"Get lost."

Merlin knocked the bald man into the air. Then, without turning his head, he left Mission Hall.

"Hehe, do you understand his abilities now? Do you dare to provoke someone like him? He's a formidable individual who just killed Blackbat. How unexpected for such a formidable individual to emerge from the Logistics Team."

A sneer rang out amongst the crowd which revealed Merlin's true identity.

"He killed Blackbat? No wonder he's so intimidating. In that case, I don't resent my defeat!"

The bald man was surprisingly willing to accept defeat. His opponent was a powerful existence who was capable of vanquishing a full-shifter, so his defeat was to be expected.

However, based on the formidable abilities wielded by Merlin, he was most probably of a high-tier almighty beast bloodline.

Merlin did not concern himself. Instead, he headed straight to the Logistics Team. After all, he was technically still a member of the Logistics Team.

The moment he arrived at the Logistics Team, Belle stood up with a smile. She spoke to Merlin, "Wow, here comes our hero. Leon, you really kept your abilities well-hidden. I can't believe you killed both Orsato and Blackbat. Tsk, someone of your caliber shouldn't stay in the Logistics Team. The Minister has issued orders for you to join the Combat Team with immediate effect, as Deputy Team Leader!"

"The Minister?"

Although Merlin knew that the person-in-charge of Phantom was a highly mysterious Minister, the Minister had never made an appearance, nor did Merlin ever met him throughout his time in Phantom.

The Minister of Phantom was one of the prominent figureheads of the entire Holy Dragon City and was extremely respected by the royal family. Anyone who was not yet a full-shifter did not qualify to even speak to him.

However this time, Merlin's defeat over Blackbat had proven his abilities. Thus, Merlin was now qualified to be assessed by the Minister.

"The Deputy Team Leader of the Combat Team? What is that about?"

Merlin frowned. How did this position of deputy team leader suddenly come about?

"It's the Minister's orders. He transferred you to the Combat Team as their Deputy Team Leader."

Suddenly, the long-absent Lotus appeared. Her face was still unfriendly, though there was a subtle reaction when she saw Merlin.

After all, Merlin's battle outcome had been absolutely astonishing. Orsato was of a mid-tier almighty beast bloodline and a Fourth-form shifter, whereas Blackbat was an even more impressive full-shifter.

Upon becoming a full-shifter, wherever the individual went, he or she would be considered a leader or an overlord. Even within Phantom, the full-shifters were prominent leaders.

Even though Lotus was the Team Leader of the Logistics Team, she had not achieved a full-shift. Of course, it was also because the Logistics Team did not engage in combat, so they did not require any powerful abilities.

However, the Team Leaders of the Investigation Team, Combat Team, and even the Research Team were all full-shifter existences. They were the most prominent existences beneath the Minister. On the contrary, positions such as Deputy Commander sounded more patronizing.

As for the Minister, he was the figurehead of the entire Holy Dragon City. He controlled a colossal force, which was Phantom. His position was highly envied.

It was a positive development now that Merlin had been noticed by the mysterious Minister. Moreover, he designated Merlin to helm the position as Deputy Team Leader of the Combat Team. This position was not easily achievable by ordinary people. The number of resources available to Merlin would be unimaginable.

Most of the team members in the Combat Team were crazily passionate and remarkably powerful. All of them possessed fearsome combat skills. So, this opportunity represented the mysterious Minister's high opinion of Merlin.

"Team Leader Lotus, should I go to the Combat Team now then?"

"Yes, go now. Those guys in the Combat Team are no saints."

With that, Lotus left. She had only taken care of Merlin for a while on Heroult's behalf, but unexpectedly, Merlin was powerful beyond her imagination.

"Belle, has there been any news about Deputy Commander Heroult?"

Merlin looked at Lotus' mannerisms and formed an educated guess in his heart. Most probably, something bad had happened to Heroult.

Sure enough, Belle shook her head. "A while ago, we received news about the Deputy Commander. Deputy Commander Heroult's mission failed, and the entire squad perished…"

Merlin fell silent. He finally understood why Lotus appeared so lethargic and dispassionate. It turned out that Heroult had met with a catastrophe.

Regarding Heroult, Merlin owed him some gratitude. Without Heroult's help, Merlin would not have succeeded in parasitism, and would not have been able to proceed smoothly in this world, Additionally, Heroult also recruited him into Phantom.

If he ever found out who killed Heroult, Merlin was willing to avenge his death.

"Very well, I'll report to the Combat Team."

Merlin did not rush to redeem his Nourishment Pond materials but instead headed to the Combat Team first. The Combat Team had always been the strongest department in Phantom. It consisted of very fierce individuals.

Since Merlin had never really met these people, he made his way to the Combat Team.

The Combat Team was situated very far apart from the Logistics Team. Merlin asked for directions along the way and finally arrived at the Combat Team. Inside the room, there was a huge platform. Two Fourth-form shifters were engaged in an intense fight.

However, both of them were of low-tier almighty beast bloodlines. While the sparring was intense, their abilities were not very strong. Merlin lost interest after a while.

Following that, Merlin continued to move. There were a few other platforms. The contenders on these platforms were much stronger. They were mostly of mid-tier almighty beast bloodlines. Some of them were Third-form shifters, and some were Fourth-form shifters.

Once a person possessing a mid-tier almighty beast bloodline achieved Fourth-form shifter, he or she was considered a strong contender. Even in the Combat Team, they constituted the backbone strength.

Nonetheless, Merlin was not very interested. Despite walking around for a long time now, no one bothered to question him. It seemed like everyone was just wildly engrossed with sparring.

"I guess this is truly the Combat Team. The atmosphere is vastly different."

Merlin looked around. On most of the platforms, there were only skirmishes. Very few people were sitting idly. Even those on the platform who saw Merlin only took a casual glance at him and continued their sparring.

Therefore, after entering this place for such a long time, no one had yet to greet Merlin.

"What do you think? The members of the Combat Team are quite good, right? But I guess you won't be too interested in this bunch."

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice spoke behind Merlin. Merlin jumped slightly. There was someone who snuck up to him unnoticed.

Quickly, he turned around and saw a plain-looking but very fair-skinned man. His skin was so fair that he resembled a woman.

"Who are you?" Merlin asked grudgingly, keeping his vigilance against the person who appeared out of nowhere.

The fair-skinned man crooked into a smile, revealing pearly white teeth. "Deputy Team Leader Leon, would you like to practice? I've not practiced for a very long time. Even in the Combat Team, it's not easy to come across a strong contender who is comparable to a full-shifter."

The moment this man's lips parted into a grin, a sign of danger rose in Merlin's heart.