"Swoosh!"

Suddenly, the huge Flame Giant in the sky opened his eyes. At this moment, everyone seemed to be drawn in by those eyes.

The flames in the sky became more turbulent, making the body of the Flame Giant even bigger.

"What a strong feeling. Is this the power of a Legend?"

No one noticed that in the Flame Giant's indifferent eyes, there was a hint of empathy instead.

At this time, Merlin had already controlled the flames in the sky. He could also observe everything around him through the Flame Giant where he was equivalent to transforming into the Flame Giant in the sky.

The strange phenomenon in the sea was also orchestrated by Merlin through the Ship of Nikola, almost consuming an unimaginable amount of Pillars of Flame. These Pillars of Flame had been accumulated over thousands of years by the Ship of Nikola.

Now, Merlin used the Flame Maxim to engage the ship of Nikola, instantly acquiring powers equivalent to a Legendary Wizard. Although the time was short, the consumption speed of the energy pillars was frightening. If there were no such energy pillars, regardless of how many elemental crystal stones there were, there would not be enough to start the ship of Nikola.

Moreover, not only the Pillars of Flame but the Flame Maxim in Merlin's Awareness was also consumed vigorously. In order to initiate the Ship of Nikola, besides needing huge and unimaginable amounts of energy, the most fundamental element was this Flame Maxim left by the Legend Nikola.

If there was no Flame Maxim or if the Flame Maxim was completely exhausted, Merlin would no longer be able to operate the Ship of Nikola.

"The battle must be made a swift one. Otherwise, be it the Pillars of Flame or the Flame Maxim, I can't afford to exhaust them!"

Merlin silently made a decision in his heart. Therefore, through the eyes of the Flame Giant, he once again looked at the distant beach and the numerous sea beasts in the vast sea.

The two gigantic black shark king beasts were the particular focus of Merlin.

Seemingly feeling the cold stare of the Flame Giant in the sky, the two black shark king beasts on the beach had also become rather furious. They roared at the Flame Giant in the sky, but they did not look like they dared to step forward, obviously in fear of the Flame Giant.

"Control!"

The Flame Giant in the sky made a sound like a rumble of thunder. Suddenly, countless fire elements wildly gathered over the sea, seemingly forming firestorms.

Although Merlin only temporarily controlled this power, he could feel its great power. To be able to control elements – this was an ability that could only be attained after condensing a Maxim.

As for now, what Merlin had showcased was the ability to control Fire elements. He could only possess the power of a Legendary Wizard through the Ship of Nikola by initiating it with the Flame Maxim. Although the process was very short, he had experienced the enormity of this power in real time and in physical form. It was also an opportunity that could not be replicated.

"Boom!"

Along with the formation of the firestorm, the Flame Giant forcefully extended a huge palm and directly slammed it downward. This palm, which was entirely composed of flames, instantly became incredibly huge, fully encasing the sea near the beach. Even the many sea beasts on the beach, including the two gigantic black shark king beasts, were also shrouded by it.

The flames were howling, and the sea water was boiling. Moreover, as the palm of the Flame Giant approached, the seawater began to evaporate quickly, turning into a thick mist, lingering in mid-air.

Even the seawater had evaporated instantaneously. The power of the flame palm was far beyond the understanding of an ordinary Spell Caster.

"Roar!"

The two black shark king beasts also seemed to sense a strong threat, and immediately howled toward the sky. The inky skin of their bodies seemed to be shiny black, and stripes began appearing on the surface, glinting with peculiar energy.

Besides the black shark king beasts, countless other sea beasts started to panic as well and wanted to escape. However, even if they plunged into the bottom of the sea, they immediately shrieked in pain when their bodies reduced into a pool of blood.

Wherever the flames go, that area became a restricted zone. These sea monsters had absolutely no means of escape.

The sky became more and more reddish, just like a group of fiery clouds falling directly from the sky, showering with unimaginable power.

"Quick, retreat! Retreat as far as possible!"

The three Fort Udon leaders had also noticed the danger. Although the flames seemed to have a conscience and did not affect them, the invisible momentum alone had made these Ninth-level Spell Casters feel very incomparably repressed, so they naturally dared not approach it.

"Bang!"

The palm of flame descended from the sky and slapped onto the beach. Suddenly, the entire island crumbled, and numerous huge cracks appeared on the ground. Then, several small islands began to form.

The surface of the island, which was slapped by the palm of flame, was charred black. It was filled with horrible burning flames. Numerous sea beasts were enclosed in it as the flames burned them into ashes mercilessly.

The two black shark king beasts could not resist the palm of flame. After all, it was the power of a Legendary Wizard. It was not the same level as a Great Wizard. Mastering the Maxim and achieving the Legendary status could almost make one as good as a "god".

The ancient gods were created by heaven and earth. A weaker dimension was likely to give birth to one god. If the dimension was strong, many gods could be born. These gods could control the elements, almost equivalent to Legendary Spell Casters who condensed the Maxim and controlled the elements.

Moreover, the ability to control Fire elements was extremely powerful. The island which had been divided had begun to sink, just like they had melted, gradually sinking to the bottom of the sea.

Not only were the small islands sinking but also a part of the sea's surface which was covered by flames. It could clearly be seen that the water level on that particular sea surface was much lower than the sea surface outside the flames.

This meant that in the short period of time of being covered by flames, the seawater had been continuously evaporated by the flames. If it persisted any longer, would the entire sea be evaporated into the air?

The surviving Spell Casters were extremely shocked when they saw this scene, indelibly etching that sight into the back of their minds. It was already beyond their perception of a Spell Caster.

A Great Wizard may not be afraid of volcanic eruptions and violent sea waves, but they would not be capable of creating a lasting impact like this. Now that there was a Flame Giant in the sky which could destroy the islands and evaporate the sea, this type of power had already been at almost on par with the "god" propagated by the Church of Light.

With the destruction of the many sea beasts, the Flame Giant in the sky began to slowly dissipate too, turning into twinkles of flames, gradually disappearing from the sky.

Although the Flame Giant disappeared, the crowd of Spell Casters on the Kurdmansla Islands were still very quiet, seemingly reminiscing about the shocking scene earlier.

"A Legend... A higher level than Great Wizard, one who condenses Maxims, controls elements, and rivals the gods! This is a Legend, must be a Legend. I can't believe that I can see a great Legendary Wizard with my very own eyes!"

Great Wizard Kansu, who was donned in a body-length white robe, looked extremely emotional. As a Great Wizard, Great Wizard Kansu naturally had more understanding than an average Spell Caster about the Legendary Wizard.

What the Flame Giant in the sky had demonstrated moments ago had lifted a part of Great Wizard Kansu's memory which was locked away. It reminded him of a class of powerful Spell Casters during the most glorious era of Spell Casters. They were Wizards of a commanding presence, capable of exiling gods, namely Legendary Wizards!

Great Wizard Kansu inhaled deeply, a hopeful look appeared on his face. Then, his figure shuttered as he flew to the part of the sky where the Flame Giant was at earlier.

…

"Phew..."

In the ship of Nikola, Merlin heaved a long sigh of relief.

"It's really strong. The power of Legendary Wizards is completely different from the power of typical Spell Casters. The ability of commanding elements at will – it's truly incredible!"

Merlin mumbled softly. He was still carefully reminiscing the feeling of controlling elements earlier. It was a different feeling compared to casting spells. A spell could only convert a small part of the elements into Magic Power, so no matter how strong the spell was, the power was still limited.

Yet, controlling elements were different. The infinite elements could be manipulated, turning them into a horrifying force which could move mountains and drain seas.1

However, when Merlin inspected the accumulated Pillars of Flame in the Ship of Nikola, his face changed slightly. It turned out that on the ship of Nikola, a third of the seemingly numerous Pillars of Flame had actually been consumed. Those were thousands of years' worth of storage.

As for the Flame Maxim in Merlin's Awareness, the consumption was equally not small. It had obviously reduced by a circle in size, its volume reduced by a third too.

Earlier, Merlin controlled the Ship of Nikola. Under the consumption of huge amounts of energy in addition to the usage of Flame Maxim, Merlin instantly activated the Ship of Nikola, and briefly possessed the power of a Legendary Wizard.

Moreover, from the moment of his initiation to kill all the sea beasts, the actual time spent was very short. Even so, such a huge amount of energy had been drained, exhausting one-third of the Flame Maxim. It made Merlin feel a faint pang of loss in his heart.

The energy was really nothing though. Although it would take a long time to accumulate, the Flame Maxim was of utmost importance to Merlin, and now with one third less, it could be considered a huge loss.

Just as Merlin was still grieving over the loss sustained by the Flame Maxim, he saw the figure that appeared in the sky through the Ship of Nikola.

The white-robed figure seemed to be searching for something, occasionally releasing intense elemental fluctuations from his body.

"Great Wizard?"

Merlin frowned. Him possessing the Ship of Nikola must be kept a secret. This was a treasure that would drive even a Great Wizard crazy. Therefore, Merlin directly controlled the Ship of Nikola and began to dive slowly.

In the vast sea, wishing to locate the Ship of Nikola in the depths of the sea was absolutely impossible, what more the Ship of Nikola, which was highly valued by the Legend Nikola. Even a Great Wizard would not be able to locate it.

Thus, the Ship of Nikola carried Merlin, slowly diving into the depths of the sea, disappearing without a trace.

A Chinese proverb which describes an incredibly strong force.