"Whoosh."

Merlin's figure appeared once more in the main foyer of Ozmu Headquarters.

"I'm finally back!"

Merlin finally felt the familiar force once more. Before he could take a good look at his surroundings, frightening Elemental fluctuations suddenly exploded. For an instant, the power of runes and spells filled the air, thundering toward Merlin.

Faced with this attack that was on par with a preeminent Great Wizard, practically right behind Kleis' power, Merlin simply appeared incomparably calm. He stood his ground silently, a spell armor emerging around him.

"Boom."

A deafening crash shook the entire foyer, and thick smoke and dust immediately submerged Merlin.

"This bit of power is lacking too much…"

A calm voice could be heard. From the smoke and dust, Merlin's figure appeared once again, still completely unharmed.

At the moment, there were two Great Wizards with vigorous Elemental fluctuations standing before Merlin. A quick inspection revealed that they were peak Great Wizards. Behind these two were twenty or so Great Wizards.

It was evident that the previous attack which blanketed the entire venue was led by these two.

"If I'm not wrong, you two must be Great Wizard Savaron and Great Wizard Terian, right?"

Merlin looked at these two peak Great Wizards, and instantly knew their identities. In the inner chamber, he did not find Great Wizard Savaron and Great Wizard Terian. Unexpectedly, they had already come out and had set up an ambush at the entrance of the inner chamber, waiting for Merlin to appear.

If it was an average preeminent Great Wizard, even one like Kleis, they would have been caught unprepared to deal with this sudden sneak attack. However, whom they had met was Merlin, who was even more terrifying than a civilization-level genius. This small attack was nothing at all and was easily blocked.

"That's right, Merlin, how bold you are to enter the headquarters of my Ozmu. You've gotten help from these two, I suppose?"

Great Wizard Savaron waved his hand promptly, bringing Wizard Tamo and Wizard Gilles before Merlin. Clearly, these two had been captured by Great Wizard Savaron and Great Wizard Terian.

Merlin spoke in a level tone. "Both of you Wizards already know that Kleis is dead, right? Even Kleis had died at my hands. You two think you can stop me?"

Although Merlin's tone was even, it roused bursts of ripples in the hearts of these Spell Casters. They were all Great Wizards of Ozmu, so naturally, they knew how strong the First Elder, Kleis, really was.

However, Kleis had been killed by Merlin now. Furthermore, their previous ambush did not do anything at all. In truth, some of these Great Wizards were considering other plans now.

A great change came over the faces of Great Wizard Savaron and Great Wizard Terian, and they roared in unison, "Be silent! What does Kleis count for? He's no more than a prodigy we nurtured. The foundation of Ozmu is far beyond what you've imagined."

"Foundation? If you're referring to the subspace of the Origin Lord, I've already gone in and passed two challenges! Perhaps both of you should recognize these puppets!"

A smirk twisted in the corner of Merlin's mouth. Thereafter, ignoring the startled expressions of those two, he immediately took out the twenty-two robots from his Spatial Ring.

"Swish swish swish."

The robots appeared in the main foyer one after another. In particular, the nine robots at the front had bodies which were pitch-black and icy cold, inducing a tremble of dread in everyone.

"What are these? Alchemy puppets?"

"These alchemy puppets are really strange. No matter how strong these puppets are, what use can they be?"

"Among our Ozmu, even the best Great Alchemists can only transfigure puppets on par with Ninth-level Spell Casters at most. As for the few puppets left behind from three thousand years ago, they might reach the level of a Great Wizard, but how rare are those? How scary can these puppets be?"

Many of Ozmu's Great Wizards did not seem to understand much about the robots Merlin had summoned. They assumed these to be alchemy puppets. Even if these puppets were on par with Great Wizards, what use could they be in front of so many Great Wizards?

However, compared to the rest, Great Wizard Savaron and Great Wizard Terian truly understood these "puppets". They knew very clearly that this was Ozmu's greatest secret – the puppets within the Origin Lord's subspace.

In particular, they were well acquainted with those nine puppets. The had also tried to pass the first challenge prepared by the Origin Lord but suffered a crushing defeat. Only Kleis had managed to pass.

They knew very well that each of these "puppets" was on par with a preeminent Great Wizard. One was enough to cause Ozmu a great headache, to say nothing about nine of them.

Moreover, there were the other ordinary robots, which were formidable existences not inferior to an average Great Wizard. Such a fearsome force would be able to sweep away the entire Spell Caster world. Even if Kleis was not dead, this force was enough to be a threat to him.

"You've actually brought the puppets from the subspace. How is that possible?"

Great Wizard Savaron's voice trembled as he spoke. The subspace of the Origin Lord was Ozmu's greatest secret. Back then, they had searched all over for genius Spell Casters, even using Pandora Demon Abilities as a lure in order to get prodigious Wizards to join Ozmu at any cost.

The outstanding ones among these would receive intense nurturing. Once they had reached the level of a peak Great Wizard, they were allowed to enter the subspace left behind by the Origin Lord, to attempt the challenges he had left behind.

Nevertheless, within so many years, there had only been Kleis within Ozmu who had succeeded in passing the first test.

"There's nothing that's impossible. What Kleis couldn't do, I can do! Both of you, I'll give you some time to consider. Can you withstand the attack of just these twenty-two puppets alone?"

After Merlin had finished speaking, he said nothing else, and lightly shut his eyes. Behind him, the twenty-two robots stood in silence as well. In an imperceptible manner, a powerful deterring force was causing uneasiness in the hearts of Great Wizard Savaron and Great Wizard Terian.

"Wizard Savaron, what do we do? Kleis is dead, and even the most important secret of Ozmu, the subspace of the Origin Lord, has been discovered. We've already lost our secret… More importantly, this Merlin is strong enough, even stronger than Kleis. Perhaps, he can ultimately pass the three challenges of the Origin Lord. If so, won't our wish of many years be fulfilled at that point?"

Great Wizard Terian spoke in a low voice. The depths of his heart were in fact rather stirred up. At this moment, in terms of power, forget about Ozmu. Even in the entire Spell Caster world, no one was a match for Merlin. Merlin's unification of the entire Spell Caster world was an unstoppable force. There was nothing which could prevent it.

Moreover, their greatest wish from the start was that someone would be able to pass the three challenges and obtain the benefits. They were unable to pass the tests, so they absorbed some genius Spell Casters and slowly nurtured them. Finally, they would send those to attempt the challenge, hoping to profit in some ways.

The strongest genius they had nurtured was Kleis, yet Merlin had accomplished what Kleis could not!

"So, what do you think?"

After an hour, Merlin opened his eyes, his calm gaze fixing upon Wizard Savaron and Wizard Terian. His gaze was serene enough but it was also abnormally piercing, causing Wizard Savaron and Wizard Terian to become nervous.

"We're willing to join the Spell Caster Alliance!"

Kleis had died. Ozmu no longer had any alternatives unless they were willing to clash against Merlin. However, the outcome of that would be certain.

"Very well!"

Merlin grinned. Behind him, an apparition of a Wizard Heart of incomparable size materialized. Although it was merely an apparition, its fearsome force practically suffocated these Great Wizards.

Before this Wizard Heart, the Wizard Hearts they had condensed seemed so minuscule, unable to put up the slightest resistance. This was Merlin's true, frightening capability, which far surpassed what these Great Wizards had imagined.

After exposing his abilities slightly, Merlin had indeed received great results. He nodded in satisfaction. Currently, Ozmu was the only faction in the entire southern Spell Caster world. With them joining, the Spell Caster Alliance had undergone an enormous expansion, showing the first real sign of swallowing the entire Spell Caster world.

However, this was not enough. What Merlin wanted was the entire Spell Caster world, to combine everyone thoroughly as one force, even if it was temporary!

"Wizard Tamo, Wizard Gilles, Wizard Savaron, Wizard Terian – four of you take care of things in the southern Spell Caster world for now. Everything remains as before but you're not allowed to kill other Spell Casters. You're now a member of the Spell Caster Alliance. All Spell Casters are members of this alliance. Spread this message. I'll still have to pay a visit to the northern Spell Casters. Those large spell casters' organizations must've made up their minds by now…"

Merlin made simple arrangements for the southern Spell Caster world, then brought only the three-headed dragon with him. Even Yulais was left with Ozmu.

"Let's go, we still need to make one difficult trip. To the northern Spell Caster world!"

Merlin gently stroked the head of the three-headed dragon. Thereafter, not only was the dragon not angered but it extended its necks cheerfully instead, then spread its wings and soared into the sky in great excitement, heading toward the distant northern Spell Caster world.

…

At the Polosi River, winter had just passed. The thick layer of ice above the current had not melted completely when the Holy Light Empire made a comeback, beginning to attack the troops of the Kingdom of Blackmoon on the other side of the river.

Over a million troops were stationed on both riverbanks. The Kingdom of Blackmoon had nearly gathered all its primary forces, totaling four hundred and fifty thousand. They were faced with the Holy Light Empire which was even scarier, with troops of six hundred thousand.

Both sides had battled fiercely here for a few months. The soil on both banks was tainted by blood so that it was now dark violet in color. Even in this chilly weather, a stink pervaded the air.

"Your Majesty, the morale of the troops has been declining. They're feeling despair toward this war. Your arrival will surely reinvigorate their fighting spirit, and the final victory shall belong to us!"

In the Kingdom of Blackmoon's camp, a dignified, middle-aged man, wearing a purple gold crown, listened to reports from his subordinates with a wooden expression.

Most of these reports were updates of the battle, unfavorable ones at that. This caused the eighth prince, who had just arrived at the front lines, ready to fight to the death, to turn extremely gloomy.

"Marshal Cassely, be rest assured. I've brought the purple gold crown with me this time, along with the elders from the royal family, and the strongest Wizards of the kingdom. The Holy Light Empire can forget about crossing the Polosi River!"

Marshal Cassely raised his head to glance at the determined king, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to say something. In the end, he did not say anything, and swiftly withdrew from the king's tent.

The king stood up and wordlessly arrived at the riverbank. When he looked up, he could easily see the situation of the Holy Light Empire over at the other side. Wisps of white light assembled just like a gigantic umbrella, shielding in mid-air.

The soldiers of the Holy Light Empire, even the lowliest ones, were under the protection of this white light. It was obvious that they were ready to fight and filled with courage!

"Faith, is it? I don't know if the God of Light you worship really exists but as long as I'm here, I'll never let them set foot in this free country, never!"

The eighth prince stared at the reflection in the icy surface, of the purple gold crown worn on his head. This was his last support!