Jelena's entire body exuded a violent and bloody life force. After being shrouded in darkness, she even let out a loud roar, but the voice soon stopped.

"Whoosh!"

Merlin's figure instantly entered the darkness. No matter how strong Jelena was, her Mind Power was only comparable to a Fifth-level Spell Caster. There was no way she could resist Merlin's Darkness Tide.

"Fire!"

The pale flame burned intensely in the darkness of the night, and it drowned the horrifying big wolf in the blink of an eye…

"Eh? Jelena, what's wrong with you?"

Ninth Wizard Oden, who was suppressing Snake Elder and the others, saw that Wolf Girl Jelena's figure was shrouded in darkness, and petrifying pale flames blazed on intensely. Oden had a bad feeling about it.

"Hoo..."

The darkness gradually dissipated, and a figure slowly walked out from it. However, it was not Wolf Girl Jelena, but Merlin!

Beneath Merlin's foot was a dead body which was black as charcoal, and it was Wolf Girl Jelena. Merlin's Fiery Collapse had actually failed to burn Jelena's body to ashes, showing how strong her body was. If he did not rely on Darkness Tide to drag her into an illusion, it would certainly be very difficult to kill Wolf Girl Jelena.

Ninth Wizard Oden noticed Jelena's body at Merlin's foot and his gaze froze. This unpredicted change was beyond even Oden's expectation.

Wolf Girl Jelena had fought for the fourth prince through countless battles. She had also encountered countless dangers but she had always managed to come back in one piece. It was certainly not expected that she would die in such a desolate place today and to add to that, she was killed by an unknown figure.

"You're the genius Spell Caster from the Dark Magic Region, Wizard Leo's student, Merlin?"

Before Oden embarked on his mission to kill Snake Elder and the others, he had naturally inquired clearly that Snake Elder and the others went to Prakash City to pick up Merlin. Perhaps Merlin became a one-time sensation after killing Weiss and Bluebird, but it was only for those Spell Casters below the Fourth-level.

For a Sixth-level Spell Caster like Oden, he was a powerful Spell Caster wherever he went, so he would naturally not take Merlin's so-called "achievements" to heart. Even his Snake Elder assassination plot this time did not take Merlin into consideration.

Yet, it was precisely Merlin, the one person "disregarded" by Oden, who had killed Wolf Girl Jelena!

"You three, stop him!"

Oden's face turned blue. He brought four people with him but now Wolf Girl Jelena was dead. Not only was Jelena powerful but she was also a girl favored by the fourth prince. Now, she had died under Oden's command. So, even if the mission was successful, upon their return, Oden would still not escape punishment.

Thinking of this, Oden was extremely annoyed deep down. His murderous rage had now been stimulated and the spells he unleashed onto Snake Elder and the others intensified with overwhelming strength. Jelena was already dead. She could not be recovered, but the task at hand must be accomplished.

The only thing Oden could do now was to successfully complete the mission in order to alleviate his punishment from the fourth prince.

Snake Elder had already revealed his true form and the top of the head was full of intricate runes. However, in the face of Oden's overwhelming spell attacks, he began to lose his drive. The runes had begun to flash and he seemed unable to persist any longer.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Three figures quickly formed a circle, surrounding Merlin in the middle.

These three Spell Casters were all of the Fifth-level. They glared at Merlin covetously. After all, it was Jelena's body on the ground. They did not think they were a match for Jelena's strength, so naturally they would not take Merlin lightly.

Merlin glanced at Snake Elder and the others. He found that their situation was already extremely perilous. If Merlin waited until Oden finished off Snake Elder and then went back to deal with him, he would have a hard time too.

"Flash Wind!"

Merlin took a deep breath, and then his figure quivered a little. In the blink of an eye, he broke through the encirclement of the three Spell Casters. The speed of Flash Wind was ridiculously fast that even after revealing her wolf form coupled with the help of Wind-type spells, Wolf Girl Jelena could barely keep up with Merlin's speed.

As for the others, they could not even lay a finger on Merlin's figure. Merlin also did not want to be held by the three Spell Casters, so he rushed to Ninth Wizard Oden directly!

"Hmph, you're all useless!"

Seeing that Merlin had rushed out of the encirclement and went straight toward him, Oden's face showed a hint of coldness. He then spread his fingers, a trace of chill drifted out and began to spread rapidly.

"Ka-chak! Ka-chak!"

Everything around Wizard Oden was frozen by the ice crystals, and the cold kept on spreading. This was a Sixth-level spell. Even Merlin's Pandora Demon Ability, Fuse Earth and Wizard robe would not spare him.

Yet, Merlin could not go back. Once he retreated, Snake Elder and the others would be utterly finished!

"Come on, Sixth-level Spell Caster! Darkness Vortex!"

Merlin fixed his gaze on Oden, then waved his hand. A huge vortex immediately appeared above Oden's head, just like a black hole. It was indefinitely deep, consuming all Darkness Elements.

This was the third-level spell, Darkness Vortex, deemed to be able to devour all Mind Power. Even for those Spell Casters with immense Mind Power, once caught in Darkness Vortex, their Mind Power would be engulfed, thus falling into an illusion.

In particular, Merlin's Darkness Vortex was also fused with Darkness Heart, bringing the hallucination to greater heights. However, whether or not Wizard Oden could be dragged into the illusion, Merlin was not really sure.

Darkness Vortex itself was one of the most powerful and bizarre Darkness-type spells among all Third-level spells. If Merlin did not have the help of the Matrix, he would never consider constructing Darkness Vortex.

However, once Darkness Vortex was constructed, its power was terrifying too, especially after fusing with Merlin's Darkness Heart where it would become much more terrifying. As soon as Darkness Vortex appeared, it began devouring the Darkness Elements around it wildly, more importantly, the Mind Power of Spell Casters.

Even though Mind Power was invisible, Darkness Vortex could still devour it. Snake Elder and the others, as well as ninth Wizard Oden who was positioned the nearest, were all affected by Darkness Vortex. They felt that their Mind Power was forcibly extracted from their bodies, and the feeling was extremely painful.

"Hum… Hum… Hum…"

Along with the devouring of Darkness Vortex, the original Darkness Vortex which was only one meter in diameter began to expand frantically. In the blink of an eye, it expanded to a diameter of ten meters, even shrouding ninth Wizard Oden within.

"Good opportunity, Fiery Collapse!"

Merlin did not hesitate at all, violently igniting Fiery Collapse. Suddenly, the pale flame instantly turned into a rain of fire, flying toward Darkness Vortex, and swiftly tinting it into a white hue.

This was the first time Merlin had fought with a Sixth-level Spell Caster, and a powerful Sixth-level Spell Caster at that. Ninth Wizard Oden could not be matched by any average Sixth-level Spell Casters.

"Ka-chak! Ka-chak!"

Suddenly, the initially pale flame was frozen by a chill in the blink of an eye. Then, a figure stumbled out of that huge Darkness Vortex, and it was ninth Wizard Oden, whose Mind Power was constantly devoured by Darkness Vortex.

After all, Wizard Oden was a Sixth- level Spell Caster, and his Mind Power was strong. Merlin's Darkness Vortex could only make him fall into an illusion. However, all the while ninth Wizard Oden was plunged into the illusion, he was able to resist the scorch of Fiery Collapse. How frightening!

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Snake Elder and the others quickly approached Merlin. Snake Elder was the most familiar with Oden. He whispered to Merlin, "Wizard Merlin, I didn't expect your Darkness-type spells to have already reached the point that even Oden could be dragged into the illusion for a brief moment. However, it's not easy to kill Oden. Maybe you don't know that ninth Wizard Oden's most powerful trick was his Defensive spells. He has a Pandora Demon Ability too, which has been integrated into his spells. Hence, he's protected by Defensive spells all the time.

"There was a Seventh-level Spell Caster who battled with Oden. In the end, he couldn't even harm him. We want to kill him, but it's really really difficult."

It turned out that Oden had such a brilliant record. He was indeed one of the most powerful Wizards around the fourth prince. Perhaps as the ninth Wizard, Oden's own strength was not really great but he was the most difficult to kill, and not to mention the most annoying one.

"Is that so? The most annoying, and the most difficult to kill Wizard? That may not be true!"

There was a smile at the edge of Merlin's lips with his eyes staring at Oden without the slightest scruple. It might be arduous for the others to kill Oden because he always had protection from spells.

However, Merlin was a Dark Wizard, proficient in Darkness-type spells. Darkness Vortex earlier had already plunged Oden into an illusion. Although it was only for a brief moment, it was enough for Oden to consider it a huge threat.

In the moment he fell into the illusion, he could no longer cast spells. If the illusion lasted a little longer, how long could the spell he cast be maintained?

Oden did not suffer any damage earlier because he had cast Defensive spells and a Pandora Demon Ability. In addition, the time spent in the illusion was very brief so Merlin's Fiery Collapse could not blast through Wizard Oden's Defensive spells and Pandora Demon Ability.

However, Oden was not sure about Merlin's capabilities. If he was stuck in the illusion for a longer time, it would be very dangerous. Therefore, Oden had an indescribable expression on his face. He could not make up his mind.

Merlin's expression looked solemn as he said to Snake Elder, "Snake Elder, the moment I say 'charge' later, you guys will charge together. We'll gather our most powerful hit and kill Oden!"

Merlin did not conceal his words as Oden heard them too. Oden's expression suddenly changed. He had already experienced Darkness Vortex earlier. That feeling when his Mind Power was being devoured and being plunged into an illusion made him extremely wary.

"Very well, Wizard Merlin. We shall meet again in the Imperial City!"

Oden stared deeply into Merlin's eyes. He then led the three other Spell Casters and quickly turned away, fleeing the scene. It did not take long before they vanished entirely into the night.