Chapter 339: The Encounter I
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Hum hum hum…”
Suddenly, there was a storm in the quiet sky. It was so fast that it was beyond comprehension. When it swept through the sky, it even blew the woods below into a mess.
Some unfortunate wild beasts were also swept by the gust of wind up into the sky, vanis.h.i.+ng without a trace.
“Boom!”
Then, the storm landed straight into the forest below, giving off a dull sound. The initially dense Kingswood was immediately smashed by the wind. Out of the blue, a relatively empty field suddenly appeared in the woods.
Right in the middle of the open field, a figure gradually emerged from within the smoke and the dust-filled air. This person looked somewhat disorganized as he slowly picked up his feet from the ground.
“d.a.m.n, my Mind Power had exhausted so surprisingly quick… Gosh, the Mind Power that I’ve acc.u.mulated for so long ran dry just like that! d.a.m.n that Merlin, how dare he demand me to reach the Imperial City within four days… Four days is such a short time that I can only keep using Flash Wind to speed up my journey. The elemental crystal stones that I’ve so diligently collected has now been entirely consumed!”
Wizard Bammou kept on ranting as he walked out of the smoke. His undulating chest moved in a rhythm as he panted for fresh air. A few days ago, he had just received a message from Merlin. It was an order that was directly conveyed via the slave contract demanding that Wizard Bammou must arrive at the Imperial City within four days.
Wizard Bammou was originally in Wilson Castle, recovering his Magic Power very leisurely. Ever since he became a slave to Merlin on the s.h.i.+p of Nikola, he had never had a chance to restore his Magic Power. He had come across the rare opportunity of settling in Wilson Castle, so he naturally would want to focus all his energy on restoring Magic Power. The comforting environment was just another surplus for him.
It never occurred to him that the good days would come to an end so quickly. Even if he was a Seventh-level Spell Caster, he could not reach the Imperial City within four days just by relying on ordinary Flying spells alone.
Therefore, Wizard Bammou had no choice but to drain his Magic Power and cast Flash Wind. It was a pity that the Magic Power that he had acc.u.mulated through various means was exhausted in just one or two days.
After his Magic Power was sapped, Wizard Bammou could only replenish it with elemental crystal stones. During the time when Merlin was not around, he obtained a lot of elemental crystal stones from some roaming Wizards near his place by using various ways. However, they were almost completely used up by now. Thus, Wizard Bammou’s heart was filled with a sense of helplessness.
Still, he did not dare to delay even a little. He had signed a servant contract with Merlin. Hence, if he did not rush to the Imperial City within four days, he was very clear how serious the consequences would be…
“The elemental crystal stones were used up just like that. It’s really distressing!”
Wizard Bammou took out hundreds of elemental crystal stones from his ring with grimace written all over his face.
“Ka-chak.”
Then, Wizard Bammou crushed the elemental crystal stones directly. Shortly after, his body became like a bottomless pit, producing a ferocious suction force.
“Buzz buzz buzz…”
This suction force was extremely terrifying, emitting bursts of whistling sounds. The infinite elements in the surrounding woods had been drawn toward him too, gradually forming a ma.s.sive whirlwind around Wizard Bammou.
“Snap!”
With a soft sound, Wizard Bammou stopped absorbing elements. He looked up at the sky and muttered, “I can still travel some distance. My Magic Power has recovered by half too. Go!”
Thereafter, Wizard Bammou’s figure ascended into the sky again. His body was then surrounded by a violent storm, shrilling as he flew to the far side…
…
There were many forests in the Imperial City but the largest one belonged to the royal family. It occupied an area of approximately one thousand acres with countless rare exotic beasts residing in it. Occasionally, some members of the royal family would go hunting in this piece of woodland.
Nevertheless, today’s occasion was a special one. It was still early morning, but this forest was already surrounded by numerous guards – three troops inside and another three outside. All the guards wore solemn expressions and exuded a murderous aura. As a result, city folks did not dare to go near them.
Not just the guards but a Spell Caster should also be able to realize that there was an infinite amount of powerful Mind Power in the forest too. Anyone who was close to Kingswood would be detected by the Mind Power. There was really nowhere to hide.
Such fortified security would naturally only mean that this forest was about to welcome an utmost honorable person, of whom held the highest power of the entire Blackmoon Kingdom. The great King Bhutto XVI was about to arrive at Kingswood. His Majesty had gathered all the aristocrats of the Imperial City and members of the royal family to hunt in this forest.
The Kingdom of Blackmoon was different from the Kingdom of Light. The royal family of the Kingdom of Light did not hold such great power as they were controlled by the Church of Light, which represented theocracy. Even the heir of the Kingdom of Light required the consent and blessing of the Church of Light to be crowned king.
In contrast, the Blackmoon royal family held absolute power. Any member of the royal family can become a Spell Caster as long as they possessed Spell Caster Quality. The entire royal family itself was equivalent to a large-scale spell casters’ organization with an incredibly rich heritage. They even had several legendary Great Wizards.
Therefore, the king of the Kingdom of Blackmoon, in name, was the true supreme ruler of the entire Kingdom of Blackmoon. In a certain sense, even those spell casters’ organizations would not escape the royal family’s rule.
Of course, this was only in a nominal sense. Spell casters’ organizations were after all, different from the typical city-states. The royal family had no ability to include all spell casters’ organizations in the scope of their rule either. Hence, they basically leave spell casters’ organizations to their own devices. As long as they do not cause too much trouble and do not violate the fundamental interests of the royal family, the royal family would not pay extra attention to them.
Not long after, as time went by, Kingswood gradually became more and more lively. Many aristocrats were on their carriages, their hands holding invitation letters. Once they arrived outside and pa.s.sed the inspection of the guards, they would proceed to enter Kingswood.
Those who were able to receive an invitation from the king were aristocrats who had a certain influence in the Imperial City. Otherwise, they could be powerful Spell Casters in the Imperial City.
After another period of time, several luxurious carriages drove from the street and slowly stopped outside the forest.
Many people alighted from the carriages. At the front of the line was a handsome man with a face that radiated natural dignity, but at the same time, appeared to be a people person.
The guards who were originally guarding outside of Kingswood were neither supercilious nor obsequious to any aristocrats and treated them with propriety. However, after seeing the invited guests alighting from the carriages, some of the guards hurried off to welcome them.
Among them, the guard leading the line kneeled on the ground and greeted respectfully, “My Honorable Your Royal Highness the eighth prince!”
It turned out that the guests who alighted from these carriages were the many Spell Casters and guards from the eighth prince’s manor.
The eighth prince gently nodded and said, “Get up, how many people have arrived at Kingswood?”
The guards did not dare to conceal as he whispered, “Your Royal Highness, there aren’t many people in Kingswood. You’re the first member of the royal family to arrive.”
“Oh? It seems that I’m early, but it’s good too. We shall enter first and wait inside.”
After he finished speaking, the eighth prince brought his entourage into the forest directly. The guards did not dare to stop him either. Everyone knew that the eighth prince and the fourth prince were the most promising candidates to be the next king. Hence, no one would dare to offend them.
In the forest, there was exotic flora everywhere, which exuded mesmerizing fragrance. It was a scene of exuberance, much like spring. Yet, none of the eighth prince’s men had the interest to admire the idyllic scenery in the forest. Each of their expression was tense. Even the eighth prince who had always been sanguine looked edgy too, losing his usual poised demeanor.
Soon, the eighth prince had led his entourage into an empty square. Many aristocrats were already seated at the square. After seeing the eighth prince, the aristocrats stood up and showed their respect to the eighth prince.
The eighth prince only responded with a courteous nod and did not say anything. He went straight to the square and sat on the first seat on the first row of seats on the left. Then, he closed his eyes and remained still.
Those who followed behind the eighth prince had their own seats too. Nonetheless, only Wizard Leo and the three Seventh-level Spell Casters were ent.i.tled to their own seats. The others, including Merlin, could only stand nearby.
Wizard Leo wore a huge cloak over his head, which made him look inconspicuous and appeared very mysterious. Even Merlin could feel that many people in the square frequently turned their gaze to Wizard Leo, seemingly exchanging whispers about something.
Merlin was unmoved by that. Deep down, he was quiet and calm too. Still, he frequently felt Wizard Bammou’s location through the slave contract.
Earlier, Merlin had used the slave contract to inform Wizard Bammou that he must be at the Imperial City within four days. He did that a few days ago at the moment he heard that the eighth prince would battle it out with the fourth prince on this very day.
With Wizard Bammou, his mysterious new aid, it might just be a decisive factor in the final outcome!
However, Prakash City was a long distance away from the Imperial City. Back then, Merlin, Snake Elder, and the others had traveled on foot for a good whole month to reach the Imperial City. Merlin was not really sure whether Wizard Bammou could arrive on time either.
Therefore, Merlin would pay attention to any movement of the slave contract at all times. Once Wizard Bammou arrived at the Imperial City, Merlin would sense it.
“However strong Teacher Leo’s Darkness Eye is, it would still be very strenuous for him to deal with these two Eighth-level Spell Casters… However, with Wizard Bammou, he can perhaps relieve some of Teacher Leo’s burden!”
Merlin’s plan was to let Wizard Bammou deal with one of the two Eighth-level Wizards Tanin and Morston. Doing so would also ease the pressure on Wizard Leo and increase the eighth prince’s odds of winning.
Merlin had naturally hoped that the eighth prince would prevail too, so his wish to enter the royal family’s Spell Library could be fulfilled.
As for Wizard Bammou’s safety, it was never one of Merlin’s worries. He had seen Wizard Bammou cultivate his Flash Wind until the third stage. With that kind of Flash Wind, there would be extremely few Spell Casters who could kill Wizard Bammou.
Even if Wizard Bammou was not good enough, he could still at least restrain one of the Eighth-level Wizards. This was precisely Merlin’s plan anyway. Nevertheless, Wizard Bammou had to be a hidden force. Only by showing up when he was most needed could he possibly present an element of surprise.
“The fourth prince is here!”
A guard hurried to the eighth prince’s side and whispered.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
The eighth prince opened his eyes abruptly. His eyes gleamed with energy, peering at the distance. The entire bustling square turned silent in an instant.