a turn, Councilor Weiss immediately stepped forward with a cheerful smile, saying, “After all, this cooperation is built on the premise of equality. If one side gets all the command authority, that doesn’t seem quite right.”
As soon as he finished, Councilor Weiss could feel Councilor Suville's murderous glare from beside him, but he paid it no mind. From what Chairman Heron hinted before departure, it seemed that once the Forgefire Clan was wiped out, Councilor Suville probably wouldn’t stay in the Blazeforge Realm much longer.
Truth be told, Weiss felt rather helpless himself...
Chairman Heron had personally said that there was likely a Heavenly Mage backing Matthew Merlin. For someone at that level, even the Black Tower wouldn’t dare provoke him lightly. Though Councilor Weiss and Councilor Suville weren’t exactly on friendly terms, they were both Black Tower Councilors. If Councilor Suville pushed things too far and angered the mysterious figure behind the young mage, the Black Tower would be in real trouble...
The meeting lasted over three hours, with Thorne Merlin and Councilor Weiss discussing battle plans and other details. Yet Thorne Merlin was visibly preoccupied, often glancing at the young mage beside him. He suddenly realized that the young mage at his side was becoming more and more unfathomable...
At first, when the young mage arrived at the Blazeforge Realm, some of his outrageous actions were hard for Thorne Merlin to accept—especially leading over five hundred Archmages to operate near Specter Valley. Thorne had scoffed, thinking the guy must’ve hit his head. With that little force, he actually wanted to make a move on Specter Valley? Did he even know what death meant...
However, it wasn't long before a resounding slap in the face arrived—the young mage, using some unknown method, actually managed to form an alliance with the Black Tower, with the goal of annihilating the Forgefire Clan and seizing control of Specter Valley...
The incident that occurred at the recent council meeting was even more baffling. Councilor Suville from the Black Tower, imposing and aggressive, tried to seize command of the Merlin Family's planar legion. Bound by Suville’s status and power, I didn’t dare refuse, and watched as Suville was about to succeed. The young mage simply uttered a few words, and Suville—a seventh-rank titled Archmage—actually stopped talking. Then Chairman Heron stepped in to smooth things over, and the storm was quelled.
Thorn Merlin still finds it hard to believe. That was Suville, after all! In all of Auckland, there are few who dare offend Suville, yet a single remark from the young mage made Suville deeply wary.
What kind of concept is that...
Not only is Suville formidable, but he also has the backing of a giant—the Black Tower, one of the kingdom’s two major mage factions. Yet Thorn Merlin clearly saw that after the young mage spoke, Suville, who had been so domineering, turned ashen-faced and didn’t say another word.
At that moment, the look Thorn Merlin gave the young mage grew increasingly complicated...
With the war council concluded, the coalition rested and made a series of deployments. At the foot of the Sacred Mountain, they finally confronted the main force of the Forgefire Clan—a truly terrifying power. As far as the eye could see, Blazeforge Orcs blanketed the mountains, charging on Ashen Direwolves, while fire-red wyverns circled overhead. Volcano spirits, transformed into swarms of fire crows, filled the sky...
The fierce battle raged for over ten hours. With the last Blazeforge Orc falling, the coalition claimed a costly victory. The orc army was utterly destroyed, including more than a dozen orc shamans with power equal to titled Archmages, and five prophets—including the Grand Prophet.
The Forgefire Clan had six prophets in total, a power center much like a council, with a Grand Prophet among them. This battle at the foot of the Sacred Mountain cost the Forgefire Clan five prophets, even the strongest Grand Prophet was slain. After this final battle, the Forgefire Clan was truly finished.
Yet, that mysterious chieftain never appeared from beginning to end...
After the coalition finished clearing the battlefield, they set up camp on a patch of open ground at the foot of the mountain and rested for a full day. Then Chairman Heron from the Black Tower suddenly came to Leon Merlin’s camp and invited him to go to the Sacred Mountain together.
For Leon Merlin, the Sacred Mountain was a destination he had to visit. Setting everything else aside, the legend recounted by Yath alone was enough to warrant the trip. If he could find that thing, he might be able to break through the protective force of the Dragon Revival Array.
As for why the Black Tower was so obsessed with the Sacred Mountain, he could easily guess the reason...
That totem of True Spirit peak level was left behind by an ancestor of the Forgefire Clan. For tens of thousands of years, it had served as the token of the clan chieftain, and only the chieftains of each generation were qualified to wield it.
However, during the battle at the foot of the Sacred Mountain, the chieftain never appeared...
If the Black Tower wanted that totem, they’d have to go to the Sacred Mountain and find the chieftain. Leon Merlin also needed to go, to find something that could unlock the protective force of the Dragon Revival Array. So he didn’t refuse, and agreed readily.
But the Forgefire Clan’s Sacred Mountain was a truly special place, nurtured by the primal power of the Blazeforge Realm itself. For any race other than Blazeforge Orcs, it was extremely repellent. Even an Archmage might collapse before reaching the summit.
Early the next morning, the two major factions, each harboring their own agendas, set out for the Sacred Mountain. This time, their numbers were noticeably fewer. On the Merlin Family’s side, every mage above Archmage rank was mobilized—hundreds in total, including Leon Merlin, the Merlin brothers, Thorn Merlin, and others. The lower-ranked Archmages stayed at the base camp.
By contrast, the Black Tower sent more people: Chairman Heron, Councilor Suville, several other titled Archmages, and their mage legion.
As soon as the group arrived at the Sacred Mountain, they could clearly feel a pressure from the world itself. But these were all mages above Archmage rank—it barely affected them.
After yesterday’s bloody battle, only the chieftain and one remaining prophet of the Forgefire Clan survived; almost everyone else was wiped out by the coalition. The journey to the Sacred Mountain now meant Leon Merlin and the Black Tower were searching for something...
For the first time in tens of thousands of years, humans set foot on the mysterious Sacred Mountain of the Forgefire Clan.
Arriving at the Sacred Mountain was like stepping into a furnace—scorching heat filled the air, the soil beneath their feet was dark red and faintly radiated fire elemental energy. After walking for only a short while, most of the group was drenched in sweat. Climbing the Sacred Mountain sapped their strength at two or three times the normal rate...
Yet, along the way, they encountered no resistance—not even a glimpse of a Blazeforge Orc. It seemed their suspicions were right: after yesterday’s battle at the mountain’s base, the Forgefire Clan had truly been annihilated.
For a moment, walking on the dark red soil, Leon Merlin was filled with emotion. He still remembered the old records he’d read back at the Merlin Family estate.
A thousand years ago, all of Auckland’s major powers, including the Merlin Family, obtained planar coordinates to the Blazeforge Realm. They eagerly carved out planar routes, amazed to discover the realm’s unimaginable wealth. The top factions sent countless powerful mages into the Blazeforge Realm...
At that time, the Blazeforge Realm was ruled by thirteen orc clans.
The Merlin Family’s ancient records described in detail just how dominant the Forgefire Clan was back then...
A thousand years ago, the Forgefire Clan’s system was much the same as now: one chieftain and six prophets. But the chieftain then was a truly terrifying figure—not a Heaven-rank, but, like Orin Merlin of the Merlin Family’s ancestral land, possessed the power to battle Heaven-rank foes. The six prophets in the clan were all formidable, with several at the peak of titled Archmage strength.
During that era, no human power in the northeast of the Blazeforge Realm dared confront the Forgefire Clan head-on.
What’s more, the Forgefire Clan would regularly dispatch elite Direwolf cavalry and hundreds of orc shamans, summoning endless elemental creatures to sweep through the northeast region, targeting human powers. Even the Merlin Family and other great factions suffered tremendous losses, with countless strong mages falling...
But the Blazeforge Realm was simply too rich. Even so, the Merlin Family refused to give up. By now, they’ve been fighting the Forgefire Clan for nearly a thousand years. Three hundred years ago, when Santon Merlin emerged and slew the mighty Flame Demon guarding the Flame Demon Fortress, leading the planar legion to conquer the fortress, the Forgefire Clan began to decline, its strength waning year by year...
Until recently, the Forgefire Clan—one of thirteen orc clans with a legacy spanning tens of thousands of years in the Blazeforge Realm—was swept aside in just a month by the coalition of the Merlin Family and the Black Tower. Four fortresses fell in succession, and now the coalition stood at the Sacred Mountain.
If word of this got out, it would probably shake the entire Kingdom of Andalusia.
No wonder—it’s terrifying, really.
With the two great powers united and the Forgefire Clan utterly destroyed, they now controlled half the northern Blazeforge Realm. Most importantly, there was no longer any Blazeforge Orc presence in the region. Both factions could mine and gather resources freely, unlike the other powers in Auckland, who still had to tiptoe around, constantly threatened by the Blazeforge Orcs.