This is simply intolerable...
Soth felt the veins on his forehead throbbing uncontrollably. This was beyond endurance. Viper's Nest had occupied Venomfog Gorge for ten years, and no force had ever dared to break in. Yet now this Matthew Merlin—just for five magic apprentices and a few carts of alchemical goods—had fought his way into Venomfog Gorge.
Utterly brazen...
He clearly has no regard for Viper's Nest!
"Leon Merlin, you're courting death!" Soth was now completely consumed by rage, his pale face flushed red, and his trembling hands pressed hard against the table.
...The greatsword-wielding warrior lying on the sickbed shuddered at once.
At that moment, Rios actually wanted to remind Soth—some things really shouldn't be said so carelessly...
But seeing Soth's flushed face, the warrior wisely kept his mouth shut.
"Let's go. I want to see just how bold this Matthew Merlin really is!"
Soth led Bell out of the wooden cabin. Looking up, he saw the watchtowers on both sides of Venomfog Gorge bristling with arrows, flying like a swarm of locusts. Over twenty mages had formed a phalanx, casting spells that blanketed the entrance to the gorge. Behind them stood more than a hundred elite warriors, weapons in hand, ready to launch an assault at any moment.
"Utterly reckless!" Soth stood outside the cabin and let out a cold snort, though his expression gradually softened. After years of painstaking effort, Viper's Nest had finally shown results. Look at these elite troops stationed in Venomfog Gorge—facing a sudden assault from a Grand Mage, they hadn't panicked in the slightest. Without waiting for his orders, they had immediately organized an effective counterattack.
True, Viper's Nest had kept a low profile these past ten years, but that didn't mean they could be bullied. This Matthew Merlin must have let the thrill of advancing to Grand Mage go to his head. Did he really think Viper's Nest was some pushover? Now he'll learn that reckless arrogance comes with a price...
Seeing his elite troops display such formidable fighting power, Soth's flushed face at last returned to its usual pallor. His gaze swept across the battlefield and landed at the entrance to Venomfog Gorge.
Arrows flew like locusts, spells rained down like a storm—every inch of ground at the entrance to Venomfog Gorge was ravaged by this terrifying barrage. More than a dozen corpses lay sprawled across the churned earth, blood streaming everywhere and staining the surrounding land a deep red.
"I want to see just how many men this Matthew Merlin brought to their deaths."
"B-Boss..." The mage who had brought the bad news earlier spoke up again, his timing just as awkward: "That Matthew Merlin—he came alone..."
...Soth's face froze. Matthew Merlin came alone? That meant all the corpses lying on the ground were his own men from Viper's Nest?
"Damn it..." he cursed under his breath.
But before Soth could finish swearing, the mage beside him suddenly gaped and stammered in shock: "B-B-Boss, look!"
"What?" Soth was startled, then followed the mage's finger—just in time to see a lone figure walking into the entrance of Venomfog Gorge.
From a distance, the figure didn't appear tall—in fact, he looked rather frail. Amidst the barrage of arrows and spells, he seemed as fragile as a stalk of straw in a storm, likely to be shattered in an instant.
Yet that same frail figure calmly walked into the entrance of Venomfog Gorge. Whether it was arrows like locusts or spells pouring down like rain, none of it seemed to exist in his eyes. He strode forward as if taking a leisurely afternoon stroll—not entering the deadly Venomfog Gorge, but embarking on a casual outing.
The only difference was that around him, two clusters of light—one red, one blue—swirled in constant motion...
Even under the relentless bombardment of spells, those two clusters of light shone brilliantly. Soth could clearly see them darting at incredible speed, each flicker blocking an arrow or a spell. With this protection, the figure walked into Venomfog Gorge unscathed.
"Is that... the Frostfire Shield?" Soth stared at the two clusters of light, as if witnessing something unbelievable.
Frostfire Shield wasn't some world-shattering spell, nor was it particularly obscure—it appeared in nearly every Grand Mage's spellbook.
The Ice Shield blocked all physical harm; the Fire Shield annihilated every magical attack.
Unless faced with overwhelming force, nothing could break through the Frostfire Shield—be it physical or magical.
Once cast, Frostfire Shield required no further guidance. As long as a steady flow of mana was maintained, the shield would persist—making it an essential protective spell for almost every Grand Mage.
Yet few Grand Mages were willing to devote much time to mastering the Frostfire Shield.
The flaw of the Frostfire Shield was painfully obvious...
Because it's a spell that requires active control. Whether it's the Ice Shield or the Fire Shield, a Grand Mage must personally direct them to intercept attacks. Without enough reflexes and mastery, those red and blue lights are nothing but decoration.
Battles at the Grand Mage level are always shifting in an instant, and no one can guarantee they'll have the focus to control the Frostfire Shield in the midst of chaos. After all, a Grand Mage is human, not a machine.
But right now, Soth truly felt like he was watching a machine at work...
"Bell, is he really a Fifth-Rank Grand Mage?"
[Irrelevant author note omitted.]
"I don't know..."
...Soth swallowed with difficulty.
As the head of Seaview City's top underground syndicate, Soth had seen true power before: the three giants of Sage's Spire, Seth of the Silvermoon Mercenary Company, Kadgar of Blackhorn Auction House—even Bell standing behind him. Each was a renowned force in their own right.
But Soth had never seen any Grand Mage manipulate the Frostfire Shield to this degree...
Dozens of watchtowers fired, and more than twenty mages unleashed a bombardment—yet this young Grand Mage walked into Venomfog Gorge unscathed, protected only by a Frostfire Shield.
Is this really just a Fifth-Rank Grand Mage?
Soth knew all too well that his elite troops could no longer stop the young Grand Mage. If this battle continued, it would turn into a one-sided massacre.
The fighting prowess this young Grand Mage had displayed was far beyond Soth's earlier estimates. Against a foe of this caliber, even sending more elite troops would be futile. In the whole of Viper's Nest, perhaps only Bell could hope to match him.
But even if Bell joined the fight, along with all their elite troops, there was no guarantee they could kill him on the spot. If he managed to escape, and kept returning to Venomfog Gorge every few days, opening up that Frostfire Shield—he could really bring ruin to Viper's Nest...
Just as Soth hesitated, a thunderous boom echoed from afar. His eyelid twitched—he saw the young Grand Mage unleash a Fireball, blasting a watchtower into the air.
"Damn it, quick, quick, have everyone cease fire!" Soth could hesitate no longer. He ordered the mages to relay his command, then hurried into the gorge, waving his arms and shouting: "Grand Mage Merlin! Grand Mage Merlin! Please wait, this is all a misunderstanding!"
"Hello there, Chief Soth." Matthew Merlin greeted Soth from a distance—then another Fireball soared from his hand, followed by another thunderous blast as a second watchtower was sent flying.
"No problem, no problem..." Soth, cursing Leon's ancestors in his heart, forced a strained smile. "Grand Mage Merlin, may we talk?"
"Of course, Chief Soth—I'd never refuse you an audience." Matthew Merlin's face was all smiles, but he was already preparing another Fireball, about to let it fly when suddenly, from deep within Venomfog Gorge, he sensed a familiar magical fluctuation.
"You idiots, put down your weapons! Grand Mage Merlin is a guest of Viper's Nest. If you so much as let him lose a single hair, I'll throw you into the Venomfog to feed the monsters!"
A group of warriors dropped their weapons, cursing inwardly. With those two swirling lights protecting him, even if all of us died, not a single hair would be harmed on Grand Mage Merlin's head...
[Irrelevant author note omitted.]