Major Move

[Thanks to "morgan9777" for the reward! This is the second update; there will be a third, probably around eight tonight! Everyone, cast your recommendation votes, and new readers, don't forget to bookmark after you finish reading!]

Upon hearing this, Merlin carefully sized up the masked man before him. The man was surprisingly knowledgeable about Spellcasters, and he addressed Merlin as "Spellcaster" rather than the "heretic" everyone else used. This showed that he knew Spellcasters very well.

Moreover, what he said was indeed true. With Merlin having mastered only one Zero-Level Spell, he would be unable to deal with hundreds or thousands of arrows.

"Angus, has a mere evil heretic driven you to despair?"

Another masked man turned his gaze toward Merlin. At once, an even more intense white radiance flickered from his greatsword.

"Merlin, be careful. They're all Third-Level Light Swordsmen!"

Old Wilson covered the wound on his abdomen with one hand and weakly warned Merlin.

"Kill!"

One of the masked men saw that Merlin was ignoring him and flew into a rage. The white light on his greatsword stretched nearly a meter long as he slashed directly at Merlin.

"Fireball!"

A chill flashed through Merlin's eyes. With a flick of his hand, two fireballs shot out instantly. This was not Greater Fireball, merely ordinary Fireball. With the mana accumulated in the spell model within Merlin's Sea of Consciousness, he could cast spells more than ten times in succession without pause.

Furthermore, as his mental strength improved, the fireballs he released grew faster and their flight paths became ever more elusive.

"Explode."

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Merlin's lips. The two fireballs detonated thunderously in midair, countless flames erupting forth as violent fire power swallowed the masked man whole.

The masked man screamed miserably amid the flames. A scorched, foul stench could even be smelled from his body.

The fireballs released by Fireball were incredibly hot, capable of melting refined iron. How could a mere Third-Level Light Swordsman withstand them?

After a few agonized cries, the man collapsed to the ground and went completely still.

"Qu Luo!"

The remaining Angus and Lei Luo both shouted. At the same time, the white radiance around them surged instantly. They split into two directions and charged at Merlin.

Merlin shook his head slightly. Back when he faced Loren, he had been in a miserable state. But now, with a mere raise of his hand, he could kill an equally powerful Third-Level Elemental Swordsman. Besides his greater familiarity with wielding a Spellcaster's power, there was an even more important reason: his mental strength had improved by leaps and bounds, allowing him to control spells with far greater precision.

Thus, the instant the two men moved, Merlin had already noticed. Without hesitation, he instantly cast Greater Fireball.

"Buzzz."

A huge fireball floated in the air, dense fire elements compressed to their utmost limit. The entire fireball appeared somewhat unstable.

"Explode."

Merlin did not hesitate. He immediately detonated the fireball. The enormous fireball kicked up a massive shockwave, while its violent force slammed fiercely into Angus and Lei Luo.

Their movements stalled slightly before they felt the immense impact of the fireball's explosion. Specks of flame scattered in every direction alongside it.

Though they were only tiny sparks, this was Fireball. Even the smallest flame was formed from countless compressed fire elements, making it terrifyingly powerful. A slight touch would leave a bloody hole.

However, Angus and Lei Luo were both Third-Level Light Swordsmen and could barely withstand the assault of the scattered flames. Still, the powerful shockwave from the exploding fireball injured them both.

Merlin had no intention of stopping there. One Greater Fireball had already wounded Angus and Lei Luo, so he cast Fireball twice more. Fist-sized fireballs silently drifted toward the two men like ghosts.

"Bang! Bang!"

One fireball pierced straight through Lei Luo's head, burning away half of it.

The other fireball was actually blocked by Angus with his arm. The fireball's terrifying heat pierced straight through one of Angus's arms, yet he endured the excruciating pain, flipped onto his horse, and immediately fled backward.

"Trying to run? Too late!"

Naturally, Merlin would not let Angus escape. Though Angus was fast, the Fireball Merlin cast was faster still. Another fireball whistled toward Angus and crashed heavily into his armor.

That thin layer of light armor failed to offer even the slightest resistance and was pierced straight through by the fireball, which blasted a bowl-sized bloody hole in Angus's back.

Angus fell directly from his horse and lay still as well.

All three Third-Level Light Swordsmen were dead. Seeing their three leaders slain, the bandits had long since fallen into utter chaos. Countless people howled themselves hoarse as they tried to retreat.

Commander Pula seized the opportunity and led the several hundred remaining knights of the territory in a fierce charge. Before long, dense corpses covered the area around the castle—at least five hundred of them.

Merlin did not continue the pursuit. He helped the wounded Old Wilson into the castle to lie down, then directed the castle servants to begin clearing away the corpses outside.

Half an hour later, Pula returned to the territory with numerous knights. He hurried into the castle and reported to Old Wilson, "My lord Baron, those bandits have been driven off. They've been routed like a landslide, and they likely won't be able to threaten the territory again for some time."

Old Wilson's face was somewhat pale, but he still struggled to sit up. In an icy tone, he said, "Were there any prisoners?"

Pula nodded, then had several knights bring more than a dozen injured prisoners into the hall. They all knelt before Old Wilson.

Old Wilson narrowed his eyes slightly and swept his gaze over the dozen or so prisoners. Then he said in a deep voice, "Speak. What exactly is the Church plotting?"

The prisoners looked at one another before cautiously replying, "My lord Baron, we are not members of the Church. We are bandits from the border between the Black Moon Kingdom and the Bright Kingdom. A year ago, our leader was killed by the Church's Guardian Swordsmen. Later, we were incorporated into this knight force. Aside from two hundred core members of the Church, everyone else is actually a bandit. So we don't know what schemes the Church has."

"But we heard that the Church is making a major move this time. The Church will act in Gran City, Blackwater City, and Lute City."

After speaking, the prisoners carefully watched Old Wilson, their eyes full of pleading.

"Drag them out. Kill them all!"

Old Wilson's face turned ashen, his tone incomparably cold. Pula then took the dozen or so prisoners outside and had every one of them executed.

"Merlin, we must return to Blackwater City as quickly as possible!"

Old Wilson raised his head. A grave expression appeared on his exhausted face as he spoke in a low voice.