Too Weak

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Inside Wilson Castle, Mei Xue watched the doors at the basement entrance open. At the first instant, she swung her greatsword down at a figure outside with all her strength.

The greatsword was fast, but the other party seemed even faster, instantly grabbing Mei Xue by the wrist.

"Mei Xue, it's me!"

The familiar voice and familiar figure made Mei Xue freeze slightly. The little fatty Gute behind her was both startled and delighted, saying somewhat exaggeratedly, "Merlin? Haha, I never thought it'd be you. If you'd come any later, we might have been doomed... Oh, right, where's Tilafa?"

Gute looked around but did not see Tilafa. He found it strange; he had personally seen Tilafa lead several hundred knights charging majestically into the castle.

"Gute, why are you here too?"

Merlin looked at the little fatty Gute, a strange expression appearing on his face as well.

The butler hurried forward to explain. "Young Master Merlin, we owe it all to Young Master Gute this time. If he hadn't risked himself to warn us that we were in danger, we might have already been doomed."

This time, Merlin carefully sized Gute up from head to toe before saying solemnly, "Gute, I'm very grateful that you helped Mei Xue at a time like this."

Coming to Wilson Castle to secretly deliver a warning at such a time required tremendous risk. Once discovered, it could even implicate the entire Douglan Family.

The little fatty Gute rubbed his hands repeatedly and hurriedly shook his head, an awkward smile on his face. "It was nothing, really. You're my friend, so how could I not help with something like this? But in the end, I still didn't manage to help much..."

Even now, Gute still felt waves of lingering fear. Not only had he failed to help this time, he had nearly gotten himself killed instead.

Mei Xue finally came back to her senses. She looked Merlin over and, seeing that he was uninjured, quietly let out a breath of relief before asking softly, "Merlin, did you return with Father? Where is Father?"

Merlin answered truthfully, "Father went to the City Lord's Manor. Uncle Pula and I brought men to the castle, and when we found none of your bodies among the corpses inside, we guessed that you had to be in the basement."

Just as he finished speaking, a series of footsteps sounded outside. Commander Pula hurried over and said breathlessly to Merlin, "Young Master Merlin, the enemies in the castle have been cleared out. Only a few scattered knights escaped. It may not be safe here, so we should go to the city gate and wait for the Baron."

Commander Pula was covered in blood. His originally beautiful silver-white armor was now stained with mottled blood, and a pungent stench of blood radiated from his entire body, enough to strike fear into people's hearts.

"Uh... Merlin, Tilafa escaped?"

Gute asked suspiciously.

"Hehe, how could Tilafa possibly escape? Young Master Merlin captured him, and I personally finished him off just now!"

A cruel smile appeared on Pula's face. It was clear that he had used brutal methods, letting Tilafa endure every kind of torture before allowing him to die.

"Merlin captured him?"

Gute stared at Merlin with a strange expression. Only then did he realize that Merlin seemed different somehow; confidence constantly shone from his eyes.

"Let's leave first. We'll go to the city gate and meet up with Father!"

Merlin did not want to explain further, so he led everyone out of Wilson Castle.

However, upon reaching the hall, Mei Xue, Gute, and the others saw corpses strewn across the floor. The thick smell of blood made Mei Xue's face turn pale. The little fatty could still endure it at first, but when he saw Tilafa's corpse, he could no longer bear it and vomited onto the ground in terror.

Tilafa's corpse lay on the ground, the expression on his face twisted almost beyond recognition. Anyone could tell how horrifyingly he had been tortured before his death.

Merlin glanced at Pula, who merely chuckled. He did not feel there was anything wrong with it. Back when he had followed Old Wilson in the Slaughterhouse, he had witnessed scenes a hundred times more brutal than this.

Merlin and the others did not linger any longer and left the castle directly. Many knights were already waiting outside. Merlin swept his gaze over them and found that only a little over sixty remained. Although they had held every advantage in the battle against Tilafa thanks to Merlin's spells, they had still lost nearly forty knights.

Thinking of this, Merlin could not help worrying about Old Wilson. The defenses of the City Lord's Manor had to be much stronger. Over a thousand knights from the City Defense Corps were stationed around it. Even if Old Wilson's heavy-armored knights were formidable, they would likely suffer considerable losses.

"Move, into the city gate."

Merlin immediately led the remaining knights and hurried to the city gate.

After sending Mei Xue, the busty Madam, and the butler into the carriage, Merlin turned to Pula and said, "Uncle Pula, stay here and protect Mei Xue and Madam. I'm worried about Father's situation, so I need to go to the City Lord's Manor immediately."

Pula pondered for a moment. Remembering Merlin's identity as a Spellcaster, he felt Merlin's safety should be assured, so he nodded. "Rest assured, Young Master Merlin. I will protect the young miss and Madam!"

Merlin was not very skilled at riding, so he called over a knight and had him take him to the City Lord's Manor. Just as he was about to leave, Mei Xue stuck her head out of the carriage and said anxiously, "Merlin, what use can you be there? Father has the heavy-armored knights protecting him, so he'll definitely be fine. You'll only get in Father's way if you go."

"Get in the way?"

Merlin gave Mei Xue a strange look. Only then did he remember that Mei Xue and the others still did not know he was a Spellcaster, and a smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he casually pointed at the city gate.

Boom.

A fireball slammed heavily into the city gate, burning a large hole through the already battered gate.

Then, ignoring Mei Xue and the others' shock, Merlin had the knight carry him at full gallop toward the City Lord's Manor.

"This..."

Mei Xue and Gute stared at the large hole in the thick city gate, both dumbstruck and unable to speak for a long while.

At the City Lord's Manor, Old Wilson walked step by step toward Ogdin, the immense aura around him pressing down on everyone like a massive boulder.

"Aura pressure... Have you nearly reached Third-Level Elemental Swordsman?"

Feeling the invisible oppression emanating from Old Wilson, Ogdin said with a bitter smile. Only Elemental Swordsmen above the third level could possibly comprehend "momentum" and use the momentum of the elements to suppress their opponents.

"Wilson! So what if you returned today? The Church replacing the royal house is the irresistible tide of the times. Returning today only means you've come to die! Ogdin, no need to hold back. We are both Second-Level Elemental Swordsmen, so why should we fear him?"

Baron Wengulit swiftly drew his greatsword as well, and an earthy yellow glow radiated from his entire body. It was the light of the earth element; he was a Second-Level Earth Swordsman.

Earth Swordsmen placed the greatest emphasis on defense. Even an ordinary Third-Level Elemental Swordsman would have to go to great lengths and expend much time and effort to defeat a Second-Level Earth Swordsman.

Therefore, Baron Wengulit did not fear Old Wilson. Gripping his sword with both hands, he blocked Old Wilson's path.

Flames radiated from Old Wilson's entire body. When he saw Baron Wengulit, a trace of mockery flashed through his eyes.

Flame Slash!

Old Wilson made his move. With no flourish whatsoever, his sword came straight down from above toward Baron Wengulit. Baron Wengulit had already prepared himself, the earthy yellow glow around his body surging to its utmost limit.

Bang.

Wengulit stared at Old Wilson in disbelief. With just one strike, Old Wilson sent him flying, and he crashed heavily onto the ground.

He had no power to fight back! Baron Wengulit had battled Old Wilson for decades, yet this was the first time he had felt such deep despair.

"You're too weak... Wengulit, you are unworthy of being my opponent!"

Old Wilson merely gave Baron Wengulit, lying on the ground, an indifferent glance before ignoring him and turning his gaze directly toward the city lord.

Ogdin was his opponent!