A Wizard’s Secret
chapter-167

"The Slaughterhouse War?"

The black-robed old man mumbled softly. At this point, it was not only Merlin who focused his gaze on the black-robed old man, but the other aristocrats and Count Selin as well.

Only now did they realize that Wizard Hill was experienced and knowledgeable on the topic of momentous occasions. After all, he had participated in a terrible war like 'Slaughterhouse' and there were not many wars more brutal than 'Slaughterhouse'.

The black-robed old man looked at the crowd of soldiers below the city. Caught up in his memories, he spoke slowly, "The Slaughterhouse War was barbarous. Even great Spell Casters who were able to single-handedly destroy a military fort perished in countless numbers. Such Spell Casters had to be at least Fourth-level Spell Casters. This was the actual situation in the later stages of 'Slaughterhouse'. On the whole, there was not a single soldier left, only those formidable Spell Casters."

During the later stages of the war which the black-robed old man spoke of, every gesture and movement must have carried immense power. As these Spell Casters, who could kill thousands upon thousands of Normies with a single spell, engaged in fierce battle, who knew how many of them were killed?

"What about the early stages of the war? What did the beginner Spell Casters do?"

Merlin pressed on with his question.

"The early stages? Well, before those powerful Spell Casters intervened, some of the beginner Spell Casters followed the soldiers and slipped in amongst the massive troops, waiting for a chance to kill off the commander of the enemy troops. However, despite them being able to handle hundreds and thousands of Normie soldiers, the spells of beginner Spell Casters weren't very powerful. Hence, when they encountered the wild torrent of arbalest bolts fired by over ten thousand soldiers, many beginner Spell Casters perished."

The black-robed old man shook his head slightly with a trace of regret on his face. As a Spell Caster himself, the black-robed old man was like most Spell Casters who thought themselves more distinct and noble than the Normies.

To the black-robed old man, the death of a Spell Caster by the hands of Normies was a Spell Caster's greatest tragedy!

However, that was the reality of the situation. If those Entrance-level Spell Casters did not know any Defensive spells when confronting Normies who were heavily armed with arbalests, these Spell Casters were not that much different from Normies and would be easily killed.

Nevertheless, they would be much stronger once they had acquired Defensive spells. Still, it was hazardous for them to face thousands upon thousands of well-trained troops alone. Even some of the Third-level Spell Casters would be shot dead.

"Count Selin, open the city gates. I'll go alone."

Merlin suddenly spoke as he watched the dense throng of soldiers below.

"Huh? Baron Merlin, did you say that you're going out alone? There are tens of thousands of troops out there!"

Count Selin's expression shifted slightly. Although he wanted to resolve the present crisis, allowing Merlin to head out alone was as good as sending him to his death. Such a meaningless act of throwing away one's life was of no help to the overall war situation.

"Count Selin is right. Wizard Merlin, consider this carefully – although we Spell Casters are powerful, those of us below Fourth-level could still be worn down to death by the sheer number of the Normies!"

The black-robed old man advised Merlin as well. After all, it was not as if it had never happened before. During the 'Slaughterhouse' war, powerful Third-level Spell Casters had been worn down to death by immense armies and their nearly endless arbalest bolts.

Merlin acted noncommittal, and calmly said, "Did I say that I would confront these tens of thousands of troops? I have the use of Gale which allows me to move quickly. As long as I can hold off being shot by those bolts, I'll have a chance of reaching Longardi's headquarters and killing him off in one blow!"

Upon hearing Merlin's words, Count Selin's heart stirred. Even if Merlin's plan was totally insane, and from what he could tell, difficult to carry out successfully, if he really succeeded and Longardi died, the troops of Lebis would fall apart on their own.

No matter how uncertain this hope was, it was ultimately still a hope. Otherwise, considering how they were using everything they had just to defend a mere city gate, it would be near impossible to defend Prakash City.

"This is a possibility indeed, but…"

The black-robed old man was about to say something but Merlin gave a forceful wave of his hand, his expression one of determination. He said in a low voice, "Count Selin, open the gate. Don't worry, since I'm rushing out, I'll have ways of surviving. If I don't stand a chance, I'll return and we'll think of some other plan then."

Count Selin nodded as he gave Merlin a complicated look, before softly saying, "If Baron Merlin succeeds this time around, you would be doing us a great service. At that point, I shall make the decision to promote Baron Merlin's title from baron to viscount. Furthermore, the baron's father shall hold the title of baron as well!"

Although titles in the city-state of Prakash were simply bestowed upon by Count Selin's, viscounts were still uncommon. Moreover, once Merlin succeeded, Old Wilson would be granted the title of Baron, which meant that there would be two aristocrats in their clan at one time, which was an extremely rare occurrence.

Evidently, Count Selin valued Merlin very much!

Merlin smiled but said nothing. Even though he did not care much for titles, if this would allow the addition of a viscount amongst the Wilson clan while also having a baron, it would be a huge honor.

After all, these titles were hereditary – if they had two titles, the Wilson clan's status in the whole city-state of Prakash would truly become indestructible!

"Open the city gate!"

Under Count Selin's orders, the enormous city gate gradually opened, and in a flash of his figure, Merlin had left Prakash City.

*****

…

Count Longardi was feeling smug now. Their attack had just overpowered Prakash City, and morale was high as the situation was favorable to them.

"My lord, look, the city gate is opening again?"

A sharp-eyed knight suddenly said as he noticed the city gate of Prakash City were slowly opening.

Count Longardi was startled. Even if it seemed like he had the upper hand, he must not let down his guard as long as the battle was not over.

Seeing that the gate were opened again, Longardi had endless doubts, and muttered softly, "The city gate is opened once more. Are they thinking of attacking again?"

In a moment, everyone on the battlefield clearly saw that only a single figure walked out from the city gate.

"It's just one guy?"

Count Longardi narrowed his eyes slightly as if he dared not believe it.

"Hmm? There's Elemental fluctuation around this person, so he's a Spell Caster. Could it be Merlin?"

Wizard Heghar, who stood beside Count Longardi, immediately thought of Merlin who was in Prakash City. However, even Wizard Heghar had trouble picturing how an Entrance-level Spell Caster would dare to confront tens of thousands of well-trained troops all by himself.

"Haha, he wants to handle my huge army alone? How stupid. Even if he really is Merlin, and had really entered the Dark Magic Region, what's so scary about an arrogant, silly person like him?"

It was as if Longardi was infuriated by Merlin's act. Was he really going to confront tens of thousands of troops all by himself? Unless he was a powerful Spell Caster who was Fourth-level or above and could destroy an entire military fort single-handedly, it was an impossible task.

"Perhaps he isn't actually going to confront the troops, and his target is my lord!"

Wizard Heghar keenly perceived the strong Wind Element that had emerged around Merlin, and instantly guessed Merlin's intentions.

"Hmm? Fight me? Humph, even if he successfully made it here, there's still Wizard Heghar here, right? This would save you Wizards from having to search for him in Prakash City!"

Count Longardi was confident in Wizard Heghar's abilities, so he was not worried in the slightest even after knowing Merlin's aim. Conversely, he stared at Merlin in fascination. How would he break through the barrier of tens of thousands of troops?

...

"Swish."

The minute Merlin walked out the city gate, vigorous fluctuations of Wind Element immediately arose around his body. Furthermore, he noticed that a particularly powerful stream of Mind Power was constantly scanning him, it must be a Spell Caster who was with Longardi.

"Gale!"

Without a hint of hesitation, Merlin cast Gale. Instantly, his speed escalated quickly and he dashed wildly towards Longardi's headquarters.

"Fire!"

Naturally, upon seeing Merlin's mad dash, the tens of thousands of troops took action. With that order, a wild torrent of arbalest bolts came down like rain, their innumerable points racing towards Merlin.

Merlin's expression changed slightly. This myriad of bolts induced a sense of extreme danger. An individual Normie, even if they were a great Elemental Swordsman, could be easily killed by Merlin if he wanted to.

However, once they joined forces and employed their tools, their capacity for damage became terrifying.

"Earth Guard!"

Without a hint of hesitation, Merlin cast Earth Guard frantically over a dozen times in succession. Before him, more than a dozen solid earth walls appeared, some of which were the strengthened version. On the battlefield, facing tens of thousands of well-trained soldiers, Merlin did not dare let down his guard.

"Snap snap."

Very soon, the innumerable bolts landed. The Earth Guards before Merlin collapsed in an instant, one after another. Even the strengthened versions of the Earth Guard could not withstand these bolts for very long.

There was a trace of frenzy on Merlin's face. The Wind Element around his body increased abruptly, and he accelerated at a terrifying pace.

This was the strengthened version of Gale that Merlin had cast. Relying purely on this burst of speed, Merlin sprinted a great distance forward, and no longer had to worry about the thousands and thousands of frightening bolts coming from above.

With so many bolts, even casting Earth Guard incessantly would not be able to hold them off. It would require a First-Level defensive spell like Guardian Monument to hold off the numerous bolts.

Nevertheless, Merlin did not want to rashly reveal that he possessed Guardian Monument. At any rate, after Merlin had broken past this defensive line of troops, he would have to face the many Spell Casters recruited by Longardi.

"He's so fast!"

After Merlin had cast the strengthened version of Gale, he became almost twice as fast. Even the arbalists were confounded; if it was Merlin's previous speed, they were still able to somewhat fire after taking aim.

However with Merlin's current breakneck speed, they were unable to take aim at all. Moreover, the route that Merlin was taking was not a fixed path but rather a zig-zag manner with no predictable pattern whatsoever.

They could only watch helplessly as Merlin broke through the barrier of tens of thousands of troops and gradually approached Count Longardi.

"He did it!"

On the ramparts of Prakash, Count Selin could not help but cry out in excitement as he watched Merlin withstand the first wave of attack by the troops and then increased his speed greatly to break through the barrier of tens of thousands of troops.

"Breaking through the barrier is only the first step! After all, Wizard Merlin has incredible speed, so breaking through the barrier was relatively easy. However, after this, he would have to face the many Spell Casters recruited by Longardi and that's the crucial step!"

As the black-robed old man spoke in a low voice, his gaze never left Merlin's figure. Breaking through the barrier was only the first step – the key thing was to defeat the Spell Casters recruited by Longardi.

The black-robed old man was not worried about the other Spell Casters, but the First-level Spell Caster that Longardi had recruited made the black-robed old man apprehensive. He only knew that Merlin was merely an Entrance-level Spell Caster. Even if Merlin had entered the Dark Magic Region, it was only for a year. He did not know whether Merlin was a match for this rival First-level Spell Caster.

"Whether you succeed or not, you must come back safely!"

No one noticed that Old Wilson had quietly come onto the rampart. Looking at Merlin's madly racing figure, his face expressed a hint of worry.