Chapter 379: He's Not Dead Yet
But isn’t Leon Merlin’s strength a bit lacking?
Even if he’s only a seventh-tier Archmage right now, shouldn’t he be able to fuse seven Essence Relics? If the power of seven True Spirit Relics bursts forth, that’s almost enough to challenge a Title Archmage. So how could Leon Merlin end up like this, sealed by a single Mana Lock?
"Alright, my Arcane Ring isn’t exactly complete either..." Leon Merlin looked a bit embarrassed. "Honestly, my situation is pretty similar to Ross Merlin’s. He only got an incomplete Elemental Tide, and I only got an incomplete Arcane Ring. It’s just that I’ve got more clues than he does. So when I realized Ross Merlin was searching for the Elemental Tide too, I knew his destination was the same as mine—the Turin Mountains."
A few months ago, before I went to Seaview City, I was already thinking about teaming up with Ross Merlin. But luck wasn’t on my side. In Seaview City, my magic got sealed by Marfa (the Cousin), then my teacher gave me a harsh lesson. After that, I was stuck in the Pale Plane until recently. I finally got a chance to come back, planning to talk partnership with Ross Merlin, but found Marfa (the Cousin) locking himself in the alchemy lab every day, clearly preparing something. So I took a wild guess, and... well, here we are.
"Alright, I get it now." Leon Merlin listened and finally understood—so the news really did leak from Ross Merlin’s side...
So, Marfa (the Cousin), does this mean you’ll let me...
"I never said that..."
"Huh?" Leon Merlin grew anxious. "Marfa (the Cousin), I know I was immature back in Seaview City and offended you. Can’t I apologize now? Just think about it—someone like you, who can even keep Thorne Merlin in check, why bother with a nobody like me? Be the bigger person, don’t hold a grudge over what happened before..."
Is the Arcane Ring really that important to you?
"Of course it matters, Marfa (the Cousin). With your keen eyes, you must've noticed—I’ve already completed nine Arcane Rings, but I still can’t fuse them into one. So, even though I appear to be a seventh-tier Archmage, my actual strength is no more than a typical fifth-tier. That’s why I need to find the complete Arcane Ring. Only then will I have a shot at reaching the rank of Title Archmage..."
"All the more reason not to bring you along. Fifth-tier Archmage strength just isn’t enough in a place like that..."
"No, no, Marfa (the Cousin), I can prove I’m useful! My combat ability might only be average for a fifth-tier Archmage, but I’ve spent years collecting every scrap of information about the Turin Mountains—I know way more than Ross Merlin!"
...... Ross Merlin cursed inwardly. This bastard really is shameless. Fine, justify yourself all you want, but did you have to drag me down with you...
"Oh?" Leon Merlin was surprised. "How much do you know about the Turin Mountains? Tell me. If you can really prove your worth, I don’t mind bringing one more person along..."
"I know a shortcut!"
"Go on."
"To get from the Auridge Mountains to the Turin Mountains, you have to cross the Scar of Misfortune. Marfa (the Cousin), you know—the Scar of Misfortune is the most dangerous place in the region. Powerful magical beasts prowl its depths. One wrong move, and it’s a disaster. But I know a shortcut that lets you skip the Scar of Misfortune. That alone could save you a ton of time!"
After he finished, Leon Merlin looked at Marfa (the Cousin) with hopeful anticipation...
But Marfa (the Cousin) just shook his head.
"That's not enough..."
Leon Merlin's eyes dimmed, but he didn’t leave right away. He hesitated for a good five minutes before finally gritting his teeth and saying, "I know another secret. The King of the Caucasus might not be dead..."
"Oh?" Leon’s expression finally shifted. "Let’s hear it."
"I once saw a piece of information in the Cloudspire Tower..." Leon Merlin unconsciously lowered his voice as he spoke. "It mentioned that, centuries ago—before Lord Joey became the Star Sage—the previous master of the Cloudspire Tower ventured deep into the Turin Mountains..."
"You mean Lord Frostwhisper?" Leon Merlin’s heart skipped a beat...
"Yes, exactly—Lord Frostwhisper." Leon Merlin nodded and continued, "Everyone knows that Lord Frostwhisper carries the blood of the Third Dynasty’s royal family. But the bloodline is thin, and Frostwhisper never cared for the throne, so he always refused to acknowledge his royal heritage. However, that document mentioned that in his later years, Frostwhisper obsessively collected information on the Long-Legged Majesty, and ten years before his death, he ventured into the Turin Mountains once more..."
"What does that have to do with whether the King of the Caucasus is still alive?"
"Marfa (the Cousin), hear me out. The document was already incomplete, only recording Frostwhisper’s life and his expeditions to the Turin Mountains. Most people didn’t pay much attention to it, but because of the Arcane Ring, I focused on anything related to the Turin Mountains. I spent nearly a year searching for the missing pieces in the Cloudspire Tower’s library, and finally found a tiny fragment. When I pieced them together, I discovered Frostwhisper said something astonishing before he died..."
"What did he say?"
"Just before he died, Lord Frostwhisper grabbed his only disciple’s hand and cried out, hoarse with desperation: The King of the Caucasus isn’t dead. He’s still somewhere within those mountains..."
"There’s more to it?" Leon Merlin listened, then realized something was off. "Wait, Frostwhisper’s only disciple—isn’t that the Sun Sage?"
"Yes, Sun Sage Suen—one of the three great sages of Auckland."
"No wonder he vanished in the end..."
"Exactly. I’ve always believed that Sun Sage Suen’s disappearance was closely connected to Frostwhisper’s final words..."
Leon Merlin listened, staring into Marfa (the Cousin)’s eyes. After a full minute, he finally nodded lightly. "Pack your things. We leave in an hour!"
"No problem!" Leon Merlin’s eyes lit up as he dashed off...
In truth, Leon Merlin returned fully armed before the hour was even up. It was obvious he’d been planning this for a long time, waiting for a chance to join Leon Merlin and the others on their journey to the Turin Mountains. Otherwise, how could he have been so thoroughly prepared?
Four young members of the Merlin Family, plus Hubert the dragon-blooded beastman—five in all—set out from Merlin Manor in the morning. By afternoon, they’d already reached the middle slopes of the Auridge Mountains...
They were less than an hour away from where Leon Merlin killed Stan Watson. The surrounding magical beasts grew more dangerous, but that was only a threat to ordinary mercenary bands. For Leon Merlin and his group, all at least fifth-tier Archmages, such dangers barely registered.
In fact, none of the four mages even needed to lift a finger on the way—Hubert handled all the clearing himself.
"Why is it always me?" Hubert, the dragon-blooded beastman, asked the same question three times.
"Because you slept too long."
That was Leon Merlin’s answer...
Of course, Leon Merlin’s real goal was to test Hubert’s strength. Dragon-blooded beastmen were already a force of imbalance, but Hubert was a special case—after absorbing a drop of three-headed golden dragon blood, he’d slept for months, and his power had skyrocketed. From a fifth-tier Greatsword Warrior, he’d become a fifth-tier Swordmaster—all just from sleeping.
But Hubert was no ordinary fifth-tier Swordmaster...
With the strength of both beastman and dragon blood, Hubert was truly a master of both magic and martial arts. The beastman blood gave him monstrous strength, while the dragon blood granted spellcasting abilities, letting him crush others of his rank with ease. Leon Merlin reckoned that even William Merlin and Ross Merlin would struggle to face Hubert head-on—let alone Leon Merlin himself, who was only a pseudo seventh-tier Archmage...
What Hubert lacked was real combat experience...
So, on this journey, Leon Merlin didn’t allow anyone else to intervene—he forced Hubert to battle wave after wave of magical beasts.
And Hubert didn’t disappoint Leon Merlin...
Wielding Slaughter, the adamantine warhammer forged by Leon Merlin himself, Hubert was like a bulldozer, pushing his way from the base to the middle of the mountain. More than a hundred magical beasts fell to Slaughter, some as high as level twenty-five or twenty-six.
And with each fight, Hubert grew more adept at wielding his power. After every battle, his strength visibly increased. In a fight near the mountain’s middle, he even managed to kill four level twenty-five magical beasts at once.
Level twenty-five magical beasts were already on par with Hubert in terms of strength. Facing four at once would be tough for even Ross Merlin and William Merlin.
With Hubert bulldozing through the beasts, the group reached the middle slopes of the Auridge Mountains almost effortlessly. Leon Merlin glanced at the sky—it was still early—and urged the blood-soaked beastman on: "Hubert, pick up the pace. We need to reach the summit before nightfall..."
"Always pushing... Why don’t you try it yourself..." Hubert muttered under his breath, swinging Slaughter and smashing the charging beasts into pulp.
"Cousin, do you hear anything?" At that moment, William Merlin, who’d been watching the fight, suddenly frowned and leaned close to Leon Merlin, whispering.