End of the Magic Era

That was nothing unusual for a garden of herbs. Lord Shawn turned into the size of a hand, and stood on Lin Yun's shoulder. Its purple hair made it look like the baby of a Purple Back Wolf.

"Merlin, this place—"

Lord Shawn's eyes glittered. It looked into the mist, as if it had discovered something. However, Lin Yun interrupted him before it could finish.

"Lord Shawn, do you want to have fun or not? There are very few things that meet your requirements…"

Hearing that, Lord Shawn immediately shut up, and pretended that it didn't see anything.

Lin Yun paced forward unhurriedly. The other guests had already gathered in the manor.

The leaders of the three planter families weren't strong. They were only on level 2 of the Heaven Rank. Such families that were devoted to herb plantations weren't very renowned in the Odin Kingdom, not even as renowned as some mage families that did business. However, while herbs weren't as profitable as potions, they could always be sold out.

Every alchemy store was worried about its business competitors, but the herb planter families had nothing to worry about. They could sell their herbs to a lot of alchemy stores. Such families were very wealthy, and usually had a lot of experts. They had plenty of Archmages, but not as many Heaven Rank experts.

After all, no Heaven Rank experts could've emerged with nothing but resources…

Such families didn't have a high position, but they were necessary too. The three families in the manor at this moment were virtually the three biggest herb suppliers around Neverwinter City. Some others planted higher-level herbs, but nobody planted more herbs than they did.

Inside the castle in the manor, delicious food and wine had been placed on an enormous table. The leaders of the three families sat there expressionlessly.

Wilder Lodney sat grimly, and Reynolds from the Roosevelt Business Alliance sat still too, with minor confusion.

A few minutes later, Wilder couldn't sit any longer.

"Why have you invited me here? Damn you, jerks, I'm not here to waste my time. If there's anything you want to tell me, you'd better tell me fast. My time is too precious to be wasted on silly moles like you.

"Yesterday, you mentioned a new herb that can be manufactured. What is it exactly? You're still not telling us? Are you challenging my patience or the dignity of the Lodney Family?"

Wilder bashed the table and roared furiously, but the three family leaders sat there expressionlessly just like before. One of them turned around and glanced at Wilder.

"Mr. Wilder, the negotiation will begin when everybody arrives. There are four rare herbs that could only be collected in the wild in the past, but can be manufactured now. If you can't wait, you're free to go."

Hearing that, Wilder gritted his teeth and sat down. His family had been selling potions, and he certainly knew how profitable the manufacturing of the four new herbs would be.

The rare herbs were rare because such herbs could hardly be planted or manufactured on a large scale. Even if they were planted, they wouldn't be as effective as the naturally grown ones. Some of them could only grow in special places.

Wilder had to hold back his fury. Nobody hated money…

Wilder sat back, but Reynolds ran out of patience.

"Guys, the Roosevelt Business Alliance sells magic tools, and you sell herbs and magic plants. Is there any field where we can cooperate?"

To Reynolds' question, one of the family leaders replied expressionlessly, "You'll know how we can cooperate when our last guest arrives."

A few seconds later, the door was slowly opened, and Lin Yun walked in under the direction of a butler.

Lin Yun was slightly surprised to see Wilder and Reynolds. His puzzle was solved when he saw the three expressionless family leaders.

Wilder and Reynolds both put on a weird expression when they saw Lin Yun. Wilder instinctively tried to hide, or get out of this place. Reynolds was much more brazen. He smiled awkwardly and greeted him.

"So, the last guest is Sir Merlin…"

After Lin Yun entered the hall, the gate behind him was slowly closed. Immediately, the mist around the castle became darker, and shrouded the castle within a few seconds. Even the treants that had been standing on guard fell asleep one after another.

Lin Yun looked back, and said casually, "Alright, I'm already here. What's the point of hiding?"

What Lin Yun said changed Wilder's and Reynolds' expression. Both of them could tell that he had an unpleasant history with someone else…

Applause echoed in the hall, and gray mist was arising inside the castle. A person whose face was obscure and whose body seemed to be behind a curtain walked off the stairs.

Her cold voice that was full of hate descended. Immediately, everybody felt that the air was getting colder. On the furniture that was placed in the hall, black ice was appearing.

"Mafa Merlin, great! You're smarter than I thought. But you're much dumber than I thought too. Now that you have come here, you won't be able to leave. I don't have time to play any games with you. I want you to die right now!"

Lin Yun was puzzled, wondering when he had offended this female mage, who was clearly on level 3 of the Heaven Rank, and could make use of soul power.

When he saw the three expressionless family leaders, Lin Yun knew that their souls were already affected. Or rather, their souls had been confined in their bodies. They were only rigid, obedient puppets for now…

As a result, Lin Yun confirmed who had been dealing with him behind his back. They were puppeteers who created soul puppets instead of alchemy puppets.

That was a rare type of mages. It was said that they had devil and demon bloodlines that they transferred into human body through dangerous alchemy experiments, giving them the special power of demons and devils.

For example, the demons' whisper and the devils' bewilderment.

There was also the power to manipulate souls.

Those mages would be very easy to recognize even thousands of years later. Also, they could hardly escape when they were discovered. They were very weak, and didn't have great potential, so they always hid themselves, and never fought in person. The plots they worked were much more powerful than their combat skills.

It would be very difficult to eliminate those guys even thousands of years later. When Lin Yun learned that three families broke the contracts, and the Ring of Roses was involved, he had a lot of guesses.

He thought that the Ring of Roses' mages were either spiritual mages or those who could manipulate souls. Maybe they were spatial mages who were good at hiding, but that wasn't very likely. The spatial mages in this age didn't know so many tricks yet.

He didn't expect them to be a bunch of ghastly warlocks…

"So, this is how the Ring of Roses acquires its intelligence. No wonder you've been hiding, and never show up in public. It's not because you want to stay mysterious, but because you don't dare to show yourself. Let me guess. You must've transplanted a devil bloodline with the undead power, right? Your influence on souls is so rigid. It's probably a low-level hell creature. Was it Hell Soul Beast?"

Emmy shivered when she heard that. Her body was stiffened too. But then, she smiled coldly.

"Mafa Merlin, stop wasting time. This place has been completely blocked by my people. There are at least 50,000 ghosts outside. I've set up sacrificial and soul arrays too. You can't escape. You're doomed however strong you might be.

"Besides me and those three idiots, Mr. Wilder and Mr. Reynolds are here too. Nobody can possibly save you. Mafa Merlin, answer for what you did.

"My family was killed by you. The Shadow Tower was almost destroyed by you. You can go to hell now!"

Before Emmy could finish, Wilder had anxiously screamed out.

"Sir Merlin, this is a misunderstanding. I didn't know this at all. I was tricked into coming here! I've been set up! This b*tch set me up!"

Wilder was frightened, with cold sweat all over his forehead. He tried to explain, but Emmy sneered not far away.

"Mr. Wilder, after everything you've seen, do you really think Mafa Merlin can get away? Even if he does escape, you think he'll just let you go? You should be prepared for his bloody retaliation.

"If he wants to retaliate against the Ring of Roses, he's welcome to come as long as he can find the headquarters of the Ring of Roses.

"But he won't have a chance. Mr. Wilder, Mr. Reynolds, it's time to make a decision. Mafa Merlin is as good as dead even without your help. Then, you won't have any share in the Gilded Rose. However, you'll be in the place where Mafa Merlin dies. Are you going to explain that it's a misunderstanding? Who'd believe you?

"You might as well help me kill Mafa Merlin. His wealth and his everything will be yours…"

Emmy pressured them confidently. Reynolds remained silent with glittering eyes, and Wilder turned paler than ever…

Damn it, this b*tch is free to kill herself, but why does she have to drag me into this? I don't want to die yet. What a moron. Isn't the Ring of Roses always informed? Does she not know that Mafa Merlin is the Great Astrologian's disciple, and that Dean Great Astrologian of the Starry Sky College is very close to him??

Do those idiots not know what it means? The Great Astrologian personally helped Mafa Merlin. Considering recent events, Mafa Merlin must be the Great Astrologian's disciple to inherit his legacy. It's possible that the Starry Sky College will be his…

Yet, this idiot wants to kill Mafa Merlin?

She wants me to die with him. No. I cannot let Mafa Merlin misunderstand me. If he thinks that I'm part of this scheme, then I'll be screwed. Not just me, my ancestor and the Lodney Family will all be screwed…

Gritting his teeth, Wilder metalized half of his body and roared at Emmy.

"B*tch, you set me up! You're truly bold to set me up! I'm going to kill you!"

Wilder roared, with thick iron stings appearing around his body. Those iron stings surrounded Emmy, and made a huge hole in the castle. Those stings seemed to be responding to Wilder's fury. One of the castle's walls collapsed. After Wilder broke out, thick iron thorns rose from the ground in a radius of hundreds of meters.

Emmy turned into part of the mist, and flashed consecutively in the iron jungle. She spoke in shock and fury.

"Wilder, think carefully. Do you think Mafa Merlin will believe you? If he survives today, you can just wait for his retaliation!"

Wilder's eyes turned bloodshot. Drops of silver metal appeared around his body. He unleashed such a violent aura as if he were going berserk…

"B*tch, you set me up. After I kill you, Sir Merlin will trust me…"

Wilder went on a rampage, and chased Emmy crazily without caring about the cost. The precious metal materials were all rare materials to cast steel spells, yet Wilder tossed them away like garbage.

Emmy was stunned too. Neo, who had been hiding, wanted to help, but the moment he showed up, his chest was pierced by a dozen iron stings. His limbs and head were penetrated too. His rock shield was as vulnerable as a bunch of shattered stones. He was immediately killed.

Emmy was almost mad. Inside the castle, Reynolds looked at Wilder, who seemed to be crazy, and couldn't believe what he saw.

Damn it. Was Wilder crazy? Why was he attacking Emmy so relentlessly? Was he not scared of the Ring of Roses' retaliation? Mafa Merlin was his enemy. Did he have to fight so hard for him?

Oh damn it, Wilder isn't crazy. He isn't crazy at all. Reynolds finally understood everything.

No wonder the Lodney Family dropped it after suffering a major setback. They didn't dare to deal with Mafa Merlin any longer. There had to be a good reason for that.

He would rather infuriate the Ring of Roses than offend Mafa Merlin in this situation, and it was probably for the same reason…

Damn it. Reynolds thought he almost accepted the b*tch's proposal. She must've influenced him with her spell. Why else would he want to accept? No, he couldn't stay here any longer. He couldn't be part of this. Never.

Reynolds was sweating hard. He considered how he could leave. The castle was filled with mist, where countless ghosts were hiding. It was hard to escape through all the crazy ghosts.

In the battlefield, Wilder caught Emmy unprepared, but Neo's unexpected entrance bought her some time. Immediately, soundless screams echoed in the mist. Countless ghosts charged from the mist, and turned into a torrent, pushing Wilder into the mist.

Wilder's steel spells didn't really work well on ghosts. Without Wilder's threat, Emmy finally flew out of the mist.

Reynolds took out a magic tool while all the ghosts went to block Wilder. The magic tool emitted light, and brought him to the sky.

"Sir Merlin, I have nothing to do with any of this. I've been set up too. Please trust me…"

Reynolds' unconvincing explanation came from the sky. Then, in the blink of an eye, his mana waves vanished from the sky.

Lin Yun was rather astounded. He almost didn't know what was going on.

Wilder, Reynolds, the three level-2 Heaven Rank puppets, the sacrificial and soul arrays, the countless ghosts outside, and Emmy, a devil warlock who could manipulate souls, could possibly kill him if they worked together…

However, before he did anything, those people were already fighting amongst themselves. Reynolds had run away. The body hanging on the thorns outside of the castle belonged to the rock mage who attempted to assassinate Lin Yun when the latter came to the Odin Kingdom. The man had died a quick death. His eyes that were still wide open suggested how regretful he had to have been…

Wilder roared in the mist without stopping. Floating in midair, Emmy had already activated the alchemy arrays and soul arrays around the castle, completely locking the place down.

Seeing that Lin Yun roamed out of the castle, as if he were enjoying the great drama, Emmy's eyes were flaming. The evil aura of devils and the undead emanated from her, making her look like a strange monster.

"My slaves, kill him…" Emmy whispered. From inside the castle, the three family leaders slowly walked out. But they were no longer expressionless. There was wrath on all their faces.

"Damn you, filthy jerk, you will go to hell!"

"The mage who manipulates souls, you will be burnt in front of Neverwinter City's gate!"

"Unscrupulous bastard, be prepared for our revenge!"

Their souls had been confined in their bodies. They knew everything that had happened in the past days, but they couldn't do anything except watch. Now that they were finally able to move, they couldn't wait any longer.

Lord Shawn soundlessly appeared on Lin Yun's shoulder, and grinned.