This was Phantom Headquarters, but someone had ambushed him without any rhyme or reason. Furthermore, Merlin could clearly sense that his opponent intended to kill him. There was no mercy in her attacks and they were intended to kill.

Fortunately, Merlin had already achieved a Fourth-form shift. This woman who had ambushed him was definitely of a mid-tier almighty beast bloodline and was also a Fourth-form shifter. Such abilities were definitely distinctive of a strong contender in every sense.

"Who are you? Why did you ambush me?"

Merlin turned around and glared icily at this woman.

"A Fourth-form shifter… Not bad, now I'll admit that you've killed Orsato and Blackbat. A high-tier almighty beast, you're indeed formidable. You're somewhat qualified to be our deputy team leader. My name is Iza, I'm sure we'll meet again soon, hehe…"

Iza actually stood up. At first, she had been grievously injured, but now she looked completely unharmed. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from Merlin's view.

"Deputy team leader? Iza?"

Merlin was overwhelmed with incomprehension. Regardless, that woman was quite surprising. While that attack was not Merlin's strongest one, he was a Fourth-form shifter who was similar to full-shifters of low-tier almighty beast bloodlines. That meant that a single hit from him contained indescribable power. That woman should have been grievously injured, yet she was able to stand up and walk away as if nothing happened. It was utterly perplexing.

However, since this was Phantom Headquarters, unbelievable things could happen at any time. For example, Merlin was able to kill the full-shifter, Blackbat despite only being a Third-from shifter back then. In the eyes of others, was his feat inconceivable?

Merlin did not waste any time and walked directly towards Mission Hall. He had completed his mission, so there were a lot of contribution points to redeem.

Upon arriving at Mission Hall, Merlin noticed that the place was quite packed. Many members from the Investigation Team and the Combat Team had returned to submit their missions. Most of them wore joyful expressions. It seemed like they received a substantial reward.

"Submitting the Python Army mission!"

Merlin walked up to the few people who were in charge of assigning and redeeming missions. One of the middle-age men slowly raised his head and uttered, "Name."

"Leon, Logistics Team!"

As the man checked through the records, a look of astonishment appeared on his face.

"Leon; killed Orsato and disbanded the Python Army. Then, in Boulder City, killed the full-shifter Blackbat, defeated the Blackbat Militia and occupied Boulder City."

Everything Merlin did was detailed in these records. This also indirectly demonstrated the prowess of Phantom's intelligence. Within the borders of the Holy Dragon mainland, nothing could escape Phantom's attention.

If that was the case, why would the royal family allow chaos on such large-scale to erupt across the Great Holy Dragon Land? With Phantom's extensive intelligence, it should have been child's play to nip the uprising right at the beginning, yet the royal family remained impassive.

Merlin did not know the reason why, but according to his theory, there must be some secret agenda involved. It was not something privy to a low-level person like him.

"So, how is it? Am I considered to have completed my mission?" Merlin asked calmly.

"Of course you've completed your mission. You disbanded the Python Army, the reward for that mission is five hundred contribution points. Although you did not accept the mission relating to the Blackbat Militia, the royal family has issued specific instructions, so that anyone who manages to destroy any rebel army forces, with or without accepting a mission, will be rewarded accordingly. Since you've destroyed the Blackbat Militia, which was led by a full-shifter, your reward is one thousand contribution points. The total contribution points you receive today is one thousand five hundred contribution points!"

"Boom".

As soon as the man finished speaking, the entire Mission Hall descended into pin-drop silence. Merlin could even sense multiple looks of greed assessing his abilities.

A thousand five hundred contribution points. This was a huge fortune that even the death-defying Combat Team could never hope to receive, yet Merlin was able to earn it so easily.

Of course, it was not actually easy. After all, his opponent was still a full-shifter and a strong contender. How would someone like that be easy to kill?

"A thousand five hundred contribution points, what did he do?"

"What kind of mission can earn you one thousand five hundred contribution points?"

Many people exchanged looks but no one recognized Merlin.

Suddenly, a burly man with a bald head and a fierce look walked up to Merlin.

"Hey, kid, tell me, what mission did you complete to earn one thousand five hundred points?"

This bald, burly man clearly had an arrogant tone of voice. His origin was of a mid-tier almighty beast bloodline, among one of the more powerful types, and he had achieved Fourth-form shift. His hand had shed the blood of numerous strong contenders, so naturally, he did not hold this unassuming-looking Merlin in high regard.

Merlin turned around. He could sense the aura of bloodshed around this bald man. This was an aura that could only be displayed after killing countless people.

"Scram."

Merlin's single word resounded clearly. With that, he ignored the bald man.

"Transfer the contribution points to my identity card."

Everyone in Phantom carried an identity card, which they could use to redeem some precious materials. After all, the main reason that Phantom members worked so hard was because of the vast resources provided by the royal family. Such a benefit was unavailable anywhere else.

For example, how many precious items did Merlin obtain from killing Orsato and Blackbat? Although there were some gold coins and the like, they could not buy the things Merlin wanted.

On the other hand, the contribution points Merlin received from killing them would allow him to redeem the resources he wanted in Phantom Headquarters. This was Phantom's advantage.

"Kid, killing might be prohibited in Phantom Headquarters, but there's no rule against teaching someone a lesson. At most, I'll just lose some contribution points!"

The bald man was furious at the fact that he was ignored by Merlin. With a malicious laugh, his arm shapeshifted and grabbed Merlin.

Merlin was a little annoyed. He even wondered whether he had already been fixated upon by the will of this world, just like when he was rejected by the Void Zone's will. Everything he did was met with obstacles and misfortune.

The current situation was similar. The moment he returned to Phantom Headquarters, he inexplicably encountered the ambush of a woman. Then, when he came to Mission Hall, he was unwittingly harassed by this bald man, which resulted in a confrontation.

If not for the fact that Merlin had been extra cautious, and did not reveal the Illusory World at all, he would really have thought that he had been targeted by the will of the Almighty Beast world.

Merlin, who was extremely annoyed, naturally did not hold back. His arm also shapeshifted in an instant and swung.

"Bang."

There was a dull thud. This was the impact between two raw powers. The bald man suddenly revealed a look of agony. Distinct 'snap, crackle, pop' sounds could be heard from his arm. It appeared that his bones had shattered.

"How is this possible? You're stronger than me?"

The bald man was most probably of a pure strength-type almighty beast bloodline. When he saw that Merlin was also a Fourth-form shifter, but was much stronger than him, his face was filled with incomprehension.