by Zhuang Bifan
A bottle of potion and a gold rod had utterly turned Cromwell into an invalid.
"Alright, Mage Cromwell, I've answered your questions. Now it is your turn to answer mine." Lin Li stared fixated into Cromwell's eyes. "Mr McGrenn and Ina, where are they now?"
Cromwell shrank back subconsciously as soon as he made contact with Lin Li's eyes. Having lost the protection of his magic, he was worse than a poor insect. His expression was dull and his eyes were wincing at the moment; where had his heroic spirit gone to? How was he looking like a level-fourteen Magic Shooter?
"Your time is running out, Mage Cromwell." Cromwell's silence made Lin Li frown. He disliked having to extort a confession.
"They… should be in the Merlin Family's dungeon…" Cromwell had difficulty swallowing his saliva; when he spoke, he found his voice incredibly dry.
"Oh, thank you."
Lin Li still had the warm and polite smile on his face as if he was talking about the weather with an old friend. But in the next moment, an icicle was released from his hand and shot through Cromwell's c.h.e.s.t on the spot…
Lin Li was not Cromwell; he did not need to humiliate the other party, let alone have any feelings to vent. As to whether the defeated Cromwell would beg for mercy, Lin Li was even less interested in that.
To him, this was just a duel, and the goal of this duel was to kill the opponent.
He would not even have been interested in talking to Cromwell if he hadn't been trying to find out the whereabouts of McGrenn and his daughter.
There were no shrill cries, no cursing before death; just a "plop" and Cromwell fell down stiffly. Only then did he understand what the phrase "your time is running out" meant…
Old Merlin closed his eyes in anguish the moment Cromwell fell.
The hundreds of spectators on the stand felt chills rising from their spines at the same time…
This young Magic Shooter named Felic was fearsome. He could endure in adversity and stay calm in advantage. Once he had absolute control of the situation, he'd never give his enemy a slight chance. The icicle that killed Cromwell was neat and clean, prompt and effective.
If possible, they would never want to be enemies with someone like this.
After a short silence came a thunderous applause.
All but Old Merlin rose from their seats and gave the warmest applause to the winner of this duel.
"Well done!" Gerian was even more excited, just like a child. He stood high in his seat, jumping and shouting; his fat face full of ecstatic smiles as if he had won the duel himself.
"Congratulations, President Gerian." There was a touch of joy on Ysera's fair face. He turned around and shook Gerian's hand and then applauded Lin Li excitedly.
"Congratulations." Reuben had always been a man of few words, but there was still a glimmer of excitement in his voice.
"Hahahaha, congratulations to us!"
Compared with the two men's low-key voice, Gerian's laughter was so arrogant that almost half of the square could hear his gong-like voice.
Hearing Gerian's "congratulations to us", the smile on the two patriarchs' face deepened. This meant that Gerian had acknowledged them as the guild's allies. After this duel, the Guild of Magic's domination of Jarrosus would be unstoppable. In the future, it would not be a match of which forces were stronger, but of who had a closer relationship with the Guild of Magic.
And the two major mage families who first swung to the Guild of Magic would undoubtedly have the absolute advantage in this comparison.
Amidst the thunderous applause, Castellan Isaac's voice was clearly heard by all ears.
"Now, as the overseer of this duel, I declare the winner of this duel is… Felic, from the Guild of Magic!"
Isaac's voice completely ignited the atmosphere in the Daylight Square. The wealthy businessmen, the celebrities, and the leaders of the forces all chanted the winner's name at the same time to salute the winner of the duel.
"Winner—Felic!"
Jarrosus was a city that advocated the strong. At this moment, all except Old Merlin had put aside all other factors outside the court and also their feuds with each other. There should only be one main star and one voice in the Daylight Square—and that was Felic of the Guild of Magic!
Chapter 86 - A Visit
The applause in the square lasted for a long time—until Lin Li walked up to the stand with a smile.
When Lin Li stepped onto the stands, the square suddenly quieted down and everyone automatically made way for him. Eyes filled with all sorts of emotions—curiosity, envy, admiration and awe—fell on the face of the young mage. No one knew the background of this young Magic Shooter who had appeared like a comet; no one knew what else he could do.
They knew only one thing—after this duel, this young Magic Shooter would be the most dazzling star in Jarrosus!
Lin Li walked up to the stand surrounded by various looks. He greeted the audience with a smile first, then went straight into the crowd and found Gerian, who was jumping and shouting.
"Call a few Magic Shooters from the guild to go to the Merlin Family with me. There're two people I have to look for." When Lin Li finished his sentence, he suddenly saw that the place where Old Merlin had been sitting was already empty. He could not help but ask, "Where's Old Merlin?"
"Eh?" Gerian turned around and realized that his old rival Matthew had left unknowingly. But now that the result was certain, Gerian couldn't care less about Old Merlin. So what if he was an Archmage? Gerian could drink a bottle of Awakening Potion and throw another one away and still be able to tire him to death. The old fellow grinned l.e.w.dly. "He must have hidden away to cry after seeing that his son has died…
"Oh right, whom are you looking for at the Merlin Family?"
"I have two friends captured by Cromwell."
"Bloody hell! That little bastard Cromwell has guts, stirring things up when he was going to die anyway. Come, I will go with you. I'll be just in time to see that fool Matthew crying his head out… Haha!"
"You're experienced…"
It was less than two hours after the end of the duel; the leaders of the forces who had just returned home received a message almost at the same time—Gerian came out for a walk again!
Gerian, who was riding high, was walking ahead of the crowd. He swaggered with his obese body as if afraid that others might not see his upstart temperament. Walking beside him was the winner of the duel at the Daylight Square, the one who had just defeated a level-fourteen Magic Shooter—Felic.
But the young mage seemed to constantly have a helpless smile on his face, and looked as if he wanted to stay away from Gerian…
And behind these two people was a group of Magic Shooters who looked ferocious like a pack of wolves.
Over the past ten days, it had been these wolf-like Magic Shooters who had vividly and intuitively demonstrated what a bandit was like to everyone.
Everyone in Jarrosus City was kept on their toes as soon as this group of people came out from the Emerald Tower.
Up to half an hour later, the leaders of the forces finally relaxed.
For they had received news that the people from the Guild of Magic had arrived at the Merlin Family.
At this moment, they really wanted to cheer "hooray!"
The Merlin Family was based in the north of Jarrosus City. Although they were not as rich as the Mannes Family, the wealth that they had acc.u.mulated over the centuries was also extraordinary. Buying the next few streets was only a drop in the bucket for them. For centuries, this area had been managed tightly by the Merlin Family, as if it was a small kingdom by itself.
News had reached the Merlin Family as soon as the crowd from the Guild of Magic approached. In less than five minutes, Gerian saw Evan Merlin appear with a dozen mages with him.
In the chaotic city of Jarrosus, intruding into another party's sphere of influence without authorization was almost equivalent to a face-to-face taunting. Moreover, Gerian came openly knocking on the door wi
th a few dozen Magic Shooters. This was akin to stepping on the Merlin Family's face and spitting on them.
There was anger on Evan's face. He wanted to ask Gerian what he meant by breaking into the Merlin Family's sphere of influence with so many people.
Unfortunately, Gerian did not give him the chance at all. He saw that it was Evan who had come out from a distance; that old fellow looked as if he had suffered some huge grievances. "Does the Merlin Family have any manners at all, letting you, a fool, to come out to meet us… Where's Matthew?"
"Gerian, what do you mean?" The Merlin Family itself was strong, and there was also the support of an Archmage. In his 40 years of living in such an environment, Evan had never been insulted like that before. Gerian's disdainful words almost blew up his lungs on the spot.
It was not only Evan who almost had his lungs blown out, but also the dozen mages he had brought out with him. These people were the elites of the Merlin Family, and the worst of them were nearing the strength of a Magic Shooter. How could they stand the insult? Although they did not dare to take action without Evan's orders, most of them had already tightened their grip around their staffs.
"Scram far! You are not qualified to talk to me yet, get Matthew out!"
Before Evan could speak, one of the mages could not tolerate it any longer; he was almost pointing at Gerian's nose as he denounced, "Gerian, the Merlin Family is not a place you can run berserk at, scram back to your Guild of—"
"Pom!"
Before he could finish his words, he was stopped by a burning fireball with a long flaming tail in tow. How could he, a level-ten mage, withstand the strength of an Archmage? Almost in an instant, the unlucky mage had turned into ashes under the burning fireball.
There was a sudden silence in the street. Evan had an incredulous look on his face. He knew that the Guild of Magic was a sun at high noon at present and that Gerian had always been arrogant, but he had never thought that this fat old man would be so unbridled and tyrannical to such extent. He was standing in the Merlin Family's sphere of influence and killed someone when he felt like it, totally disregarding the Merlin Family.
The fireball was like a bucket of cold water pouring over Evan's head. He finally remembered what day it was…
The young pharmacist was standing there, safe and sound. That meant Cromwell… The look on Evan's face suddenly froze.
Chapter 87 - Release
"Even a dog dares to bark at me…" Gerian paid no attention to what Evan was thinking. He merely took a look at the ashes on the ground and cursed angrily.
For a moment, Evan's mind was in complete disarray. He did not know what to do in the face of an aggressive Guild of Magic and merely stood dumbfounded in the street, watching Gerian kill one of his men.
"Fool, bring your dogs and scram to a side, don't block my way." Gerian looked at Evan with disdain in his eyes. Among the three brothers of the Merlin Family, the one he despised the most was the one in front of him. He had no skills nor schemes; he was even tailed when he tried to bribe the few traitors from the guild. He was just like Cromwell, that useless bum. Sometimes, Gerian would even suspect whether this fellow was Cromwell's father instead.
Gerian swore as loudly as he could, regardless of the expressions of the dozen mages. He pushed Evan onto the street with his outstretched hand and spared him not another look. He led the group of wolf-like Magic Shooters across the street and barged into the Merlin Family's luxurious house.
In the past few decades, the Merlin Family was the only dominant force in Jarrosus. When had Evan suffered such an insult? Gerian's rough push was like a slap in the face. Evan's mood changed from humiliation to anger, and he clenched his staff tightly in his hand…
And then he heard a deafening "boom".
Amidst the loud noise, Evan's pupils were suddenly enlarged; he could hardly believe his eyes.
Gerian, that old bastard, had blown down the Merlin Family's door with a fireball!
"I've found this door an eyesore for a long time…" In the midst of the sparks, Gerian laughter was utterly unbridled, and his fat face was filled with contentment.
Seeing this reckless scene, the group of Magic Shooters who were described as bandits suddenly burst into tears. This was the real bandit… Compared with the heroic deeds of the President, what was it when they bombed the two merchant sh.i.p.s and burned down the dozen casinos? The President had blown down the hundred years of dignity that the Merlin Family held with a fireball!
The men from the Merlin Family were completely dumbstruck…
"Gerian, what exactly do you want?" Evan's voice was so hoarse that even he was surprised by it. There was probably no greater insult for a family with hundreds of years of history than this. The scene of a fireball blowing open the door made him tremble with anger.
"What do I want?" Looking at the shuddering Evan, Gerian's smile gradually turned cold. "You dared ask me what do I want? Do you not know what Cromwell has done?"
"What exactly did Cromwell do?" Evan was completely nuts.
"Cromwell had kidnapped two of Mage Felic's friends. Don't tell me that you don't know." As Gerian stared fixated at Evan, his ferocity was fully revealed on his face. "Mage Felic's friends are the Guild of Magic's friends. Bloody hell, the Merlin Family has really gotten bold, kidnapping friends of the Guild of Magic! I came to get them today!"
Evan's face became more and more unsightly; in the end, his face was ghastly pale.
He knew that Gerian was not lying. There was indeed an adventurer who was sent to the dungeon today.
With Evan's status in the Merlin family, he naturally wouldn't care about the life and death of an adventurer, so he had just taken a glance and forgot about it. He finally realized how serious the consequences were when Gerian made it clear…
It never occurred to him that a down-and-out adventurer would be Felic's friend.
What kind of character was Felic? He was someone whom even Gerian did not dare to make light of. Something had happened to his friends; who in the Guild of Magic dared not do their best to help? With the current influence of the Guild of Magic, if things became serious, how could the Merlin Family, which faced problems both internally and externally, withstand it?
Cromwell, Cromwell. You had brought big trouble to the Merlin Family this time… The more Evan thought of it, the more frightened he was. He was so suffocated that there was not a trace of blood on his face.
"But, since Matthew is not here, I can only go in and look for them personally." Gerian dropped the sentence and paid no more heed to the pale Evan. He led the group of Magic Shooters straight into the mansion.
"Wait… President Gerian… Please wait." How could Evan stand and watch it? If he let Gerian break in like this, what dignity would the Merlin Family have in the future?
"What?"
"I can have a say in this. Please wait for a moment. I will get someone to release Mage Felic's friends." Evan was fl.u.s.tered; he did not dare to raise his voice at Gerian anymore, and began to use a polite tone.
Gerian hesitated for a while, then looked at Lin Li with a consulting look.
"Forget it, there's a chance in the future anyway." With Lin Li's familiarity with Gerian, how could he not know that the old man had not come in search of someone and had wanted to humiliate the Merlin Family? But this concerned the safety of McGrenn and his daughter, and he didn't want to push the Merlin Family too hard.
"Release them." Gerian's tone was slightly softened by this persuasion. "But, Evan, you should know that I have no patience. If you let me wait for long…"
"I know…" Evan was relieved when he heard Gerian consent, but his heart was full of bitterness. It wasn't long ago that the Merlin Family interfered in the internal affairs of the Guild of Magic with great arrogance. However, it did not take long for the situation to turn around. Apart from killing the family's mage in the street, they had blown away the Merlin Family's door with a fireball.
But no matter what Evan's mood was, h
e dared not take what Gerian said as a joke. He knew very well that the old man really had no patience. If he got irritable from waiting, maybe he would even tear down the Merlin Family's house.
After temporarily appeasing Gerian, Evan dared not delay for a second. He immediately called several family mages to the dungeon and brought out the adventurers captured this morning.
Chapter 88 - The Last Request
After arranging the things to be done, Evan cautiously ushered the crowd into the hall. Now, he was really afraid…
In the process of waiting, Evan was always careful for fear of offending Gerian, the pestilence. The old fellow was determined to kill someone to establish his power today. Evan was constantly reminding himself, Never give him an excuse, never give him an excuse ; under this pressure, even talking became a kind of torture. Before Evan spoke, he had to think it over and over again for fear that if he made a mistake, he'd become the object of Gerian's bullying.
But luckily, the duration of torture wasn't too long.
Ten minutes later, there were sounds of footsteps in the secret passageway leading to the living hall.
A gaunt middle-aged man struggled to walk into the living hall with the support of two mages. His clothes were brand-new; it looked like he had just changed them. The wounds on his face had been treated; although clear whip marks could still be seen, at least crimson blood wasn't oozing out from the wounds anymore.
At the moment when the middle-aged man walked into the living hall, Evan's heart fell. He knew better than anyone what kind of place the Merlin Family dungeon was. Out of every ten living people who went in, nine would come out dead, and the only one who was alive would mostly be badly mutilated.
Even Evan felt the various kinds of torture in the dungeon were a little perverted.
Looking at Gerian's fat face, Evan could not imagine what kind of rage would erupt from Gerian if this adventurer had died.
But luckily, he was still alive…
