As soon as Merlin stepped inside the dark cave, he felt a chill straight up his spine.

Although the cave was dark, it was nothing for a Spell Caster like Merlin. They had their Mind Power, so they could see clearly even in the dark.

Merlin was always walking at the front and was always on alert. As soon as he sensed anything, he would halt. After ensuring there was nothing wrong, he would continue his walk.

"Wait. What's that sound in front?"

Merlin suddenly paused and listened closely.

"Screech!"

The sound became nearer and clearer. Merlin's expression changed and alerted the others immediately, "Be careful. It may be the Dark Vampire Bats!"

As soon as he finished his words, they saw a gigantic red light appeared in the dark cave in front of them. Moreover, the light was approaching Merlin at an incredible speed.

"Frost!"

Merlin immediately cast his Frost and almost sealed the narrow pathway in the cave.

"Bang!"

A loud bang was accompanied by a strong crash. The red light in front of them was not affected by Frost at all. It directly crashed through the thick ice and dashed straight toward Merlin and the others.

"Hiss!"

At this moment, Merlin had a clear view of the red light. He could not help but took a deep breath.

The red light was, in fact, a gigantic Dark Vampire Bat. As compared to the Dark Vampire Bats they encountered out there, this one was much larger. Its whole body was as red as blood and its figure was hideous. This strange Dark Vampire Bat let out a series of deafening screeches and its speed was even faster than Merlin when he cast Gale.

This one was too quick. Merlin only managed to cast Fireball to halt the Dark Vampire Bat's speed.

"Bang!"

However, it was to no avail. This Dark Vampire Bat ignored the Fireball which gave out terrifying heat and directly crashed into it. The bat widened its mouth and instantly spat out black mucus which gave off a terrible stench.

The changes transpired too quickly. Merlin did not have the time to react, so he could only avoid it temporarily.

Laurinka who was behind him was also alerted and hurriedly went aside. However, Wizard Danbe was not that lucky. Since the dark mucus came too quickly and the cave was quite dark, Wizard Danbe could not see clearly and cast an Earth-type Defensive spell.

A thick wall made of earth rose and blocked in front of Wizard Danbe. The wall almost blocked off the pathway of the cave.

"Hiss! Hiss!"

The dark mucus spat out by the Dark Vampire Bat seemed to have an unbelievably strong corrosive effect. The earth wall in front of Wizard Danbe only stopped the mucus momentarily. Then, a large hole appeared and the mucus flew onto Wizard Danbe's body.

"What the heck is this?"

Wizard Danbe stared in horror as a bloody hole was corroded through his body. The excruciating pain made him let out a horrified shriek. After that, Wizard Danbe fell on the ground with a gruesome look on his face.

"Hiss!"

Merlin took a deep breath. Fortunately, he did not cast Earth Guard earlier. Although he was confident in Earth Guard, this Dark Vampire Bat was obviously extraordinary having seen Wizard Danbe's ending. It was still difficult to judge whether his Earth Guard would hold against it.

"Retreat quickly."

Merlin howled, knowing this Dark Vampire Bat was special. Other than him, even Laurinka would not be able to defend against a few attacks from this Dark Vampire Bat.

"Screech! Screech!"

The Dark Vampire Bat let out sharp shrieks again. Then, a hint of Darkness Element began to gather around it. In this dark cave, Darkness-type Elemental Monster had its advantage by nature.

This Dark Vampire Bat was currently gathering Darkness Element, obviously trying to cast a spell.

Merlin was shocked. He finally understood how this Dark Vampire Bat was different. Elemental Monster that could cast a spell was rather horrifying. The normal Icelandic Wolf and the Dark Vampire Bats could not cast any spell.

This Dark Vampire Bat could actually cast a spell… Only Vampire Bat King was able to do that!

As she sensed the fluctuation of Darkness Element gradually got stronger, Laurinka could not help but shout, "Not good. Can this be a Vampire Bat King?"

Once a Vampire Bat King was born, it was comparable to a Fourth-level spellCaster and could dominate a certain area of land. It also possessed high intelligence. At this moment, it was no longer called an Elemental Monster but an Elemental Being instead.

From an Elemental Monster to an Elemental Being, it was a change of nature. An Elemental Monster was at most a monster with low intelligence. It was born in some unique place overflowing with Element. Since it was weak, a Entrance-level Spell Caster or intermediate Elemental Swordsman could usually deal with it.

However, once it had become an Elemental Being, it could control Element and possessed higher intelligence, and was no different than a normal human being. Moreover, it would be talented and had an absolute power over a certain Element.

Such an Elemental Being was comparable to the Fourth-level Wizard who could build his own tower in the Dark Magic Region.

"Swish!"

The spell this Dark Vampire Bat cast was a black line which merged with the dark cave. It was difficult to defend against it.

"Is it Darkness Rays? Moreover, it seems to only have an effect as near as that of a First-level spell. This is not a true Vampire Bat King. It should be a Vampire Bat King which is still evolving."

Merlin's Mind Power could sharply sense Darkness Rays which blended in the darkness. It was the same for Laurinka, so both could easily avoid it.

However, Catherine and Capace were not so fortunate. Capace was an Elemental Swordsman who was at the peak of Third-level. He could sense a certain amount of danger, so when he felt that it was dangerous, he immediately pulled out his sword and block in front of him.

"Kachak."

However, it was to no avail. The specialty of Darkness Rays was its extremely strong penetration power. It could easily penetrate even a strong black iron plate, not to mention a normal iron sword.

Darkness Rays, the level-zero spell in the Dark Magic Region, was, in fact, a product of inspiration from the Vampire Bat King. After going through the study of strong Spell Casters, a whole new level-zero spell was finally born.

True Darkness Rays was Talent spell of the Vampire Bat King. It was at the same level as a terrifying Fourth-level spell. Darkness Rays in the Dark Magic Region was way weaker than the Vampire Bat King's Talent spell.

Darkness Rays pierced through Capace's sword. In addition, its power did not lessen and directly penetrated through Capace's palm. Even Catherine who was behind Capace had gotten her whole right arm pierced through by it. The injury shocked Catherine so badly that she almost fainted from it.

Everything happened in a second. Merlin had no other way as well. He could only watch as Capace and Catherine were pierced through by Darkness Rays.

Just as what Merlin had said outside of the cave, he could save Catherine and Capace once or twice, but he might not be able to save them the third time. However, they were still considered lucky. One of them had his palm injured while the other had her arm injured – they did not lose their lives after all.

This experience was a memorable lesson to them.

"Screech!"

This Dark Vampire Bat which was beginning to evolve into Vampire Bat King let out a series of sharp screech. It was still preparing for a stronger attack. Merlin and others were still shrouded in danger.