Chapter 979: Gold Key I
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Hehe, little beauty, come here.”
Cerberus grinned nastily. His three heads glowed sinisterly as he grabbed Ririya.
Several guards were originally protecting Ririya. However, they saw that the tide had turned and even the White Rajah and the Tyrian Rhino King had died, so they immediately dispersed in confusion and pulled away from Ririya.
Only one guard gritted his teeth and said, “Lady Ririya, run away quickly and go to Doomsday City. It’s safest there.”
This guard was not weak and had already reached the third-form but he was no match against Cerberus, who was a fourth-form s.h.i.+fter. His neck was bitten off in one go by the Three-headed Dog and blood spurted in an arc.
“Haha, you can’t escape!”
Cerberus grabbed Ririya with a flash of l.u.s.t in his eyes. He had always been lecherous and he also took a liking to Ririya. However, to make up for his previous mistakes, he could only bring Ririya to Merlin.
At this point, Merlin had just finished absorbing the Tyrian Rhino King’s blood. His body grew even bigger, becoming a true ancient almighty beast. However, Merlin still had a feeling that this was far from his limit. If he went all out, his body would grow even larger. It might even be larger than a castle or a mountain.
However, he still needed a lot of energy. Even after consuming the blood of the White Rajah and the Tyrian Rhino King, he found that the energy was still not enough. He had reached the full-s.h.i.+ft of his Blood-eye Dragon and the energy needed was several times of an ordinary almighty beast bloodline.
“Deputy Team Leader, this is Ririya. I’ve caught her for you. Hehe, you can enjoy her as much as you wish.”
Cerberus showed a flattering expression after seeing Merlin opening his eyes. He had always been like this. He was shameless and repulsive but he had lived to this day.
“Shameless!”
“Cerberus, you didn’t help the Deputy Team Leader before but now you want to fawn over him?”
s.h.i.+ya and Iza could not tolerate the way Cerberus behaved. If it were not for his usefulness, they would not have suggested Merlin let him join them.
Now, the mission was over but Cerberus had not played any role.
Cerberus did not care about s.h.i.+ya or Iza at all. They could not do anything to him even if they were disgusted with him but Merlin was different. Now, Merlin had become a full-s.h.i.+fter with his high-tier almighty beast bloodline and might be even stronger than the Team Leader of the Combat Team. He might even be able to challenge the mysterious Minister of Phantom.
For such a terrifying being, Cerberus naturally did his best to fawn over him.
“Whoosh.”
Merlin’s eyes suddenly opened as he looked at Ririya, who was caught by Cerberus. Presently, Ririya expressed horror as she pointed at Merlin, stammering, “You… You killed Father?”
Merlin ignored Ririya and looked calmly at Cerberus instead. “Before, when I was in danger, you hesitated, didn’t you?”
Although Merlin’s tone was calm, Cerberus immediately broke out in cold sweat and fell to his knees. “Deputy Team Leader, I… I hesitated a little. Please forgive me, Deputy Team Leader! To make up for my mistakes, I’ve caught Ririya instead of letting her escape.”
At this point, Cerberus did not care about his dignity anymore. He already saw Merlin’s ruthlessness with his own eyes. Before such a person, he had to admit his mistake voluntarily and not make any excuses.
“Is that so? Capturing Ririya is indeed a merit. Fine, I’ll give you a small punishment.”
Hearing that it would only be a small punishment, Cerberus finally breathed a long sigh of relief and rejoiced in his heart. Fortunately, he saw the opportunity and watched the situation carefully and knew that Merlin favored Ririya. Otherwise, he would have been doomed this time.
“I’ll let you make one last contribution to my full-s.h.i.+fter form!”
As Merlin spoke, the crimson vertical eye on his forehead immediately shot out a beam of light, shrouding Cerberus.
Hearing this, Cerberus was greatly shocked and immediately fell back. He cried, “Deputy Team Leader, have mercy. I won’t dare to do that anymore…”
However, before his words were finished, he was enveloped by a b.l.o.o.d.y light. His blood vessels burst one after another and he let out mournful cries which even made Iza and s.h.i.+ya, who always hated Cerberus, to s.h.i.+ver.
“Hum.”
After obtaining the blood energy from Cerberus, Merlin felt “satisfied” for the first time. This also meant that Merlin had completely achieved the state of a full-s.h.i.+fter. He no longer had a weak period nor any need to rely on the Nourishment Pond.
“The Blood-eye Dragon’s will has grown even stronger. It would’ve dominated an ordinary person but in my Illusory World, the Blood-eye Dragon would pose no threat to me even if it were a hundred times stronger than it is now.”
In the depths of his Awareness, Merlin clearly “saw” the enhanced Blood-eye Dragon that had wanted to completely awaken the moment he became a full-s.h.i.+fter. However, it was instantly suppressed by the Illusory World. Now, it s.h.i.+vered in the depths of his Awareness and did not dare to have any other intention at all.
Otherwise, Merlin’s Illusory World would devour the Blood-eye Dragon’s will at any moment. However, the almighty beast’s power in his body still needed to rely on the Blood-eye Dragon, so he did not do anything to the Blood-eye Dragon yet.
“Deputy Team Leader, I’m afraid the movements here attracted the attention of Doomsday City. Even though Doomsday City is very far from here, if we delay any longer, we may end up losing more than we gain. We’ve already completed the mission, after all.”
s.h.i.+ya said in a low voice.
“Completed the mission? That’s not necessarily true!”
Only Merlin knew that killing the White Rajah did not complete the actual mission at all. His purpose was to get a key from the White Rajah for the royal family.
Merlin grabbed the White Rajah’s withered body and searched carefully. However, he did not find a key. Merlin’s expression soured.
“He didn’t carry it with him. Where would the White Rajah hide such an important item? Perhaps it has already been offered to Doomsday?
Merlin deeply suspected that Doomsday had already obtained the key. In that case, everything they had done so far was wasted.
“No, Phantom’s intelligence department won’t make any mistakes. The key should still be with the White Rajah. We just don’t know where he hid it.”
Out of the corner of Merlin’s eyes, he saw Ririya’s pale face. She was trembling. Merlin’s brutal killing of Cerberus earlier had shocked her. After all, she was just an ordinary girl who had not even inherited the White Rajah’s almighty beast bloodline.
“Ririya, don’t be afraid, Cerberus is already dead. As for your father, we didn’t know each other personally. We just walked our paths. I had to kill him. How about this? Think carefully about which place the White Rajah cared about the most when he was alive. If you bring me there and I find the item I’m looking for, I’ll release you and let you safely return to Doomsday City.”
Merlin knew that without the White Rajah, Ririya would not be sheltered in Doomsday City if she went there and her life would be very difficult in the future. The best scenario for a young girl like her would be for a big shot to take a fancy to her and become his lover, which would be safer. Otherwise, her fate would be extremely miserable in troubled times.
It was not uncommon for n.o.ble ladies and madams to be plundered by robbers and abused and humiliated.
“I won’t tell you anything.”
Ririya gritted her teeth tightly. She looked at Merlin while holding back her terror.
“What a stubborn person…”
Merlin shook his head. It was too easy to deal with an ordinary person.
“Tell me, which place was the White Rajah most concerned about.”
Merlin’s little remaining Mind Power did not affect a fourth-form s.h.i.+fter but it was more than enough to “hypnotize” Ririya, an ordinary person.
Under the influence of Merlin’s Mind Power, Ririya’s eyes glazed and she whispered, “Father’s most important place is the underground secret chamber!”
“Take me there.”
Ririya obeyed Merlin’s order like a puppet. She turned around and started to wobble unsteadily toward the castle.