Chapter 509: Defensive Power
At this moment, Thorne Merlin sat in the council hall of Inferno Fortress, looking deeply troubled. Just a day ago, he'd received a report bearing shocking news: the reinforcements sent by the Forgefire Clan had been utterly annihilated overnight, not a single one escaped.
When Thorne Merlin first heard the news, he was so stunned he couldn't speak. The intelligence showed that the reinforcement force was exceptionally strong, composed of thousands of Blazeforge Orcs, with countless powerful warriors among them. That force could easily pose a grave threat to Inferno Fortress.
Yet such a formidable orc army was wiped out in a single night, an outcome that defied all logic.
Thorne Merlin had spent an entire day pondering, unable to guess which force possessed such terrifying power to destroy that orc army. Soon, his thoughts drifted to the young mage—the one who had recently led a mage legion into Specter Valley...
Could it be related to the young mage?
Absolutely impossible...
Immediately, Thorne Merlin dismissed the idea. The young mage's legion numbered only around six hundred, and most were Archmages. Although there were dozens of Mage Lords among them, they couldn't possibly stand against a force as terrifying as the orc army.
So, which force was it?
However, just as Thorne Merlin was racking his brain, more news arrived. After reading the intelligence, his feelings could no longer be described as mere surprise—they were utter shock and disbelief...
Matthew Merlin had actually led the mage legion into an alliance with the Black Tower, and within just a few days, they seized complete control over Specter Valley. Most astonishing of all, it was their combined forces that wiped out the orc army.
Is this really true?
Thorne Merlin could hardly believe it...
The Black Tower was always known for its domineering style—how could they possibly choose to cooperate with Matthew Merlin? It just didn't make sense. The Black Tower is one of the two major mage powers in Greendale, its strength is beyond words, with a legacy spanning millions of years, far deeper than the Merlin Family's. Thorne Merlin simply couldn't fathom what reason the Black Tower would have to work with Matthew Merlin.
Matthew Merlin may be one of the commanders for the Merlin Family in the Blazeforge Realm, but he only controls a small portion of the legion. Given that, why would the Black Tower ever cooperate with him?
There must be something fishy going on here...
Although Thorne Merlin found the whole affair strange, he knew this was undoubtedly a great thing for the Merlin Family. An alliance with the Black Tower against the Forgefire Clan would minimize risk and losses. If all went well, when it came time to divide the spoils, the Merlin Family would surely gain control over part of Specter Valley, sending young members there every year.
The benefits to the Merlin Family would be almost unimaginable...
Once he'd figured this out, Thorne Merlin didn't hesitate. He immediately ordered most of the troops in Inferno Fortress to mobilize, leading a mighty force toward Specter Valley. By the time his legion reached the mage camp, night had already fallen...
With Thorne Merlin's arrival, several powerful forces converged.
Meanwhile, Leon wasn't surprised at all by Thorne Merlin's arrival at the camp—in fact, he thought it was perfectly natural.
Think about it, this is Specter Valley we're talking about...
The past few days had been a whirlwind for Leon. The mage legions of two great powers swept through Specter Valley, and now they had total control. Countless strong mages were stationed throughout, making all sorts of arrangements. According to his agreement with Councilor Weiss, in about five days, both forces would march on the Sacred Mountain to wipe out the Forgefire Clan.
To be honest, Leon had little interest in destroying the Forgefire Clan. His real goal in cooperating with the Black Tower was to seize control of Specter Valley and excavate the Dragon Revival Array. Now that he'd achieved that, all he needed was the right opportunity to unearth the array and complete his mission.
Unfortunately, he still had to honor the alliance, or risk a major falling out with the Black Tower.
The march to the Sacred Mountain was set for five days later. In theory, Leon had enough time to send people to dig up the Dragon Revival Array. But he just couldn't find the right moment—despite the alliance, most of their actions were joint during the day, and at night everyone stayed in the camp. Even then, the two sides kept their distance. If Leon tried to secretly excavate the array, it would be easily noticed.
However, Thorne Merlin's arrival with the Merlin Family's Planar Legion gave Leon a perfect chance. The camp, now crowded with his mage legion, Black Tower elites, and Thorne's Planar Legion—over a thousand strong from Inferno Fortress—was thrown into chaos...
As night deepened on the Blazeforge Realm, the camp gradually quieted. No one noticed that Leon had already slipped away with fifty Mage Lords, the Merlin Brothers, and the Dragonblood Orc. Following the route from memory, they crossed dense forests for hours, finally reaching the site of the Dragon Revival Array.
To be safe, Leon set up several soundproofing fields and a few alchemical arrays to block energy fluctuations. Only after all this did he let the fifty Mage Lords begin the excavation.
For ordinary people, this would be a colossal undertaking—digging a kilometer underground in the Blazeforge Realm would take ages.
But with the soundproofing fields and alchemical arrays in place, the fifty Mage Lords worked in clear roles—some bombarded the ground with spells to loosen the earth, while the rest dug it out. Even so, it took over two hours to reach a kilometer below, and by then, every Mage Lord was drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted.
"You all go rest for now..."
Leon waved them off. After such prolonged spellcasting, even with era-defying magic runes like Firestorm, it was hard to endure. Once the fifty Mage Lords entered meditation, Leon descended alone, using Featherfall to reach the depths, keenly sensing the temperature changes as he went.
The underground wasn't dark at all—in fact, it was dazzlingly bright. Runes blazed and flickered violently, their brilliance almost blinding. Soon, a vast and unfathomable alchemical array appeared before Leon, woven from countless runes and intricate patterns, radiating an aura of mystery. Only now did he realize that the surface portion was just the tip of the Dragon Revival Array.
"It's about to begin..."
At this moment, Leon couldn't help but look grim. Even as someone from thirty thousand years in the future, armed with knowledge that surpassed his era, he felt uncertain facing the Dragon Revival Array. Its theory was widely studied in the golden age of magic, dissected by countless experts, but it had never actually appeared in the Northend World.
He took out a Crystal Quill and dipped it in Bloodsolvent Ink he'd prepared, following the steps from memory. Soon he found a mana circuit at the edge, took a deep breath, and began to write—only for countless dark red runes to suddenly surge up, tightly enveloping the whole Dragon Revival Array.
"What's going on...?"
Leon jumped back in fright; the sudden appearance of those dark red runes had caught him completely off guard. After a few seconds, they didn't attack, but instead began to slowly circulate around the Dragon Revival Array...
Could this be some kind of defensive power?
Leon's frown deepened. If this really was a defensive power, it made sense. Only after truly coming into contact with the Dragon Revival Array did he realize just how terrifying its power was—far beyond the True Spirit peak. Without some kind of protection, the array's leaking energy would be even more dangerous.
To break the Dragon Revival Array, he would first have to destroy this defensive power.
But the defensive power formed by those dark red runes felt incredibly strong. Leon tried channeling a wisp of energy into his Mana Harness, and immediately calculated that this force was anything but ordinary—he simply didn't have the strength to break through it by force.
According to his Mana Harness's calculations, even someone as powerful as Star Sage Joey would have to expend great effort to break this defensive power.
That left Leon feeling a bit dejected...
After months of effort, it was a bitter result. Given his current rate of growth, reaching Star Sage Joey's level would still take a long time—and he was running out of patience. He kept feeding mana into the Mana Harness, calculating and analyzing nonstop.
Soon, he made a new discovery: the defensive power formed by those dark red runes radiated intense heat. Maybe a stronger flame could shatter it—at least, that's what Leon guessed. Whether it would work still needed testing.
But the prerequisite was devilishly hard—where could he find a stronger flame?
Soon after, Leon returned to the surface and found William Merlin and a few others, sending them back to camp to bring someone over. After more than an hour, William Merlin and the others returned, accompanied by a young Blazeforge Orc. The orc was furious, cursing at the group nonstop.