Chapter 408: Dark Fire Incarnate IV
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Fire!”
With Merlin’s low growl, raging flames began to pour out and melded into a pack of huge flaming dragons. These dragons then flew toward the seven Spell Casters.
Merlin’s Incinerating Fire was on par with the peak power of a Seventh-level spell, so these Spell Casters did not dare to overlook it and began to cast their individual spells to resist its attack.
However, casting Incinerating Fire was merely a distraction to buy time for Merlin to set up a Runic Magic Circle. The Runic Heartprint gradually glowed brighter and became more visible.
“Binding Circle, seal!”
Merlin’s Runic Heartprint contained an array of Runic Magic Circles such as Attacking Circles, Defensive Circles, Suppressing Circles, and so on. However, most of them required a long time to set up.
After all, the Runic Heartprint was not a Runic Magic Disc, so it was not a pre-prepared arrangement. The Runic Heartprint was created by the Great Wizard Fidel’s profound understanding of runes. It was capable of storing countless numbers of Runic Magic Circles, and these could be set up by a completely rune-illiterate Spell Caster.
Nevertheless, truly strong Runic Magic Circles still required a long time to be laid out, thus Merlin could only search for a relatively suitable Runic Magic Circle that only required a short time to be set up.
Of course, the Binding Circle was still strong enough to bind a Seventh-level Spell Caster!
“Hum hum hum.”
Flecks of mysterious runes emerged from the Runic Heartprint and rapidly coalesced into a mysterious Runic Magic Circle. Following a point from Merlin’s finger, the Runic Magic Circle flew toward one of the Seventh-level Spell Casters.
“Sh*t, it’s a Runic Magic Circle!”
“This b.a.s.t.a.r.d can also cast Runic Magic Circles?”
These Seventh-level Spell Casters became even more flabbergasted. The techniques wielded by Merlin far exceeded the limits of an average Spell Caster. Moreover, the power of his Pandora Demon Abilities, spells, and now Runic Magic Circle, were all extremely powerful, making it seem like Merlin would not be defeated despite the odds of seven to one.
In addition, these Spell Casters did not seem to have noticed that Merlin was not actually a Seventh-level Spell Caster or even a Fourth-level Spell Caster. If they knew the truth, he would have been just another worthless low-level Spell Caster in their eyes…
“Boom!”
The Runic Magic Circle slammed down mercilessly and transformed into an invisible cage, confining one of the Spell Casters within.
Breaking a Runic Magic Circle too, required a long amount of time. Therefore, when Merlin saw the effectiveness of the first Runic Magic Circle, he began to repeat his steps. Relying on the power of the Runic Heartprint, he set up another Binding Circle and imprisoned another Spell Caster.
“d.a.m.n it, since when did such a powerful Spell Caster emerge in Subzero Snowfield? Not only does he have powerful spells but he also has mysterious Pandora Demon Abilities and can set up powerful Runic Magic Circles in a short time. Who could defeat him?”
The remaining Spell Casters appeared in despair and lost their will to fight. In the first place, their temporary alliance was a fragile one which was formed for a common goal only.
Once they saw that it was hopeless to defeat Merlin, the thought of retreating immediately formed in their minds. The Mad Wizard Mobundo, especially, was incontestably the most thick-skinned as he was the first to run away.
“Go, go, go! The Neverending Book might be invaluable but we won’t be able to get our hands on it this time. This person is as formidable as those Eighth-level monsters!”
The fact that the Seventh-level Spell Casters wanted to leave made things much simpler for Merlin. Although he was powerful, he could not stop any of the Spell Casters who were bent on leaving, besides the ones he had already imprisoned.
Moments later, the seven Spell Casters had disappeared without a trace, leaving only two Spell Casters who had been imprisoned by Merlin’s Runic Magic Circle.
“Swish.”
Merlin’s gaze landed on these two remaining Spell Casters. Their hearts ran cold and one of the older, a white-haired Spell Caster hurriedly said, “Great Wizard, we’re willing to sign a contract with you and follow after your lead.”
“Sign a contract?”
Merlin paused in thought. A Seventh-level Spell Caster would make a great a.s.sistant. No matter the situation, a Seventh-level Spell Caster would not be taken lightly.
If he had two Seventh-level Spell Casters as a.s.sistants in this unfamiliar Subzero Snowfield, it would save him a lot of trouble.
With this line of thought, Merlin replied, “Sign a slave contract and I’ll spare your lives!”
“A slave contract?”
Upon hearing Merlin’s demand, the two Spell Casters’ faces paled. In order to survive in a harsh region like Subzero Snowfield, they had used all sorts of underhanded methods including murder and deception, and slowly grown step by step.
The journey to become a Seventh-level Spell Caster was truly not easy. Therefore, compared to Spell Casters from other regions, Spell Casters in Subzero Snowfield were more willing to surrender themselves to more powerful Spell Casters.
Thus, signing a contract was very common.
However, the restrictions of a slave contract were much greater because their lives and deaths would be held in the hands of their master. This was the reason why both Spell Casters hesitated.
Merlin narrowed his eyes and extended a pale hand. A white flame flickered to life and started to burn. If they turned down his demand, he would kill them immediately with Incinerating Fire.
Seeing the white flame in Merlin’s hands, the two Spell Casters paled further. Gnas.h.i.+ng their teeth, they gritted and said, “We can sign the slave contract but there must be an expiry date. A hundred years! After a hundred years, you must let us go free!”
Finally, the two Spell Casters agreed to sign the slave contract with Merlin. Again, compared to Spell Casters from other regions, due to long periods of surviving in a harsh environment, concepts like self-dignity had long since been abandoned.
Their foremost priority was to preserve their own lives, so even the most severe slave contract was acceptable to them.
A smile appeared on Merlin’s face. He was starting to like Subzero Snowfield. If he was in the southern Spell Caster world, no matter how dire the situation, it would be totally impossible for a Seventh-level Spell Caster to agree to a slave contract. In contrast, this demand did not appear too difficult to fulfil in Subzero Snowfield.
Following that, Merlin extracted two contracts from his ring, which swiftly flew in front of the two Spell Casters. They could only clench their teeth together as they carved down their mind imprints on the contract.
Merlin held the two contracts in his hand but did not stow them away immediately. Instead, he imprinted the power of the Flame Maxim onto both contracts. With the binding power of the Flame Maxim, even if the two Spell Casters became Great Legend Spell Casters later, they would not be able to break the binding power of the contract.
Merlin was being too cautious. Even during the Spell Casters’ most glorious era, Great Legend Spell Casters were few and far in between. Every Great Legend Wizard had been a powerful existence who was able to fight against the G.o.ds.
Today, whether or not the Great Legend Wizard still existed was a mystery. Therefore, even without the imprint of the Flame Maxim, Merlin did not have to worry about any unexpected occurrences.
With the contract in hand, Merlin no longer had to worry about the threat from these two Spell Casters. The Runic Heartprint between his eyebrows flashed faintly and the Runic Magic Circle disappeared in an instant.
The two Spell Casters exchanged a convoluted glance, their expressions troubled. Right now, they had become Merlin’s slaves and would be controlled by Merlin for a hundred years.
“Master!”
Nevertheless, these two Spell Casters had succeeded in growing themselves despite the harsh conditions of Subzero Snowfield. Naturally, they were not Wizards who were easily defeated. They quickly adjusted their outlook and greeted Merlin respectfully.
Merlin nodded, a.s.sessing both Spell Casters from top to toe with his gaze. He was not unfamiliar with handling slaves. For example, he had placed his slave Wizard Banmou with the Wilson family.
Between the two Spell Casters – one was slightly older, and the other had triangular eyes and looked somewhat fierce. At this moment, however, their faces were filled with congratulatory expressions. The transition from a respected Seventh-level Spell Caster to a lowly slave could be described as a plummet from their previous positions, which would be hard to accept for most people. Yet, these two controlled their emotions well.
“What are you called?” Merlin asked casually.
The older Spell Caster hurriedly replied, “Master, my name is Ernie!”
The fierce-looking Spell Caster also spoke respectfully, “Master, my name is Watson!”
“Ernie, Watson, you two lead the way. We can leave the Thousand Miles Snow Cave now.”
Merlin said in a deep voice. He had obtained the second volume of the Neverending Book, so it was not necessary to remain inside the Thousand Miles Snow Cave any longer. Otherwise, if some Eighth-level or Ninth-level Spell Casters came along, then Merlin would be in danger.
Leaving the Thousand Miles Snow Cave right now would be dangerous as well but he had his newly minted slaves, Ernie and Watson, to walk in front of him and fend-off some of the unexpected attacks.
Ernie and Watson exchanged a helpless glance but had no choice. They, too, knew that it was extremely dangerous to walk in front of Merlin right now. Perhaps another powerful Spell Caster was just lurking around the next corner in the dark, waiting for Merlin to appear and launch a violent attack on him.
Since the two of them were walking in front, they would have to block any surprise attacks for Merlin.
In the dark silent cave, Merlin followed behind Ernie and Watson and carefully sensed for movement in his surroundings. At the same time, Ernie and Watson also dared not lower their guards because if there was an attack, they would be the first to be sacrificed.
Ernie and Watson were well familiar with the underhanded tactics of Spell Casters in Subzero Snowfield, so they were extremely cautious. Their Mind Power was constantly engaged to watch out for any movement around them, and they had cast Defensive spells around themselves. They would rather expend their Magic Powers than to save it without the spell.
Although they were extremely watchful and cautious, they did not encounter any attacks all the way until they saw the light at the cave exit. The closer they inched to the exit, Ernie and Watson heightened their guard.
Suddenly, both Ernie and Watson stopped in their tracks. Ernie grounded his teeth a few times and said in an almost-begging voice, “Master, there’ll definitely be many Wizards waiting to ambush us at the cave exit right now. It’s very dangerous for us to leave.”
“You two go ahead!”
Merlin sighed deeply and then commanded in a steel voice. Obviously, he was sending Ernie and Watson to test the waters and bear the first wave of attacks.
Ernie and Watson did not have a choice since they had signed the slave contract and their lives rested in Merlin’s hands. Naturally, they did not dare disobey his orders.
“d.a.m.n it, let’s just sprint out as fast as we can!”
They exchange a look of resigned determination at one another. Merlin was rendered speechless watching their behavior. All they were going to do was to leave the cave. Was there really a need to look as if they were walking to the gallows?
Following that, strong elemental fluctuations flashed on their bodies. Like a spark of electricity, they zoomed out of the cave.