After sparing Wellington's men, Merlin began to consider, what should his next steps be?

At that point, the Holy Dragon Empire had spiraled out of control. Many places were filled with anarchy, and rebel armies were rampant. The Holy Dragon royal family was completely powerless outside of the Holy Dragon City. They were simply unable to control any other place.

Fortunately, despite the chaos in the Holy Dragon Empire, none of the rebel armies had dared to attack the Holy Dragon City. Therefore, theoretically speaking, the Holy Dragon royal family was still the strongest force. Given sufficient time to recuperate, perhaps the royal family could re-establish their rule over the Holy Dragon Empire.

From this vantage point, there might be merits in supporting the Holy Dragon royal family.

Thus, Merlin decided that his identity as a Phantom member should be retained after careful consideration. In fact, he should join the higher echelons of Phantom. After all, Phantom had been cultivated by the royal family for many years, and far exceeded the limits of Merlin's imagination.

With his identity as a member of Phantom, Merlin would be able to accomplish many things in the Holy Dragon City.

Nevertheless, Merlin would not give up Boulder City easily. In such a chaotic world, what was most important? Undoubtedly, it was power and stronghold. Power, Merlin already possessed. Stronghold, his stronghold could not be in the Holy Dragon City, because it was already the royal family's stronghold.

Thus, Merlin's stronghold could only be established in Boulder City. Fortunately, this used to be the stronghold of the Hilderbrandt clan. Although it was briefly occupied by Blackbat, the Hilderbrandt clan's force still remained. Since Merlin replaced Blackbat as the new ruler of Boulder City, he had received many visits from members of the Hilderbrandt clan.

"With Boulder City as my stronghold, I'll have to establish dominance among the surrounding rebel armies!"

Actually, Merlin had already shaken them to the core. Blackbat's murder was the best form of deterrence. Therefore, Merlin wanted to use his clan's reputation to establish Boulder City as his stronghold. He would rebuild Boulder City and make it his stronghold amidst this chaotic world.

In the future, even if the Holy Dragon Empire collapsed, Merlin would be able to make an objective decision. Moreover, having a stable stronghold was an essential component for the Blood-eye Dragon to achieve full-shift.

Hence, with the help of his clan, Merlin began to train soldiers and recruit those with almighty beast bloodlines. He formed a powerful army and reclaimed the entire city, as well as the places which were previously under Blackbat Militia's control. All of them became subjected under Merlin's personal sphere of influence.

….

Inside a dimly-lit room, there was a man dressed in aristocratic costume. His movement appeared uncharacteristically graceful as he sat on a large chair, his gaze unequivocally calm.

In front of the aristocratic man was a very ordinary person bent on one knee. This was the Phantom investigator who had just rushed back from Boulder City. They had already collected the latest intelligence.

"Minister, Leon already has abilities comparable to a full-shifter. Blackbat died in his hands. He is now aggressively rebuilding Boulder City and expanding his force. It seems like he will be establishing his stronghold in Boulder City."

This man dressed in aristocratic costume was the most powerful existence in Phantom, the mysterious Minister Farron.

Farron looked like a young aristocrat, but in reality, no one knew that he had lived for hundreds of years. He was older and most of the people in Phantom.

"Oh? Leon from the Logistics Team? Interesting. Heroult recommended a talented individual worthy of nurturing. Don't worry, he will come back. With his intelligence, he surely knows that during such tumultuous times, his life would be much better with the support of the royal family. As for Boulder City, it was originally Count Stanwin's territory. Now that Count Stanwin has died, Leon should inherit the title of Count. Boulder City should have belonged to Leon in the first place, so it's not a big deal."

Farron spoke with squinted eyes. His tone was calm, but his expression was indecipherable.

"You may leave. Continue to observe Boulder City."

With that, Farron closed his eyes and relaxed like a true aristocrat.

…

Merlin had just finished soaking in the Nourishment Pond inside the Count's manor in Boulder City.

He had stayed in Boulder City for three months. In the past three months, he guarded Boulder City and personally dealt with a few spies sent by other rebel armies. Since then, none of the rebel army spies dared to enter Boulder City.

Taking advantage of this period, Boulder City also expanded swiftly and eventually gained control over the Blackbat Militia's former territories. With Boulder City at the center, coupled with Merlin's infamous massacre of Blackbat, they soon became a powerful force.

Leveraging on the strength of this force, Merlin also managed to locate many Nourishment Pond materials. Unfortunately, despite using more than a dozen batches of the Nourishment Pond in succession, Merlin still did not manage to achieve the level of a peak Fourth-form shifter.

Ever since Merlin's shifting capabilities achieved Fourth-form, it seemed like the Nourishment Pond formulas ceased to be useful to Merlin. He most probably would not be able to depend solely on these Nourishment Pond formulas to become a full-shifter.

However, in order to achieve peak Fourth-form within a short time, these Nourishment Pond formulas were still somewhat useful. The only drawbacks were the limitations of Boulder City's forces as well as the scarcity of resources. The only reason there were so many Nourishment Pond formulas was due to Blackbat's zealous compilation.

"Time to return to the Holy Dragon City."

Merlin saw that Boulder City was gradually coming under control and was overseen by trusted members of the clan. Furthermore, with Merlin's well-established 'notorious' reputation, no self-preserving rebel army would dare to attack Boulder City. Therefore, it was the right time for Merlin to leave.

However, he made some arrangements before leaving. First was the issue of the women living inside his manor. In order to ensure their safety, Merlin publicly declared the meticulous woman as the butler of his manor.

Second was the clan's affairs. Now that Merlin was the head of the entire Hilderbrandt clan, he would have to select a few trustworthy and influential clan members to manage Boulder City.

Once everything was settled, Merlin quietly departed from Boulder City and headed back to the Holy Dragon City.

…

When Merlin returned to the Holy Dragon City, he sensed that the atmosphere had gotten tenser. There were rumors that an elite army of the Holy Dragon royal family had been dispatched to quell a rebellion, but was instead besieged by rebel armies. Allegedly, the army was still holding on, but the outlook was grim.

With such rumors circulating around, the atmosphere within the city was naturally very tense.

Merlin did not pay much attention to the rumors. If something indeed happened, Phantom would know at once. Nonetheless, the existence of such rumors was a clear indication of the anarchic situation in the Holy Dragon Empire.

At Phantom Headquarters, Merlin was extremely familiar with the place, so he quickly entered. Just as he was preparing to return to the Logistics Team, there was a loud bellow behind him. "Leon!"

"Roar…"

Following the shout, a terrifying dragon roar burst out of Merlin's mouth. His body shifted in an instant and achieved a Fourth-form shift.

His fearsome wings flapped backward fiercely. The power contained in his wings was quite formidable.

"Bang."

There was a muffled sound. Merlin's wings had obviously knocked his opponent into the air. Merlin's face was incredibly thunderous. He was in Phantom Headquarters, yet someone dared to ambush him.

"You're the one who ambushed me?"

Merlin was slightly infuriated. His gaze was incomparably cold as he glared at a voluptuous womanly figure dressed in a bright red bodysuit.