"Retreat!"

Merlin did not hesitate in the slightest. In an incomparably nimble movement, he leaped back instantly. His physical attributes were far superior to an average Spell Caster's, and he reacted fast, too. In a leap, he had quickly put a good distance between him and the tall, thin man in the crowd.

In addition, while he was leaping backward, Merlin had cast Flash Wind. In the blink of an eye, Merlin's speed was greatly boosted once more.

"Seamless Net, bind!"

The tall, thin man in the crowd did not seem concerned about how fast Merlin was. In the instant he raised his hand lightly, streams of Wind Element rapidly converged.

"Hoo… Hoo… Hoo…"

Wild gusts of wind quickly formed into a large invisible net. Merlin was just fleeing backward when he had to stop in a hurry. If he had gone back just a bit more and touched the net of wind, he would have been crushed into pieces immediately.

This was a Sixth-level Wind-type spell. Its twisting power was unparalleled and had binding properties as well. No matter how fast Merlin was, it would not matter!

"Darkness Vortex, engulf!"

Merlin drew in a deep breath and knew that he could not escape now. Thus, he did not hesitate and stretched out his fingers. Under the gleaming moonlight, a pitch-black vortex opened like a large mouth.

"Chi-chi-chi."

A formidable pulling force grew in Darkness Vortex, attempting to suck away the tall, thin man's Mind Power while causing powerful illusive effects as well.

The figure of the tall, thin man could not help but pause. However, following that, Mind Power fluctuations burst from him even more fiercely.

"Boom!"

This Mind Power fluctuation was like a tsunami as it swelled up violently. It was so powerful that even Merlin's Darkness Vortex was defeated instantly.

This Mind Power was too strong to the point where even a Darkness-type spell like Darkness Vortex was unable to withstand it. After all, it was only a Hallucinating spell, and any Mind Power that was formidable enough could dispel it quickly.

"Hmm? What powerful Mind Power, I'm sure it's at the peak of the Seventh-level! Who are you really?"

Merlin trembled deep inside. All this while his Darkness-type spells had been invincible and almost no one was able to withstand them. Even powerful ninth Wizard Oden was previously frightened away by his Darkness-type spell.

However, faced with this mysterious Spell Caster now, Darkness Vortex was of no use at all, being dispelled so easily.

The mysterious Wizard raised his head and looked at Merlin, saying icily, "I'm the seventh Wizard, Els!"

"It's the fourth prince!"

In fact, Merlin had already guessed this, based on how such a powerful Spell Caster had been sent out in the Imperial City. In addition, Merlin had just arrived in the Imperial City. Other than facing off against the ninth Wizard sent by the fourth prince to kill Snake Elder and the rest, Merlin did not know anyone else in the Imperial City. Therefore, it could only be the fourth prince, and this was merely a further confirmation.

The nine core Wizards under the fourth prince were each more powerful than the other. The weakest one among them would be ninth Wizard Oden, and now seventh Wizard Els had been sent to kill him. With a higher rank than Oden, Els was clearly stronger than Oden as well.

However, Merlin could still tell that seventh Wizard Els was ultimately a Sixth-level Spell Caster, only his Mind Power was strong, reaching the peak of the Seventh-level. Merlin's Darkness-type spells would be of no use at all against Els.

Seventh Wizard Els took one step after another, walking toward Merlin leisurely. Wisps of icy coldness emerged around him, and the ground crunched under every step he took. From there, thick ice crystals were formed.

"Your strongest Darkness-type spell is useless against me. Die!"

Els shook his head slightly, after which his eyes flashed with a fierce light. With a push from both his hands, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop to the extreme. Layers of ice crystals appeared in mid-air and the frost quickly sped toward Merlin.

The frost of these ice crystals had powerful might, and it was a Sixth-level spell. Merlin did not dare to use Earth Veil to forcefully resist it. Earth Veil, even with Pandora Demon Ability, Fuse Earth, could only compare to a Fifth-level Defensive spell and was unable to hold back a Sixth-level spell at all.

Thus, Merlin could only evade.

"Flash Wind!"

Merlin's figure shuttled back and forth incessantly in the narrow space. Flash Wind had great speed as well, and it was easy to dodge seventh Wizard Els' spell.

"Heh heh, Seamless Net, confine! Let's see where you'll hide now? You're a goner!"

Seventh Wizard Els, seeing that Merlin was evading constantly, did not panic, but instead began to constrict his Wind-type spell. Its range became more and more narrow, leaving less and less space for Merlin to dodge.

When the Wind-type Binding spell had finished constricting, along with the pincer attack of a few spells, Merlin would have nowhere to hide no matter how fast Flash Wind was.

"Die, die, die!"

Wizard Els' eyes widened and glared, turning a faint blood-red as he appeared extremely worked up. The Wind-type spell encircling Merlin began to constrict at an even greater pace. In a flash, Merlin was trapped in an incomparably narrow space.

Merlin's situation had quickly turned into one of imminent doom!

"Humph. Els, if you think you can kill me like this, you've underestimated me!"

Merlin drew in a deep breath and decided in an instant. He had no way of retreat hence he could only use everything he had in this fight. He still had his greatest power. If he succeeded, it would be enough to greatly injure or even kill seventh Wizard Els!

"Kill!"

Like an arrow fired from a bow, Merlin's entire being flew toward Els in a flash with an astonishing force.

However, Els was not concerned as he knew that Merlin was fighting to the death. Still, he had a Sixth-level Defensive spell, and an Earth-type spell appeared before him instantly, protecting him securely. He did not think that Merlin would be able to break through his Sixth-level spell.

After casting his Earth-type spell, Els raised a hand toward the incoming Merlin. A blast of icy air flew out. This was a Sixth-level spell too, which would immediately freeze Merlin into ice crystals.

Nonetheless, Merlin did not evade this time but dashed face-first into the chill.

"Very well, you're asking for it!"

Els saw that Merlin was still rushing forward recklessly and his heart filled with glee.

"Condensed Fire, kill!"

Merlin stretched out both hands. With a quick flash of firelight, a few balls of white flames the size of fists appeared in his hands.

"Go!"

Merlin pushed forward slightly as his eyes glinted sharply. The few balls of flames quickly flew into the icy air.

"Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!"

In normal conditions, when the flames met the icy air, the ice crystals should turn to water and extinguish the flames, especially since this was a Sixth-level spell of Wizard Els.

However, not only were Merlin's flames unextinguished, but they swelled up in force instead and began burning the surrounding air. The few balls of flames quickly merged together, and their speed increased a few times over as they sped toward Els.

Seventh Wizard Els narrowed his eyes slightly. The moment the balls of white flames had appeared, he was instantly on his guard, sensing danger.

Wizard Els' Mind Power had reached the peak of the Seventh-level. Mind Power was something intangible, and other than stabilizing Spell Models and casting spells, it had miraculous functions – one of which was to assess the level of danger. It was through this that Wizard Els perceived that these balls of flames were not ordinary.

Nonetheless, even if he had sensed the danger, Wizard Els had no way of evading because the balls of flames were far too quick. Moreover, Merlin was too close to him. The flames sped toward him in the blink of an eye, colliding heavily with the Defensive spell on the surface of his body.

Wizard Els was now glad that he had cast a Defensive spell earlier. Otherwise, he would have fallen for Merlin's trick.

"Merlin, is this really the last of your careful scheming? It's only…"

Before Wizard Els could finish speaking, he noticed in horror that the Defensive spell covering him had begun to vibrate violently. Moreover, the small balls of flames abruptly exploded with incomparable strength. The flames spread along the surface and quickly turned into a wide-ranging and furious fire, engulfing him as it began to burn turbulently.

"Boom!"

In an instant, Els' figure was submerged in the white blaze…

"Hoo…"

A breeze passed by, and the white flames gradually began to die out. Merlin's face was slightly pale and drained of blood. Earlier, he had encountered a situation of utmost danger. If Els had not been so careless, it would be hard to tell who would ultimately die.

"My capabilities are still inadequate!"

Merlin grumbled softly. He had initially thought that by constructing the Third-level spell Condensed Fire, in addition to Fiery Collapse as well as Darkness Vortex enhanced by Darkness Heart, his powers could be considered rather formidable.

However, Els' appearance had alerted Merlin. If his opponent had Mind Power that was strong enough and was unafraid of his Darkness-type spells, then his other techniques were not even worth mentioning.

Even though he might be able to explode with the peak strength of a Sixth-level spell, being equipped with Fiery Collapse combined with the Third-level spell Condensed Fire, Merlin himself had no way of defending against Sixth-level spells.

At best, he could only rely upon Flash Wind and dodge constantly. If he encountered a Binding spell, his Flash Wind would be ineffective.

He was only able to kill Els this time by a fluke.

Furthermore, Els was merely the seventh Wizard. Above him, there was still the sixth, the fifth, and so on, Wizards who were more powerful. This time, he had taken advantage of Els' carelessness. Next time, he would not be so lucky.

"Looks like it's time to construct an Earth-type spell as soon as possible. Otherwise, things aren't going to be good!"

Merlin glanced at the ground where Wizard Els had been burned by the flames. There was only a ring left. Merlin grabbed the ring and kept it immediately without taking a closer look.

"Who dares to cast spells in the Imperial City?"

As this was the city center, Law Enforcement Guards hurried over soon enough. Although these Law Enforcement Guards comprised of Elemental Swordsmen, no Spell Caster would dare scoff at these guards.

This was because these Law Enforcement Guards represented the entirety of the Blackmoon royal family!