Chapter 832: Dominance of One Family
Heron shook his head with a bitter smile. He could more or less guess what had happened: Baroque must have gone to cause trouble for Leon Merlin, but was no match for him. At the crucial moment, Weiss appeared, and only then did Leon Merlin show mercy.
With that young man's temperament, anyone who actively seeks trouble with him probably won't have the luck to walk away alive...
There's no point in recalling Baroque now—it's already too late. Heron waved off the few people who had come in, spent a moment in deep thought, and then left the Black Tower council alone.
He walked along the silent road for half an hour before arriving at the Black Tower's sanctuary.
The sanctuary was shrouded in darkness. Under the cover of night, nothing inside could be seen. Heron blended into the shadows, and soon, a thunderous roar echoed from within the sanctuary.
"How dare you imprison my disciple? Has the Black Tower become a place where anyone can be bullied now...?"
A moment later, Heron walked out of the sanctuary, still wearing that bitter smile...
Fire Elemental Plane, Inferno Fortress...
On the Merlin Family's side, there was no sign of the oppressive tension that comes with war. On the contrary, everything was thriving.
The three major races under Leon's command had been sent out, but no one knew where they went.
Suddenly, several Mana Crystal Cannons, each over two meters long, appeared on the defensive line of Inferno Fortress. Their dark muzzles brought a powerful deterrent. After a few test shots, the scouts who used to wander outside vanished without a trace...
Everything became quiet. Hubert still clung to his pile of potions every day, eating his fill before sprawling atop a tent to nap in the sun. Yet his aura grew more and more terrifying. Sometimes, passersby who didn't know any better would sense the presence of a slumbering, fearsome magical beast nearby...
Reina was still absorbed in her study of spells, often running off to test magic on her own, constantly improving her power. Her mana growth was much faster than before.
The fifty Archmages under Leon's command were advancing rapidly as well. Now, the weakest among them had reached the level of a fourth-tier Archmage, while the strongest had become a seventh-tier Archmage.
On top of that, Leon used the spoils from this event to craft custom staffs for all fifty of them, further boosting their combat capabilities.
Though these staffs were all inherited magical artifacts, none of them were truly sentient. However, each staff was inlaid with Mana Crystals from flame beasts, meaning every crystal's original owner was a magical beast of at least level thirty.
Leon also engraved alchemical arrays onto the Mana Crystals, drawing insight from the heavenly-tier arrays studied on the USS Dauntless. Even if it was only a bit of understanding, it was far beyond what he could do before.
Not only were the Mana Crystals top-notch, but the staff bodies themselves were crafted from Redflame Wood—a rare material that only grows in places saturated with fire element, usually beside constantly flowing lava.
If the lava ever became stagnant, it wouldn't be able to sustain the Redflame Wood's absorption. In just a few years, the lava could solidify and lose its heat, causing the Redflame Wood to wither.
A staff crafted from Redflame Wood—even without a single rune or alchemical array inscribed—can still boost the power of fire spells by thirty percent.
Now, the staffs wielded by these fifty Archmages are covered in runes and alchemical arrays, each one meticulously carved by Leon, combining both arts to push the Redflame Wood’s potential to its absolute limit.
Paired with the soul magic crystal of the fire beast, casting fire spells now consumes thirty percent less mana, yet the destructive force is amplified by half. The casting time for fire spells is cut in half, and the speed at which fire elements gather is doubled.
This extreme synergy allows any mage wielding the staff to unleash fire spells with the might of a peak magical artifact.
But when casting other types of spells, the effect drops by more than half—at best, it’s only half as effective as a legacy magical artifact.
Yet this kind of staff is perfectly suited for these fifty Archmages. Their war sigils—especially the Firestorm rune—are hailed as the strongest battle glyphs, focused on fire magic, with at least a thirty percent boost to fire spell potency.
Combined, these elements bring a dramatic transformation to the strength of the fifty Archmages. Under Leon’s command, they could survive for three minutes!
Leon was more than satisfied with the results. On the battlefield, these fifty Archmages could easily match the combat power of a disciplined mage legion—maybe even surpass it.
Because their formation isn’t meant for dueling individual powerhouses—it’s made for war.
Only on the battlefield does their true terror become apparent.
Watching these fifty Archmages improve so rapidly, Thorne shamelessly pestered Leon every day.
He’d moan about how the Merlin Family had suffered heavy losses, how their strength was lacking, how they couldn’t hold on much longer...
If something happened and you weren’t here, the Merlin Family wouldn’t be able to defend itself. We’d have to rely on the younger generation, so you really ought to think of a way to strengthen them...
These young ones have decent talent, but their progress is just too slow. If war breaks out, it’d be a shame to lose them...
Leon, worn down by Thorne’s persistence, finally handed him an Eightfold Meditation Codex with eight core formulas, along with a matching set of warrior training methods for cultivating battle aura.
The Watson Family has been quiet lately. Cyrus Watson has finally acknowledged Leon’s strength, and there’s not a peep from their side. When members of the Merlin Family venture out, no one from the Watson Family dares act arrogant anymore—their attitudes have flipped completely. At least on the surface, no one dares speak ill of the Merlin Family now...
The Black Tower is even more silent. Baroque is still suppressed in the Ghost Valley, and the Black Tower hasn’t even sent anyone to investigate. Chairman Heron seems to have no intention of acting at all, as if nothing ever happened.
Even the Black Tower’s people seem to have changed overnight. Outwardly, none of them dare to swagger before the Merlin Family anymore. Anyone with objections is locked away in the Black Tower’s fortress and can’t even see the Merlin Family members.
With resources pouring in—far beyond what they had before—the Merlin Family is thriving, the steady flow sent straight to Inferno Fortress, fueling a period of unprecedented growth.
Eventually, even the timing of visits to Stormhold Fortress had to be cleared with Leon by both the Watson Family and the Black Tower. Subtly, it seemed the Merlin Family had risen to become the foremost power among the three factions...