Everyone was horrified, some even screaming. Unas raised his sword to strike, and the others, as if waking from a dream, also raised their weapons and stabbed at the stone coffin.
But no matter how they attacked, the blue shield remained unmoved, and the young man in the stone coffin actually sat up despite the attacks.
His long slumber took him a few seconds to make out his surroundings. He stretched his stiff neck and said in a strained voice, "Don't waste your energy. This is Absolute Defense Shield, my last resort."
There is no such thing as absolute defense in this world, Unas knew this perfectly well, but at this moment they were indeed helpless against the blue shield.
"Ashina, go out and bring Huoye and Namelia in!"
Now the only solution is to find a knowledgeable spellcaster. Unas drew his Silver Hammer and swung it down hard, blasting Merlin and his shield back into the coffin. Then, he and the Night Elves quickly lifted the coffin lid and closed it again.
But it was too late. A purple light shot out from the crack in the coffin. Unas quickly raised his shield to block, but found that the purple light did not attack anyone. Instead, it disappeared into the ceiling in a flash.
The scene seemed familiar; he had just seen it on the first floor—when the puppet butler destroyed the Maze Magic Mirror, a flash of light also appeared, seemingly a unique spellcasting phenomenon of communication magic.
Merlin was sending a message to someone else?
The young man's voice came from the stone coffin again, "Everyone, why are you attacking me? Have you been misled? Do you know who I am?"
Unas asked tentatively, "Who are you?"
"Merlin Firestone, anyone with even a slight familiarity with the history of mages should have heard of my name."
Unas said with no small amount of sarcasm, "That's right, you're exactly the one we've been looking for, the great human mage hero of the Troll Wars."
"Hehe, that's good. You should know I'm definitely not a bad person. No matter who you are or what you've heard, the fact is I was betrayed by my degenerate student and am now imprisoned. If you rescue me, I will reward you handsomely. Please don't doubt the savings of a mage who has lived for over a thousand years; it will definitely surprise you."
Even with Absolute Defense Shield, Merlin couldn't escape from the Anti-Magic Room surrounded by people, so he came up with the idea of bribing them.
"Legends and reality are always different, and heroes can fall into demonic ways," Unas introduced himself. "I am Unas, a paladin of the Silver Dawn. I have no great grudge against you, but you should have seen these elves beside me just now. Doesn't that remind you of anything?"
The eyes of the Watchers were already filled with rage. The culprits who had bought, sold, plundered, and cruelly murdered their people were right in front of them. They wished they could devour their enemies alive from the coffins.
"What do you mean? Paladin, I have no hatred towards the Night Elves. My first magical mentors were the High Elves of Quel'Thalas, and we had a very close relationship. I don't know what you're talking about."
If Unas hadn't clearly understood Gunsel's memories, Unas might have actually been deceived. "You used various races for live experiments, especially the Night Elves. Hundreds of their people have disappeared in recent years. Do you still dare to deny it?"
"What?! Is that so? I know, it must be the evil deeds of my fallen apprentice Gunsel. I was trapped here by him years ago, how could I be related to the disappearance of the Night Elves?" Merlin vehemently denied it, blaming everything on Gunsel.
"Then explain why you've become younger. Isn't this the effect of the Resurrection Spell you've researched by any means necessary?"
"I was just a test subject, Paladin. The information you received is wrong. Gunsel is the sinner you are looking for."
"You're the first, he's the second, you two demons should go to hell."
At this moment, Natasha and Huoye finally arrived. Unas, unwilling to waste any more words with Merlin, asked the two for advice on how to break through the Absolute Defense Shield.
Huoye said, "There is a way, but we can't cast spells in the Anti-Magic Room, so we have to carry him out."
However, Merlin would regain his fighting strength after leaving. Although a mage's strength is not necessarily related to age, a legendary hero battle mage who has lived for thousands of years would be very difficult to deal with, so Unas rejected the idea.
"Then we can only wait. He can't maintain this state in the Anti-Magic Room for long; the magic shield will disappear on its own sooner or later."
Unas nodded. Then they could only wait. Anyway, there was nothing else urgent. He ordered everyone to surround the stone coffin tightly to prevent the other party from playing any tricks.
Merlin, of course, wouldn't sit idly by and wait to be killed. He said threateningly, "Paladins, you've really made a mistake. Not only will you regret killing me, but you'll also face enormous trouble in the future."
Unas didn't respond; he didn't accept this kind of cryptic threat. Although the others were curious, they all remained silent seeing their commander's reaction.
Seeing that no one paid him any attention, Merlin remained silent for a moment before saying, "I'll tell you a secret: I'm a member of the Dalaran Council of Guardians."
The Council of Guardians is a secret organization established by the highest levels of Dalaran. Its purpose is to eliminate demons and protect the world. Only the most skilled mages in combat can join it, but with the disappearance of the last spearhead (the strongest), its strength has been greatly weakened.
This was clearly a real secret; only Unas, a former gamer, and the erudite Huoye knew of the Council of Guardians's existence. Everyone else looked completely bewildered.
"So what?" Huoye couldn't help but say, "What you've done is no different from what a demon has done. By the standards of a guardian, you should destroy yourself."
"That's just what you think is true. I just sent a distress message to my colleagues. If I die unjustly at your hands, they will definitely avenge me. You will face the retaliation of more than a dozen of the most powerful Dalaran mages, which practically means making an enemy of the entire Dalaran!"
Merlin had just sent a signal to the puppet butler, but Talo had been "shut down" and was unable to respond.
"Let me tell you something else: your images have also been sent out. None of the people present will escape. So, think it over carefully. I'm not asking for immediate release. You can imprison me here and investigate thoroughly. You'll then find that what I said is true, Gunsel is your real enemy."
Everyone just saw the purple light disappear into the ceiling, so Merlin's words are very likely true.
The room fell eerily silent. Everyone reacted to Merlin's threat with a range of emotions: some fear, some doubt, some hatred. Even Unas harbored a slight suspicion: Could Merlin truly be innocent?