by Zhuang Bifan
Apart from the 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, what he had wanted to do more was to repair the relationship with the Guild of Magic.
How could Old Merlin not see with that wisdom of his that the Guild of Magic with its own pharmacist would eventually unify the whole Jarrosus City? Of the many forces in Jarrosus City, the Guild of Magic would definitely be dominating all in the future.
Since the rise of the Guild of Magic was something that couldn't be stopped, Old Merlin thought it wise to extend a friendly hand to them before it happened.
Besides, Old Merlin had been doing it well for the past 20 years. He had not had any conflict with the Guild of Magic, and had even materialized some business dealings with them. Old Merlin believed that as long as he was sincere, Gerian, judging by his character, would have made the same wise choice as he did.
Therefore, he had sent Cromwell with four level-fourteen spells.
But this rascal had ruined everything.
Just two days ago, he had even sworn to him that the young mage named Felic was merely at a level five or six, and had just joined the Guild of Magic for no more than ten days.
At the thought of this, Old Merlin was so angry he felt his lungs were about to explode.
Just look at how he had performed, unleashing a level-two Waterfall Strike in an instant. How was that the strength of a level five or six mage? This was probably the general standard of most Magic Shooters…
And look at Kevin's expression standing before him. He was Gerian's nephew, and undoubtedly the second-in-command in the Guild of Magic. Yet he had to do things as he pleased, how could he be an insignificant character?
But it was too late for anything. In fact, even Old Merlin had not imagined this young mage Felic would be so ruthless. There were no greetings or negotiation, only a direct Waterfall Strike with the lift of his hand.
The Waterfall Strike had shattered not just the pride Cromwell had held for over 20 years, it had also shattered the plans that Old Merlin had before.
The instant Cromwell was swept out of the Emerald Tower, Old Merlin knew everything was over. The Merlin Family had lost all in the competition for the Arcane Magic Potion, and it had also completely blocked the path to restoring its friendship with the Guild of Magic.
No one would choose an ally who harbored resentment—even if it was only the ally's son who harbored the said resentment.
… Unless Old Merlin was willing to disown Cromwell and choose another successor.
But everyone knew it was impossible. Old Merlin had only one son, and Cromwell was his only choice.
Old Merlin had only one choice at the moment—to defeat Gerian!
Gerian and he had always been two of the most powerful mages in Jarrosus City. It was only by defeating him that he could establish himself as the number one mage in Jarrosus, and allow the Merlin Family to tide through the future crises peacefully.
Before the absolute power of the number one mage, the mage families that had been waiting for their chance would most likely remain well-behaved for a period of time.
At the same time, Gerian's defeat would also silence the Guild of Magic for a long while. They would have to gather their strength again and wait for the next opportunity to rise.
The time might not be long, but it would be sufficient for the Merlin Family in their preparations…
For Old Merlin, this would be the best outcome for this whole event.
But, if possible, he wished he would not have to go that far.
After becoming an archmage, there were many things that often did not have to be seen with the eyes. Just by feeling, Old Merlin was sure that Gerian's power would not be any weaker than his own. The winner of the battle between the archmages would probably have to be decided by luck.
Old Merlin would never do anything uncertain in his life. He had never given everything to luck, like what he was doing now.
Chapter 27 - The Battle
The green flame rising up from the magical crystals raged on, and at the same time, the surrounding magical wave had reached its peak.
With a short and rapid recitation of the spell, a red flame lit up on Old Merlin's hands. With a stamp of the staff in his hand, everyone present seemed to feel space distorting in the surroundings. Stalks of red lotus with long flaming tails in tow emerged as if from hell and bombarded the Emerald Tower amidst their howl.
Just as the stalks of red lotus were about to erupt, Gerian held up the staff in his hand, which was followed by a likewise short and rapid recitation of the spell. Almost immediately, a water-blue barrier was erected outside the gates of Emerald Tower. The stalks of red lotus fell into the water curtain like stones falling into water as ripples appeared on the barrier's surface.
"Damn you, Old Merlin!" An angry roar came out of the tower, accompanied by Gerian's furious interrogation. "What does you mother do? You son of a b*tch, are you trying to tear down the Emerald Tower?"
Old Merlin paid no heed to his fury; his lips continued their rapid recitation of the spells. The green flame burned fiercely from the magical crystal at the tip of his staff, and another layer of fire rain came falling down, hitting the blue water curtain with a sizzle.
"You've got guts!" Gerian let out a furious bellow, and the blue water curtain was instantly stretched to its limit. He made a strange gesture with his fat hands, and magical elements came pouring out from the ground all at once.
And the source of magical elements was right beneath the steps where Cromwell lay.
Old Merlin's expression changed, and he aimed his staff right onto Cromwell's shoulders. Before the latter could understand what was happening, the magical crystal at the top of the staff exhibited a peculiar distortion as if it had changed into a pair of giant hands in just an instant, clutching Cromwell in it.
Cromwell felt weight leaving his body, and then he was pulled to the back of where Old Merlin stood.
Almost concurrently, two razor-sharp rock spines broke the earth and thrust themselves out of the ground.
Cromwell looked back and felt nothing but a tingling scalp.
If he were to let those two rock spines stab through his body, even if there were ten Cromwells there, they'd be done for all together…
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gerian took a big stride and lunged out of the tower. With the support of the Levitation Spell, his plump body was floating in the air as soon as he came out. There was no hesitation at all; large verses of spells came streaming out from his mouth, his fat hands constantly making abstruse and incomprehensible gestures.
Old Merlin pushed Cromwell aside and met Gerian without fear.
The magical elements outside the Emerald Tower swarmed madly. Each time the grandiose magic collided, it'd spark off resplendent rays of brilliance. As Old Merlin levitated into the air, both exchanged almost ten strikes. Each attack was no less an extremely powerful top-level magic.
Lin Li stood at the bottom of the tower a distance away. He'd realized his previous battling styles were in no sense perfect after watching the battle of the two archmages.
Instantaneous outbursts of numerous low-level magic could indeed take an unexpected effect. But in the face of absolute power, a low-level magic would be rendered a joke. Not to mention how he'd go about blocking Old Merlin's fire rain, if he were to throw wind blades at the blue water curtain Gerian had drawn up, it would probably take years for him to break it.
This was a typical battle of the mages, so their battling styles were no doubt the most traditional.
There was no control at all, and no counter-control as well.
What they were battling with was absolute power. The one that had stronger magical power and a more abundant level of mana would eventually emerge as the winner.
Of course, it was not to say that instantaneous outbursts of magic were inferior. But, sometimes, instantaneous outbursts were not everything.
The two archmages possessed the ability to unleash low-level magic instantaneously, and w
ere even adept at that as compared to Lin Li. But they had never showed any instantaneous outburst of magic since the start of the battle, for they knew clearly that the instant magic outbursts they could unleash would never pose a threat to the other.
As for long recitation of spells, it would be only be a death-seeking move in a battle of this level.
Even if it was only a second slower, it'd be enough to send people to eternal doom.
Both had chosen the middle course almost undesignedly. Short and rapid recitation of spells together with swift gestures had created a magnificent and ever-changing battle.
After figuring out the crux of the matter, Lin Li was even more absorbed in the battle, not batting his eyelids once. Every gesture and recitation were etched in his mind. With every fierce collision, Lin Li gradually figured out answers to questions he had before, and at the same time, questions he had never thought of before arose in his mind.
If there was anyone who benefited the most from the battle, it would undoubtedly be Lin Li.
The teachings and influence of a legendary mage had laid the most solid foundation for him. His extraordinary talent had also given him higher comprehension than ordinary people. A battle like this would be a grand and exciting one in the eyes of others, but never as enlightening as it was to Lin Li.
When the battle reached its climax, Lin Li even forgot his own existence. He had totally immersed himself in the magical collision. His heart and soul all fluctuated with the battle, and his nerves trembled with the magical elements.
It was an almost abstruse state, and Lin Li, being immersed in that state, was as if in another world by himself. In this world, he was approaching the nature of magic with unbelievable speed.
Boom! Both sides collided again. The aftershock brought on by the collision of two enormous lumps of mana radiated off and pushed Lin Li a few steps back. Sparks of scorching meteors fell from the sky, leaving behind glamorous trails.
The earth-shaking strike had finally brought the magnificent battle to a close.
Among the blazing light, two silhouettes descended slowly, a sign of mana exhaustion.
"Damn!" Lin Li had never imagined a classic and perfect battle like this would end up with both parties exhausting their mana.
Countless powerful spells had at last exhausted all mana of both parties.
They had exhausted their mana almost at the same time. The slow descent was merely a buffer with the Levitation Spell.
Chapter 28 - How Many Times Do You Wish to Recover?
Gerian held onto his bucket-thick waist as he gasped for air. The fat on his body rose and fell with dramatic gasps, and cold sweat broke out on his pale, chubby face. Although he was still staring at Old Merlin fiercely, everyone present knew that he was a spent arrow now.
Old Merlin was no better. He had to rely on Cromwell's support in order to stand firm on his feet when he landed.
But, for some reason, Old Merlin's pale face carried a hint of a smile.
Gerian had given up. Things were obvious—both were archmages, and both had exhausted their powers. No one could do anything to each other now, so how could he still smile with such confidence?
In fact, Gerian felt a tinge of joy as soon as the mana was exhausted on both sides. Neither had the strength of an archmage now, and he had dozens of people standing behind him. It would be a challenge the moment when they'd rush forward and surround the Merlins. Not to mention, he had a physical advantage. Just think, a two or three hundred pound man pouncing could easily crush him flat…
Hence, Gerian could not figure out just why Old Merlin was all smiles in victory when he had such a huge advantage over him.
The old fellow glared at Old Merlin. "You can still laugh after being beaten by me? Are you a damn ostrich?"
Old Merlin was barely able to steady himself with the help of Cromwell and still looked weak. He had heard Gerian's yell but chose to ignore it, clinging onto his c.h.e.s.t as he broke out in a violent cough. Old Merlin looked like an old man with one foot in the grave, worn and weak, without the bearing of a great archmage.
However, regardless of how weak he was, Old Merlin's had a confident smile on his face all this while.
It made Gerian all the more unhappy to see it. He dragged his weak body and set forth towards Old Merlin. He would not let the mages in the guild lift a finger. He was going to crush that bastard Old Merlin all by himself.
But as Old Merlin's smile gradually expanded and his emaciated right hand reached into the pockets, Gerian's expression stiffened all of a sudden.
He saw Old Merlin pulling something out of his pockets.
It was a sky-blue crystal. In the afterglow of the setting sun, the sparkling crystal reflected a colorful halo.
That halo was gorgeous yet blurry, like the most beautiful of dreams.
A pure magical aura was emitted from the crystal. There were no traces of impurity in the aura at all. It was authentic and clean, gentle and soft, like a flowing river from the countryside, moistening the earth without a sound.
The confident smile of Old Merlin was even more unfathomable under the gleam of the crystal halo.
"If you had a Strong Energy Crystal, you'd probably be smiling like me now…" Though he was answering Gerian's questions, his eyes were fixed on the crystal on his hand. He was somewhat enchanted by the colorful halo, and also somewhat unwilling to shift his eyes away from it.
The whole Emerald Tower became silent as Old Merlin's voice spread throughout it.
Everyone's attention fell upon the halo; all kinds of emotions intertwined—confusion, shock, greed, and uncertainty—creating a strange atmosphere within the Emerald Tower.
The people present were mages of at least level-five and above. Other than a dabbler like Lin Li, who had never heard the great name of the Strong Energy Crystal, it was something that almost every mage yearned for. Its powerful calming effect prevented the bite of mana when unleashing spells. To a mage, the bite of mana was much more fearful than the opponent. In addition, the Strong Energy Crystal could amplify the effects of meditation. As long as one had the crystal by their side, the meditation's effects could be raised to a terrifying level.
But the real power of the Strong Energy Crystal was that it could completely restore mana.
For a mage, nothing was much more valuable than mana.
Full restoration of mana could change almost everything at the critical moment.
For example, the battle between two archmages right before their eyes. Being the most powerful mages of Jarrosus City, and having exhausted the last of their mana, with Old Merlin's condition worse than Gerian's as he could not even steady himself, it seemed to be over. But right at this crucial point, Old Merlin had taken out the Strong Energy Crystal…
Gerian's expression changed when the sky-blue crystal was taken out. His pale chubby face turned to a terrible color of bluish-white. It was nearly an expression of despair. It did not matter who, there would only be profound anguish for anyone in this situation.
Both had exhausted all their mana, but the enemy possessed the opportunity to restore all his mana at the most critical time. There was probably nothing else in this world that could feel more helpless than this…
Gerian stood glued to the ground. The gaze he had on Old Merlin was a lifeless one. He had never felt so powerless before. What had obviously been an evenly matched enemy became one that could throttle him to death in an instant as effortlessly as crushing an ant.
After the initial stupor, the mages in the Emerald Tower seemed to have realized all of a sudden what the Strong Energy Crystal meant. It meant that Old Merlin could kill Gerian anytime now, sending the Guild of Magic into depths of despair once and for all.
But as soon as realization hit them, almost all the mages had an expression of vivid fear on their faces. Everyone knew that the Guild of Magic actually belonged to Gerian alone. It was all because of Gerian that the guild was able to survive such a difficult time for 20 years and
was able to stand against the number one mage family, the Merlins.
Once Gerian collapsed, it would be the end of the Guild of Magic…
Perhaps it was only a dabbler like Lin Li who had not understood the situation. He stared puzzled at Old Merlin, thinking about how despicable that old fellow's smile was. Could it be that he had a secret weapon with him? As it was a good habit to ask when one didn't know, he nudged Kevin with his elbow and asked humbly, "What is that thing that the old fellow has in his hands?"
"Strong Energy Crystal." Kevin was distracted. He was worried about the circ.u.mstances Gerian was in. But after the repeated questioning from Lin Li, he explained the origin of the Strong Energy Crystal in a simple way. "Other than the effects of calming the mind and strengthening meditation, it also has the power to restore mana. Although such power can only be used once, under this situation, I'm afraid Uncle Gerian…"
"Restore mana?" Lin Li was astounded. That old fellow Gerian looked to be a smart person and knew how to exploit his own surplus value usually. How could he see a broken crystal this day and be scared silly by it? Was it possible that the battle with Old Merlin had damaged his brain…?
Restore mana… Lin Li touched his nose. He felt like asking Gerian, "How many times do you wish to recover?"
Chapter 29 - Red Bull Drink
Old Merlin squeezed the crystal ball in his right hand and all at once traces of light escaped from the gaps between his fingers. The pure and clean aura gushed into Old Merlin's body at an unimaginable speed. With that surge of power, color had returned to the pale and frail face.
Everyone could clearly feel that Old Merlin was recovering his mana at lightning speed. The depletion brought about by the earlier battle was quickly recovered to the full by the Strong Energy Crystal. In just a few seconds, the seemingly frail old man would become the most powerful mage in Jarrosus.