"Die!"

Merlin's speed rose and approached the silver-haired old man unexpectedly. Even Merlin could see the horror on the silver-haired old man's face.

"Dark Mist!"

Without any hesitation, Merlin cast Dark Mist, not once but thrice, enveloping the entire cave.

"Dark Mist. Hehe. You think you can bring me into a hallucination?"

The silver-haired old man's voice was sharp as he guffawed. At the same time, Merlin sensed a powerful Mind Power exploding instantly and tearing Dark Mist apart.

Although Dark Mist could cause others to fall into an endless hallucination, it was only targeted at those with weak Mind Power. Meanwhile, this silver-haired old man had attained the legacy of a Shaman where he possessed exceptionally powerful Mind Power. The Mind Power he had now had even reached the peak of a Second-level Spell Caster, slightly approaching the Mind Power of a Third-level Spell Caster.

Such a powerful Mind Power could easily tear Merlin's Dark Mist apart without falling into the hallucination.

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

At the same time, Merlin sharply felt a strong sense of danger behind him. Even without checking with Mind Power, Merlin also knew that this must be Darkness Rays cast by the Dark Vampire Bat. Moreover, it was more than one string of Darkness Rays.

The speed of Darkness Rays was extremely quick. If Merlin cast the strengthened version of Gale, he could avoid it now. However, this would give a chance for the silver-haired old man to regain himself. If he wanted to approach the old man again thereafter, it would not be easy.

So, Merlin gritted his teeth and focused his gaze.

"Dark Mist!"

Once more, Merlin cast Dark Mist, but it was the strengthened version. The Spell Model in his Awareness shook frantically. An even thicker mist appeared and enveloped the silver-haired old man.

The force of the strengthened Dark Mist was naturally more powerful. Although the silver-haired old man possessed a Mind Power similar to the peak of a Second-level Spell Caster, Merlin still had the confidence to hold him down momentarily.

A moment was enough to Merlin. The silver-haired old man was not the Dark Vampire Bat – any spell could kill him.

"Large Fireball!"

As expected, Merlin saw that the silver-haired old man appeared idle. He wore a blank yet panic-stricken face – he had already fallen into a hallucination. This would be the perfect time to kill the silver-haired old man.

The gigantic fireball whistled by and flew toward the silver-haired old man. At the same time, Merlin did not hesitate to cast an Earth-type spell, Earth Guard frantically.

"Ka-chak! Ka-chak!"

One after another, the earth walls were penetrated by Darkness Rays. The Dark Vampire Bat could have released multiple Darkness Rays so Merlin did not dare to be careless. Almost giving his all, he had even cast the strengthened Earth Guard. However, he still felt a strong sense of danger. This indicated that his Earth Guard could not block Darkness Rays at all.

"Large Frost!"

Merlin cast Large Frost to create a large ice crystal behind him. Fortunately, this thick crystal could slightly block Darkness Rays.

To exhaust the power of Darkness Rays, Merlin had done all that he could. However, regardless of Earth Guard or Large Frost, he could not completely defend against Darkness Rays.

Merlin only had his last shield – the Runic Robe he received from Wizard Holmes!

"Hiss!"

Then, Merlin felt three slight chills. He immediately realized that these were Darkness Rays.

The shock of Darkness Rays cast by the Dark Vampire Bat was not strong but its penetration power was beyond imagination. In the blink of an eye, three Darkness Rays had already penetrated the Runic Robe which Merlin wore. The runes on the robe had disappeared as well. This robe with great defense power that took many contribution points was now destroyed.

The last barrier on Merlin had been penetrated. He could clearly feel as if his entire body was pierced through by an exceptionally sharp force and a surge of violence rose in his heart.

Other than its strong penetration effect, Darkness Rays usually brought a strong negative effect in the form of uncontrollable, negative emotions which had risen in Merlin's heart now.

"Explode!"

Merlin's eyes became red. His whole body was shivering due to intense pain and the violent aura. Exhausting his remaining Mind Power, he immediately exploded the gigantic fireball.

"Blast!"

The furious flame rose upwards and spread to the sides. It even blew a large area of mist away. Merlin held his fist tightly as Darkness Rays were still causing damage in his body.

Thankfully, the three Darkness Rays did not hit Merlin's vital organs. Moreover, Merlin could also suppress all negative emotions in his heart with his powerful Mind Power.

The largest injury was still on his body. If it was a normal Spell Caster with a weak physique, even a Darkness Ray could injure him heavily and cause death, not to mention three Darkness Rays. Take Laurinka and Ryllis for example, they were hit by one Darkness Ray each and they immediately sustained heavy injuries and lost all combat ability.

If it were three Darkness Rays, a normal Spell Caster would have been dead, but Merlin was different. He had the mysterious relief sculpture and had practiced the posture for years. Although Merlin's physique was improving slowly, it was evident that he was becoming stronger.

Although Merlin's physique had not reached the level of a Fourth-level Elemental Swordsman, he had reached the level of a Third-level Elemental Swordsman. Thus, he could barely withstand the attack of three weakened Darkness Rays.

However, Merlin had lost the robe now. If the silver-haired old man had not died, he could not withstand the attack of the Dark Vampire Bat at all.

Therefore, his gaze stared deadly at the place where Fireball exploded.

"Screech! Screech!"

Suddenly, the Dark Vampire Bat which had slightly evolved shrieked sharply and scurried around as if it had gone crazy.

At last, the Dark Vampire Bat fell on the ground as if it was tired. The redness on his body kept blinking and, in the end, it had completely flickered out. The living aura initially emitted by the Dark Vampire Bat had now disappeared.

"Dead?"

Not only this Dark Vampire Bat but thousands of Dark Vampire Bats hidden in the cave had become violent. They fell into the pool of blood in a frenzy and gradually disappeared.

Meanwhile, Dark Mist had dissipated at the place where Fireball exploded, revealing a distorted body. It could barely be recognized as that silver-haired old man.

Merlin's anxious nerves finally relaxed. Instantly, he sat down on the ground and took large breaths of air.

There were three places at his back that caused him excruciating pain. Merlin touched them with his hands and they stained with blood. It seemed that he had sustained heavy injuries. Then, he looked at Wizard Holmes, Laurinka, and Ryllis. Except for Holmes who appeared to be better, others had lost half of their combat ability.

"This is rather tragic, huh…"

Merlin shook his head slightly. Although he had thought that they would face certain danger in this mission, he had not expected it to be so tragic that the whole team almost died.

Shaking his head, Merlin set his gaze toward the silver-haired old man's body. He suddenly thought of the old man's terrifying Mind Power which was approaching a Third-level Spell Caster.

Such a strong Mind Power could not be attained through meditation alone. Back then, the black-robed old man had meditation method, but he had only reached the peak of a First-level Spell Caster after decades.

The silver-haired old man might have received a certain legacy of ancient witches where his Mind Power was rapidly improved.

At this thought, Merlin's gaze became sharp as he slowly stood up and walked toward the silver-haired old man.