Chapter 42: Ambition
Translator: J_Squared Editor: J_Squared
The carriage kept on moving. There were sounds of running horses outside. Even if Merlin did not look out of the window, he knew a little that the carriage was going at a great speed from the tremor he felt in the carriage.
“Clang.”
Suddenly, the carriage came to a halt. The curtain was pulled open and a gust of cold wind blew in.
“Father.”
Merlin showed a questioned look because the one who pulled the curtain down was Old Wilson.
Old Wilson nodded slightly and climbed into the carriage. His face seemed slightly pale, but he looked much better now.
“Father, how’s your injury?” Merlin looked at Old Wilson’s stomach. There was still a cut on his black armor at that area.
“I’m alright. It’s just a cut.” Old Wilson paused a little. Then, he raised his head as his eyes stared right at Merlin for a while. He gave a long sigh. “Merlin, you’ve truly grown up and you can handle the burden of the whole family! There’s something I must tell you.”
“Father, tell me anything.” Merlin moved his body and leaned toward the back of the carriage as much as possible.
“It’s about the current matter, the Church’s Grand Operation. Do you have any idea what this is?” Old Wilson had a serious look.
Merlin shook his head naturally. He had guessed this was not something small. If it was, Old Wilson would not go back in a rush, but he did not know what was going on.
Usually, Church of Light would have sublime authority in the Kingdom of Light and even in a few other small kingdoms. Everyone believed in G.o.d of Light. They were the spiritual leaders of the whole Kingdom of Light.
Merlin could not think of a reason why Church of Light would want to s.n.a.t.c.h Blackwater City, putting in so much effort in the process.
Old Wilson said as he shook his head helplessly, “This matter is the most hidden secret amongst secrets in the first place. I only have some guesses these few years, but it seems to me now my guesses are becoming reality. Church of Light’s influence in the Kingdom of Light is not the monopolizing force here. There are still the competing influences like the Royal Family of Light and the n.o.bles. There’s a gap between the two forces but the difference won’t be large. However, in these few years, the church has grown too quickly. It has even attracted a bunch of middle-ranked n.o.bles, and, in the name of G.o.d, rapidly expanded its armed forces.”
Merlin nodded. The armed forces of Church of Light would most probably be the Guardian Swordsmen. Even those who were not Light Swordsmen, if they were willing to seek refuge with the church, they would be allowed to become the Church’s Swordsman and given a certain amount of help.
These Swordsmen had nonetheless turned into the church’s force.
“Ambition. Unstoppable ambition! When the church’s force has expanded to a certain extent, it has finally exploded… Although I have no way of knowing the situation at other places, I can guess a little. The church’s force has a definite advantage. Its action is to overturn the Royal Family of Light and build a new nation reigned by the church.”
Merlin’s expression changed. He thought of some countries in his past life which merged both politics with religion. The aim of Church of Light was also obvious; to merge politics with religion. The church no longer wanted to be only a spiritual leader but to rule a large nation.
The time of change had dawned upon the Kingdom of Light!
Seeing Merlin’s changing expressions, Old Wilson nodded in satisfaction. Then, he said with a bitter smile, “Merlin, there will be chaos in the Kingdom of Light, so we need to get back to Blackwater City as quickly as possible. We have to save all people of the Wilson family.”
If the church had the ambition just as Old Wilson had predicted, then trouble would definitely break out in the Kingdom of Light. Macy, the butler, big-breasted Madam and others were still at Wilson Castle in Blackwater City. They were all people who Old Wilson cared about, so they must be saved.
Old Wilson did not mention Spell Caster all this while. Nor did he asked about Merlin’s matter as if he had forgotten about this. However, Merlin knew Old Wilson did not mention this matter on purpose.
At this moment, Merlin felt that it was necessary to explain this to Old Wilson.
“Father, my teacher is a Spell Caster from the Kingdom of Blackmoon, but he’s dead now. He was killed by the Wizard in the church.”
Merlin’s tone was calm as he explained about the matter regarding old man Etha.
“Merlin, I’ve fought for so many years in battle with the Kingdom of Blackmoon. I’ve also seen their Spell Casters. They hold strong yet mysterious power that is above Normies. Even the powerful Elemental Swordsman is nothing in their eyes. Only the Wizards in the Inquisitor can compare to them.” Old Wilson paused. Following that, he smiled as he continued, “So, I’m proud that you’ve become a strong Spell Caster now! The whole Wilson family is happy for you!”
After that, Old Wilson turned around and alighted from the carriage.
Merlin heaved a sigh of relief. Old Wilson had survived the “Slaughterhouse” at that time. No matter if it was the Spell Casters of the Kingdom of Blackmoon or Wizards of the Inquisitor, he had seen them all. He naturally knew that Spell Casters were the true strong ones who held insurmountable power, not the evil heretic described by the church.
The “understanding” of Old Wilson had saved Merlin from doing excessive explanation.
Merlin pulled the curtain open and saw that the sky had gradually turned dark. Many knights had lit up the fire torch for illumination. With their current speed, even if they continued their journey at night, they would only reach Blackwater City tomorrow.
After sitting in the carriage for one whole day and spending a large amount of Mind Power to simulate the second Spell Model, Merlin was exhausted. So, he lied in the carriage and closed his eyes to rest.
Merlin knew it would not be peaceful when he returned to Blackwater City tomorrow. He had to quickly recover both of his Magic Power and Mind Power.
The next morning in Blackwater City, snow was falling lightly. There was a layer of frost on the ground which seemed extremely slippery.
There were not many people on the street, so it seemed desolate.
There were a bunch of people gathered at the city gate. They were all small businessmen and vendors from Blackwater City. They were all prepared to go out of the city and do some business but the gate remained tightly closed this morning.
“What’s going on? Why isn’t the gate open?”
“Last night, many knights seem to have entered the city. I don’t know what’s going on.”
“When is the gate opening?”
Many were discussing about this before the gate, but most didn’t know what the reason behind the closure of gate was.
“I’m afraid there may be some big trouble at Blackwater City…”
Only the smart and experienced ones might have understood some hints from this, so they turned around in a hurry to return home.