Chapter 370: The Next One
Owen Merlin's heart instantly skipped a beat...
This feeling hadn't surfaced in years, and every time it did, it meant that tremendous danger was looming.
But...
Right now, he was sitting in the family council hall, attending the Elder Council as a family elder. Everyone around him was a major figure in the Merlin Family, including Patriarch Hoffland himself. In all of Auckland, surely there was no place safer than this, was there?
Given these circumstances, what danger could possibly befall him here?
Owen Merlin racked his brain but could not figure it out...
Maybe it was just an illusion?
Yes, it must be an illusion...
Just as Owen Merlin was anxiously trying to comfort himself, Lurgan's gaze shifted to the others...
"Hayden Merlin, another outstanding member of our Merlin Family. At forty, he's already an eighth-tier Archmage, and his future prospects are limitless."
"Forrest Merlin, forty-five years old and a ninth-tier Archmage, one of the Laurel Branch's best hopes for advancing to Title Archmage..."
After Lurgan Merlin listed two elders from his own faction, his gaze finally fell on Leon Merlin...
"And then there's Leon Merlin, thirty years old, a seventh-tier Archmage, disciple of Horne, Head of the Cloudspire Tower Magic Department. In terms of strength and background, he is more than qualified to manage the Gilded Rose..."
...Leon Merlin looked up in shock, staring at Lurgan as if his eyes might pop out of their sockets.
Lurgan, you old bastard, what grudge do you have against me to set me up like this...
Damn it, didn't you see my neck was about to snap? Do you think it's easy for me to keep my head down at these council meetings? I've been doing everything I can to make myself invisible, and you, you old bastard, still won't leave me alone...
Fine. Fine. Fine...
Since you won't let me off the hook, old bastard, then I won't be polite either...
Gritting his teeth, Leon Merlin stood up: "Elder Lurgan, you're far too kind. You are a senior elder of the Merlin Family, respected and experienced. You are the perfect candidate to manage the Gilded Rose!"
After saying that, he even gave Lurgan a polite smile...
...Lurgan was utterly baffled. What was going on? Had Leon Merlin lost his mind?
Who wouldn't want the position of Gilded Rose manager? That place was an alchemical monster, constantly churning out vast wealth...
Just think about it...
Tens of millions of gold coins flowing through your hands; with just a flick of your finger, you could acquire wealth others could never imagine in a lifetime. And the Gilded Rose didn't just have money—there were advanced technologies, powerful alchemical artifacts, rare magical materials, all traceable to the Gilded Rose. Whoever managed it would have access to all of this...
Who wouldn't want a seat like that?
What was wrong with Leon Merlin...
Why would he push such a position toward me?
Could there be some sort of scheme behind this...?
But that didn't seem quite right either...
Is there really such a perfect scheme in this world?
Forget it...
Lurgan barely hesitated before making up his mind. Even if there was some scheme, he had to secure the Gilded Rose manager position first. With Leon Merlin backing him up, it would be rude not to take advantage...
With that thought, Lurgan stopped hesitating and shot a glance at the elders in his faction. Then he shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, just dealing with the Laurel Merlin affairs has left me overwhelmed. I simply don't have the energy to manage the Gilded Rose too. The Elder Council should find someone more suitable..."
"Elder Lurgan!" No sooner had he finished speaking than an elder from Lurgan's faction stood up: "That's not right—doesn't Laurel Merlin belong to the Merlin Family too? I think you should make a small sacrifice for the family's benefit and dedicate more of your energy to the Gilded Rose!"
"That's right, Elder Lurgan, you can't play favorites!"
"Exactly, the capable should shoulder more responsibilities, Elder Lurgan..."
In no time, the elders from Lurgan's faction were practically lining up, each one desperately trying to push him into the Gilded Rose manager's seat.
As for Lurgan...
At first, he was adamant in his refusal, but the more he protested, the less convincing he sounded. Eventually, his resistance began to waver...
"If that's the case..."
Finally, Lurgan put on a reluctant face and was about to agree, when Leon suddenly smiled...
"Is that all there are?"
"You... what do you mean!" After all that double-talk, just as everything seemed settled, Matthew Merlin stood up. Lurgan's face naturally darkened...
"Heh, it's nothing. Just counting heads..." But this time, Leon only smiled.
Then, a wild surge of magical energy suddenly swept through the room.
"What!" The first to be hit was Saren Merlin, the forty-year-old eighth-tier Archmage. He'd been sitting quietly, but as the wild magic erupted, he staggered and crashed to the floor, chair and all...
The magical surge was absolutely staggering...
When it exploded in the council hall, it was like a tidal wave—chaos erupted in an instant...
And it wasn't over yet...
Immediately after, a radiant moon rose behind Leon's head...
Before anyone could figure out what was happening, the moon burst into dazzling light, with a red and a blue gemstone shining especially bright...
"I just want to know what would happen if no one could manage the Gilded Rose..."
The moment Leon spoke, the moon behind his head shot out, swirling lightly through the air. Red and blue light flashed fiercely...
Then...
All seventeen Merlin Family elders, plus Patriarch Hoffland, witnessed a scene they'd never forget...
The already wild magic surged to its peak, followed by a thunderous boom...
The rising moon erupted with a torrent of spells—ice spikes, fire arrows, wind blades, earth spikes, flaming spears, frost lances... It was as if countless mages struck at once, unleashing an endless flood of magic...
And the target was Saren, the eighth-tier Archmage...
Honestly, Saren's reaction was quick. As the wild magic knocked him and his chair over, he realized the danger instantly—he cast a mana shield and a rune shield almost simultaneously, then, just to be safe, spat out another incantation, raising an ice wall in front of himself in record time...
However...
It was useless. Completely useless.
Against the terrifying flood of spells, the ice wall vanished instantly, the mana shield shattered, and the last rune shield lasted barely a second...
In that single second, everyone could clearly see Saren's expression shift from terror to despair...
In the end, he was reduced to ashes...
It took just one second to kill an eighth-tier Archmage. Leon's ruthlessness left the entire council hall in stunned silence.
But Leon himself acted as if he'd done something trivial. He simply waved to retrieve the Wheel of Arcana, his face still carrying a faint smile—as if he'd squashed a bug, not killed an eighth-tier Archmage.
"That's one." With that, Leon's gaze fell on Lincoln Merlin, the forty-five-year-old ninth-tier Archmage...
"Matthew Merlin, what are you doing!" Lurgan was dumbstruck, his face showing shock and anger.
The Merlin Family had endured for a thousand years, but never had anyone acted violently at an Elder Council—let alone openly killed someone there...
This was an outright provocation against the entire Merlin Family!
No member of the Merlin Family could tolerate such provocation...
After killing Saren Merlin in an instant, Leon's gaze fell on Lincoln Merlin again...
Then, the Wheel of Arcana floated up once more...
The magical energy around them instantly grew violent.
Red and blue lights intertwined, and the shadow of death once again fell over the council hall.
"Matthew Merlin, you're insane!" Owen Merlin beside him was panic-stricken.
Damn it! All that intelligence gathering, and no one realized Matthew Merlin was a madman! This was beyond reason—just to overturn the Elder Council's decision, he was slaughtering people in the council hall. Was he really going to make an enemy of the entire Merlin Family?
"Stop! Stop! Matthew Merlin, if you keep this up, you'll be fighting the whole Merlin Family—you won't end well..."
However...
No matter how Owen Merlin shouted, he couldn't stop the Wheel of Arcana from erupting again. The torrent of spells nearly overwhelmed Lincoln Merlin instantly...
For a moment, the entire council hall was silent as a grave.
It was terrifying...
He really was a madman. In just a minute or two, he'd killed two family elders—if this kept up, wouldn't all seventeen elders be wiped out?
"How many are left?" Leon's face still wore that faint smile. His gaze traveled the length of the table, landing squarely on Owen Merlin.
"Damn it!" Owen Merlin shrieked. Damn, why me!