This Veron who stood before him gave Merlin an eerie feeling. He could also detect a trace of dangerous aura from him.

"Who are you?"

Veron took a step forward. His plain-looking demeanor had immediately transformed into a frightening presence, and his special force field shrouded Merlin without warning.

Boom!

An invisible pressure made Merlin feel like his entire body was restrained. He was unable to move forward quickly.

Fortunately, Merlin had already covered himself with spells, and the Wizard Heart had emerged behind him at once. Merlin's expression also turned icy when Veron attacked him without any warning.

"Ice Seal."

Merlin stretched out a finger. The surrounding area was frozen into ice which was extending at high speed towards Veron. The frigid draught had overwhelmed the three Sanctuary Contenders.

Chi! Chi! Chi!

Dissimilar to when Merlin was facing off the three Sanctuary Contenders, Merlin's spell did not manage to touch Veron before it seemed to have encountered a powerful and invisible force. The ice crystals shattered and were unable to trap Veron.

At the same time, the surrounding pressure seemed to have turned chaotic. An incredible force was trying to tear apart every layer of defensive spells Merlin had on his body.

"There's not just one special force field?"

Merlin's eyebrows rose. He did not expect Veron to be so powerful. Moreover, Veron did not only have a single type of force field but a combination of force fields each attributing to a different ability. It was unpredictable, and a three- or four-Maxim Legend might not be able to resist his attacks.

Only someone like Merlin, who had consolidated a groundbreakingly powerful Wizard Heart comparable to a six-Maxim Great Legend and was second only to an Honored Legend, was a match for him in combat.

"Darkness Cover!"

Merlin waved his hand again and the sky turned dark. Darkness blocked out the rays of light and turned the entire sky pitch-black. This was no ordinary darkness. Even one's Mind Power could not penetrate it. It was also filled with lethal attacks.

"Chaos!"

Veron's long hair swayed despite the stillness in the air. His special force field covered a vast area, including the sky. Hence, the power of his special force field exploded and blew away the endless darkness forcefully.

"Fire!"

Merlin tried to employ various types of spells, but no matter what spell he used, they were disintegrated easily by Veron. At the same time, Veron's force field could also be easily broken down by Merlin's defensive spell.

The two of them began to fight!

This was the first time Merlin had encountered an opponent who was a match for him in terms of power since he became a Great Wizard. As a Great Wizard who was second only to an Honored Legend, Merlin had thought that he would never encounter a worthy opponent anymore aside from someone who was an Honored Legend.

It was unexpected that Veron he had just met had quite a powerful force field too. These twisted, chaotic, and weighted force fields were powerful enough to shatter any spell attack to dust. There was no doubt that Veron was also a powerful existence second only to an Honored Legend.

"This is troublesome. If I don't mobilize the Illusory World or the empire-level warship, I won't be able to defeat Veron!"

Merlin's gaze flickered with hesitation. The situation right now was very clear on the fact that Veron was equally powerful as Merlin. If they were to compete on the basis of stamina, Merlin was unwilling to waste so much of his Magic Power.

"I'm from a foreign world. I'm here for the Ruba's Monument behind you!"

Since Merlin could not defeat him, they might as well work together. Merlin's objective was to obtain the item left behind by Aruba in this world, not to destroy it.

"Ruba's Monument?"

Veron's eyes lit up with interest. Then, the three Sanctuary Contenders gave him a brief introduction on Merlin's identity. Even Veron, a Sanctuary Contender who had lived for god knows how long, was taken completely by surprise.

After a while, he took the initiative to retract his special force field and showed some goodwill.

"Someone from the foreign world, huh? Our space here was really tough to the point we could not break through it, but I have a vague premonition that behind this space is an endless vast world… True enough, I was right. Do you know how to leave the Mobata world?"

Distinctive from the other Sanctuary Contenders, Veron did not seem astonished by Merlin's origin from a foreign world. However, it was all that surprising if one were to think about it. Based on his abilities, it was not impossible for Veron to discern that there was another world behind this space even though he could not rip open space.

"I'm afraid the secret to leaving the Mobata world lies within the secret of Ruba's Monument. You've been here for a long time, have you discovered the secret of Ruba's Monument?"

Merlin did not continue to elaborate on his identity but redirected the conversation to Ruba's Monument.

"Ruba's Monument. Despite knowing that there are secrets hidden within and have been deciphering it for a long time, I'm still unable to decrypt its mystery. Since you are here for the secret inside Ruba's Monument, perhaps you may have an idea?"

Both of them were well-aware that their abilities were evenly matched. Therefore, Veron treated Merlin as an equal. Although he did not say it outright, Veron's meaning was very clear. Should Merlin managed to decipher the secret of Ruba's Monument, both of them would share it. Together, there was nothing they could not solve.

Merlin nodded. Although he did not have any specific ideas as of now, he was sure that there was something special about this place to warrant the sphinx sending him here.

"I'll try."

Merlin walked up to look at the huge Ruba's Monument. There were some carvings of humans on top which appeared to be a set of training drills.

"This carving on top is a set of training drills?" Merlin asked curiously.

Veron nodded. "Yes, it's a set of training drills, but it's the most common and most primitive training drills, so it's not very useful. Many people have tried cultivating this set of training drills, but its effect is quite appalling."

After all, Ruba's Monument had stood here for a very long time. Due to developments over long periods of time, the training drills were constantly updated and many people had invented more powerful training drills.

However, Merlin froze when he read the moves for the training drills. Were these postures not the same as the mysterious relief sculptures he had in his hand?

There were other pictures besides the training drills. These pictures gave Merlin another jolt of shock. They were exactly the same as the one he had seen in the secret place regarding the development of the Glorious Land. Of course, the Mobatans would not understand what it meant.

Merlin was sure that this Ruba's Monument was definitely linked to the master of the secret place, the ever-mysterious Aruba.

"Have you tried shrouding Ruba's Monument with your force field?" Merlin asked Veron as he examined the stone monument carefully.

"Of course I've tried that, but there seems to be no effect. We've tried everything we can but still couldn't discover its mystery. If not for the fact that Ruba's Monument is too miraculous and indestructible, some people might even think that it's merely a prank."

Veron also appeared quite helpless. Everyone knew that Ruba's Monument contained secrets, but no one could decrypt it.

"If even your special force field is useless, then I'll try using my Mind Power. This is a characteristic unique to Spell Casters. If it's as the sphinx guardian said, that Aruba had left something behind in this world, I don't believe it would be unaffected by a Spell Caster's Mind Power."

Merlin knew very well that Aruba would not leave something behind but forbid them to be taken away. It was because no Spell Casters had been here before, so the prerequisite was not fulfilled. Now that he had fulfilled the prerequisite, Merlin wanted to try again.

Hum…

When the Mind Power projected by Merlin touched Ruba's Monument, the white light on the stone monument changed right away. The carvings on the monument also seemed to come alive and became highly animated.

"It's moving, it's really moving. Does this mean that the secret of Ruba's Monument will soon be revealed?"

Veron and the other three Sanctuary Contenders were unbelievably thrilled.

"There's a change!"

Merlin's heart was also bursting with anticipation. He had spent a lot of effort coming to the Mobata world simply to discover what this mysterious Aruba had left behind.

Boom!

Suddenly, Ruba's Monument shook violently. A dark and unfathomable vortex appeared on top of the huge stone monument. It seemed to lead towards a mysterious place.

New words were forming in the Molta language on the monument itself.

"He who seeks to enter this gate must need a Spell Caster's Mind Power and a Sanctuary Contender's blood."

"The fresh blood of a Sanctuary Contender?"

Merlin glanced at Veron. The other Sanctuary Contenders also seemed eager to participate. With the secret of Ruba's Monument at stake, no one was willing to give up the opportunity.

Chi!

Veron was not slow to point a finger at Ruba's Monument. A drop of blood flew out and was quickly absorbed by Ruba's Monument. Similarly, Merlin projected a strand of his Mind Power into Ruba's Monument.

Hum... Hum... Hum...

Subsequently, the pitch-black vortex emitted an even stronger suction which seemed to be pulling Merlin and Veron into it. Both of them did not resist and allowed this suction power to suck them into the vortex.

Swish!

The two figures disappeared in an instant, leaving behind three astonished Sanctuary Contenders.

"They're both gone?"

"They must have gone to search for the secret of Ruba's Monument. Let's try too."

These three Sanctuary Contenders, of course, did not dare to fight Veron. Now that both Merlin and Veron had gone ahead, they also wanted to explore the secret of Ruba's Monument.

Thus, the three of them dripped their blood onto Ruba's Monument. After a while, they realized that it was utterly useless no matter how many drops of blood they dripped onto Ruba's Monument. Ruba's Monument did not change at all.

"Is our blood useless? Or perhaps it's because we don't have that person from the foreign world?"

The three Sanctuary Contenders were disappointed. This was their best chance to discover the secret of Ruba's Monument, yet they missed it.

"We don't know if Sir Veron will be able to discover the secret of Ruba's Monument. If this secret can help the Mobatans overcome our predicament, then it would be the most helpful."

Although the three of them did not manage to enter, Veron did. The secret of Ruba's Monument had plagued the Mobatans for tens of thousands of years. No one knew what the secret actually contained.

Hence, the three of them could only pray for Veron in their hearts. Then, they stood guard before Ruba's Monument. They believed, surely, Veron would return soon.