Chapter 417: Must Die
Though Dalson hadn’t said it aloud, he’d long since come to loathe Solan Monty to the bone.
Rolf remained silent, his face clouded, but the aura of magical battle energy around him surged fiercely.
“I’m not here for you today...” Solan Monty smiled, his gaze sweeping the conference room. Soon, he found Leon in the corner. At this moment, Solan’s mood was clearly good; though his voice remained as hoarse as ever, it didn’t sound sinister. With a hint of amusement, he looked at Leon. “Leon Merlin?”
“That’s me...” Leon didn’t look up, just nodded slightly and picked up his water, sipping quietly, ignoring Solan’s strange gaze.
“Lord Solan, are you acquainted with Mage Merlin?” Dalson asked, clearly taken aback.
“Of course I know him. We’ve known each other for quite a while, though this is our first time face to face.” Solan Monty looked at Leon with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Leon Merlin, I never expected you to leave that tiny place, Seaview City, and come all the way to Auckland. Are you hoping for the protection of the Merlin Family?”
“Leon Merlin, let me be blunt. I know everything you did in Seaview City. Even with the Merlin Family, you won’t be safe. I suppose you know who I am by now, but I don’t mind introducing myself again. My name is Solan Monty, younger brother to the Monty Family’s patriarch in Seaview City, and uncle to Mason and Ryan!”
“So it’s you. No wonder the name Solan Monty sounded so familiar...”
Solan Monty’s words seemed to pique Leon’s interest. He set down his glass, stared directly at Solan, and then frowned slightly.
He remembered it all clearly. Not long after arriving in this era, his uncle Falio had come to collect debts, trying to take their ancestral home as payment, only to be driven off by Leon himself. Then Larry from the Shadow Nest brought people for another round...
All of it had been orchestrated by the Monty Family, acting on orders from the Black Tower. Now, seeing Solan Monty, Leon understood everything—it was Solan who wanted his family's old house, and that’s why the Monty Family had gone so far.
And this Solan Monty was likely involved in the Rog Merlin shipwreck—perhaps he’d even masterminded the whole catastrophe.
“Oh?” Solan Monty hadn’t expected Leon Merlin to greet him with such indifference. After a brief pause, his expression darkened and he sneered, “Let’s not play games. I’ll be blunt, Leon Merlin: you’re not leaving here alive today. And anyone connected to you? They won’t get away either...”
“But everything is negotiable. Hand over your old house in Seaview City and the Gilded Rose to me, and I’ll promise you—once you’re dead, I won’t harm your family or friends. How about it? This is the word of a Title Archmage. Weigh what that means for yourself.”
Solan Monty was the youngest Title Archmage in the Black Tower, even more arrogant than Herman had been in his day—especially since returning from the Azure Plane, now a candidate for the Seven Council.
“Lord Solan, Mage Merlin is our honored guest among the three great mercenary companies. If you have any dispute with him, we won’t just stand by...” Dalson stood up, his tone firm. “I’m sure there’s been a misunderstanding here.”
“Dalson, think carefully. I’m only targeting Leon Merlin, not your three companies. I advise you—this doesn’t concern you, and you’d best stay out of it. Otherwise, you’ll bring disaster on yourselves...” Solan Monty’s hoarse voice squeezed out, his cold eyes fixed on Dalson.
“Get out of the way.” Solan looked at Dalson without expression, his eyes locked on Leon in the corner. “You think with the three companies backing you, I wouldn’t dare touch you?”
This Leon Merlin is truly ignorant. The three mercenary companies might be formidable in Auckland, but compared to the Black Tower, they're several leagues below...
Just a merchant after all—decent at business, but completely out of his depth here...
He probably thinks Dalson and those others would actually take his side against me. Ridiculous...
“Go ahead and try...” Leon frowned, his gaze lingering on Solan for just a moment...
At that moment, Leon was the only one in the conference room who understood—his attention wasn’t on Solan at all. The magitech array spun quietly, three Wizard’s Eyes floated in the night sky, and Leon’s focus was on the omnipresent air beneath the night, and the gentle evening breeze.
To Leon, Solan’s endless ranting was nothing but the buzzing of a fly.
“Leon Merlin, I have to say, you’re truly foolish. I already gave you a choice: if you’d compromised and handed over everything, I’d have made it quick, and spared your family and friends. But now, you’ve missed your chance. Not just you—your friends and family will suffer too. Honestly, I can’t deal with the Merlin Family yet, but soon I’ll have the opportunity. Maybe you don’t know—I’m destined for the Black Tower’s Seven Council, just like Councilor Weiss...” Solan Monty sneered.
At the same time, a violent surge of magic swept toward Leon like a hurricane. Just as Solan expected, Dalson and the others only talked—they had no intention of intervening. Now, Leon Merlin would finally realize his predicament.
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He could see Leon Merlin was just a second-rank mage—a full ten ranks beneath him. It would take only a second, maybe less, to turn Leon into a lifeless corpse.
The magical power of a Title Archmage was hundreds, even thousands of times greater than that of an ordinary mage. A casual surge of power could shred a mage to pieces.
He didn’t strike immediately with a killing spell.
Instead, he reveled in the twisted pleasure of tormenting Leon Merlin first, then letting him die in agony. Only then would Solan Monty feel satisfied.
Just think about what that guy did—the Monty Family’s merchant guilds in Seaview City had been crushed!
It was all the fault of that bastard Leon Merlin!
“I doubt you’ll ever get a seat on the Black Tower Council...” Leon rose slowly, his gaze toward Solan Monty as cold as if he were looking at a corpse. Behind him, a surge of searing flames erupted, burning away Solan’s violent magic with a crackling hiss until it vanished. Leon never made any extra movements. “If your family’s patriarch heard your words, he’d be scared to death...”
The moment Leon stood up, the surrounding magical energy exploded with a roar. He seemed to be bathed in light, suddenly radiating an intense brilliance.
It was the glow of the Star Gem, the radiance of Elemental Amber...
Countless magical runes fluttered like butterflies, and the vast magical power surged like a flood. The entire conference room instantly became an ocean of spells.
“What’s happening!” Solan Monty was instantly alarmed, a chill crawling up his spine.
That feeling—Solan had experienced it a few times in his career, and each time it meant he was facing grave danger.
But...
Leon Merlin was just a second-rank mage. There was no way he could pose a threat.
A single spell would be enough to end his life.
Yet that strange, indescribable feeling gnawed at Solan’s mind. Restless, he raised his staff without hesitation and swung it sharply—eight Frost Spears shot out, aiming to pierce Leon’s body...
For a Title Archmage, even low-level spells were absurdly powerful. Just those eight Frost Spears could shatter a ninth-rank mage’s rune shield.
Using them on a second-rank mage was overkill...
The eight Frost Spears ripped through the air, reaching Leon in an instant—but then... they stopped right in front of him!
Solan Monty could hardly believe his eyes. He stared, wide-eyed, trying to see more clearly—then, right before him, the Frost Spears began to melt at a speed visible to the naked eye...
Impossible!
Solan Monty stared at the melting Frost Spears, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
“Lord Solan, it’s time we settled our score...” Leon stepped forward from his seat, smiling at Solan Monty, staff gripped tightly. At the same time, a terrifying surge of magic erupted—the hastily constructed conference room, already unstable, collapsed instantly under the impact...
Just as he’d said before—Solan Monty must die!
Solan Monty’s obsession with that old house had worried Leon for ages, making him fear the Black Tower had discovered the secret of the Bone Realm. For that alone, Solan Monty deserved a death sentence.
As long as Solan Monty lived, Leon would never be at ease.
Now, the Bone Realm had become Leon’s foundation: the Soulfire combined with the Black Death rune would endlessly cultivate Archmages for him; the Black Wasteland produced countless precious magical materials; and the Underworld Iron Mine brought Leon vast wealth every day.
Not to mention the ever-flowing River of Ten Thousand Ghosts, the Bone Dragon perched atop the Bone Peak, and so many other places Leon hadn’t even had time to explore. Once he fully mastered the Bone Realm, Leon alone would possess the wealth once held by the Ivory Tower.