Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Whimper."

The three-headed monster was immediately trapped by Merlin's net of spells, and it was struggling non-stop.

Nevertheless, Merlin pointed, and the net burst out in flames, causing the three-headed monster to struggle even more violently. Furthermore, after the flames, came the ice crystals, which instantly froze the monster in place.

The three-headed monster had truly experienced the "nine heavens of fire and ice".

"Are you well behaved now?"

Merlin looked at the three-headed monster, and made a pitying expression. He knew that this monster was intelligent. Now that it knew of Merlin's "prowess", which was not something it could contend against, it dared not struggle recklessly.

"t.i.tus, what do I do next?"

Merlin immediately asked t.i.tus who was in the Illusory World.

"Using all of your Mind Power, it's best if you can get this monster to fall into your illusion. Thereafter, implant your own will and make this monster your slave! You're now unable to grasp the Illusory Heart. You can't even brush its side, so you can only use this method."

t.i.tus appeared rather helpless too. This was merely an attempt for Merlin to understand the Illusory Heart better. After all, not even t.i.tus could guarantee that Merlin would be able to grasp the Illusory Heart.

"Right, implant my will?"

Merlin lightly shut his eyes, then mobilize his Mind Power. The tremendous Mind Power gradually shrouded the three-headed monster. With the current state of his Hallucinating spell, it was a piece of cake to trap a monster of average intelligence like this in an illusion.

Very soon, the three-headed monster fell into the illusion, and its eyes turned blank.

Merlin drew in a deep breath, and in the boundless illusion, began to forcibly implant his will into the three-headed monster.

"You're my slave!"

No matter which illusion the three-headed monster was in, the depths of its heart reverberated with this voice again and again in an endless and inexhaustible manner. After a long moment, the three-headed monster began to tremble all over, and its face even became rather sinister.

"You're my slave!"

"You're my slave!"

"You're my slave!"

Merlin's voice rang incessantly in the depths of the three-headed monster's heart. This was the first time Merlin was forcefully implanting his willpower into the three-headed monster.

"Roar…"

The three-headed monster abruptly opened its eyes. Not only did it come out of the illusion but it also began to struggle fiercely once more. Its body expanded by a whole size, wis.h.i.+ng to escape from Merlin's net of spells through brute force.

However, the Four-Elemental Wizard Heart was not something the three-headed monster, which was merely equivalent to a Great Wizard, could escape from. Although the three-headed monster struggled non-stop, it was ultimately unable to escape the net.

"I've failed!"

Still, Merlin shook his head. He had relied on t.i.tus' method to forcibly implant his willpower into the three-headed monster's mind but he failed in the end. Merlin could not even imagine how scary the Illusory Heart was to be able to instantly control an opponent's soul.

"t.i.tus, your method was of no use. I'll have to use my own ways!"

A cold smirk flitted across Merlin's lips, following which he gripped his five fingers together. That net of spells instantly shrank, enclosing the three-headed monster firmly within.

Moreover, as Merlin continued to shrink the net, the surrounding force seemed almost about to crush the three-headed monster to pieces. It could not help but make "whimpering" noises as a plea.

"I know you can understand me. I can spare you but you must follow me from now on!"

Merlin spoke to the three-headed monster firmly. The three-headed monster hesitated but did not nod in the end. Its expression indicated that it was struggling internally.

Merlin was not worried, and instead, shrank the net of spells even more. At that point, the three-headed monster felt an even stronger pressure as if it would be turned into a lump of minced meat by the net in the next second.

The three-headed monster immediately nodded at Merlin, emitting "mewling" sounds. A monster like this, once it had surrendered, was even more useful than signing a contract.

"Very well!"

Merlin felt a burst of joy, and the net of spells was withdrawn. The three-headed monster was honest and guileless, bowing its three heads to express its allegiance to Merlin.

"t.i.tus, are you seeing this? My way is more effective than yours!"

Merlin laughed as he spoke.

"So what? It's merely a monster on par with a Great Wizard."

t.i.tus' voice was cold. He was rather annoyed too. He had asked Merlin to implant his will into the mind of the three-headed monster, not for the sake of controlling the monster but for Merlin to gain another level of understanding of the Illusory Heart.

However, this had failed. t.i.tus did not know when Merlin would be able to grasp the Illusory Heart. If Merlin could not do so, then he could forget about creating an Illusory World. t.i.tus would only exist forever as an illusory strand of Mind Power, unable to be "resurrected".

Merlin paid no mind to t.i.tus. He valued Hallucinating spells highly but if he was ultimately unable to grasp them, he would not force it. After all, the Mind Power system was incomplete. This in itself was a dangerous path. A moment of carelessness could lead to unbearable consequences.

On the other hand, the Spell Caster system was perfected long ago, able to produce ultimate existences. As long as Merlin's Hallucinating spell could not be upgraded, he would focus his efforts on simulating spell fusion.

Looking at the three-headed monster who was still bowing its head to maintain its subservience, Merlin instantly flew atop the three-headed monster's back, and lightly patted one of the ma.s.sive heads.

"Let's go, fly back to the riverbank first!"

The three-headed monster roared to the sky, following which it flapped its wings and promptly flew to the riverbank.

"Phew…"

On the riverbank, Old Quincy watched with mouth agape as, across the distant frozen ice, a giant shadow flew toward him. It was that frightening three-headed monster but this monster was now subdued by that mysterious pa.s.senger.

Even so, Old Quincy felt a s.h.i.+ver of fear as he looked at the enormous shape in the sky. Even his horse was so scared that its knees buckled as it wore an uneasy expression.

The three-headed monster quickly landed on the ground, and those three heads glared coldly at Old Quincy.

"Take the elemental crystal stones and leave quickly. You don't have to bring me to Frost City anymore. Just point me in the general direction, and I'll go myself!"

Merlin's voice cut through the air, and Old Quincy hurriedly replied, "Follow the Triad River all the way north, and you'll see Frost City!"

Merlin bobbed his head, then softly patted that ma.s.sive, wart-like head of the three-headed monster, booming in a deep voice, "Did you hear that? Onward to Frost City!"

The three-headed monster extended its wings, and leaped into the air. It stretched its wings and reached the sky in a few flaps, following the direction pointed out by Old Quincy, flying north.

Old Quincy only recovered his senses then. After thinking about it in detail, he realized that to be able to subdue the three-headed monster, this pa.s.senger he had fetched in his carriage must be a powerful Spell Caster.

"How lucky to have met a powerful Wizard, and also get so many elemental crystal stones. I can head back, and won't have to risk my life in Subzero Snowfield anymore."

A smile appeared on Old Quincy's face, and he immediately repaired his carriage. Driving the carriage, he slowly headed back to the returning path…

In the bustling Frost City, Spell Casters entered and exited everywhere but most of them were Spell Casters who wore an unusual, long Wizard robe, seemingly occupying a special position in Frost City.

Spell Casters who were often in Frost City would know that these special Wizards were the Spell Casters of the Dark Magic Region.

Initially, Subzero Snowfield was relatively unorganized and disorderly. There had never been any large-sized faction that was able to establish itself in Subzero Snowfield. However, ever since a few decades ago, everything changed after the arrival of the Dark Magic Region.

The Dark Magic Region, upon arriving at Subzero Snowfield, relied upon its extensive resources to quickly built Frost City. Moreover, it was completely open, allowing free trade in Frost City.

Furthermore, the Dark Magic Region had handed out some precious items unique to spell casters' organizations, so it swiftly attracted most Spell Casters of Subzero Snowfield. There were even some Spell Casters from beyond Subzero Snowfield who came here just for Frost City.

With that, Frost City rapidly developed into the sole large-sized city in Subzero Snowfield. With the Dark Magic Region overseeing things, it was very secure.

It was just that, after the chaos of the entire Spell Caster world, some other Spell Caster factions had entered Subzero Snowfield to form their own groups as well. They secretly fought against the Dark Magic Region for the position of governing Subzero Snowfield.

Currently, Frost City was in a castle, and many Spell Casters, with long faces and worried hearts, reported toward the grand elder Wizard Seymour regarding recent significant developments in Subzero Snowfield.

"Wizard Seymour, lately, Sleet Fort has absorbed another small-sized Spell Caster faction at Thule in Subzero Snowfield. Sleet Fort's powers would increase somewhat, and they've recently clashed against some disciples of our Dark Magic Region who were outside."

"Wizard Seymour, Bloodlion Tower is forcing our hand as well. They're trying to completely occupy the Triad River. In that manner, they would press on closer to our Frost City. It's really terrible!"

"Wizard Seymour, there's Ozmu as well who's on the move once again. After taking over the southern Spell Caster world, they've completely broken off with the northern Spell Caster world. A war may break out at any moment."

With all these matters put together, the Spell Casters had to make their reports for over two hours.

"Alright, the most urgent matter is to deal with Sleet Fort and Bloodlion Tower. The rest are small problems for now, so we can forget about them first!"

Wizard Seymour opened his eyes, and the hall was filled with a serious mood.

Currently, Wizard Seymour was the Dark Magic Region's sole support. Back when the Dark Magic Region had just arrived at Subzero Snowfield, it only had three Eighth-level Spell Casters, one of whom was Wizard Seymour. Although an Eighth-level Wizard was powerful in Subzero Snowfield, they were unable to become an overlord-grade faction.

However, in merely sixteen years, Wizard Seymour had a breakthrough and became a Ninth-level Spell Caster. He had become the strongest contender of the Dark Magic Region. It was under Wizard Seymour's support that the Dark Magic Region was able to expand Frost City to its present glory.

"Sleet Fort and Bloodlion Tower are really pus.h.i.+ng it. It's only because they have Ninth-level Spell Casters as well, and there are even rumors that there are more than one of those in Sleet Fort…"

Before he could finish, a commotion erupted outside the great hall, and he could hear the sounds of terrified, panicked cries among the hubbub.

"What's happening outside?"

Wizard Seymour's face turned dark as he asked softly.

"Bang."

The huge doors were viciously kicked open. Usually, this was considered impolite, and no one would dare to do so but the one who came in was an Eight-level Wizard of the Dark Magic Region.

"Wizard Seymour, it's bad. Come take a look outside. A three-headed monster is heading toward our Frost City!"

"Swoosh."

The faces of all the Spell Casters in the hall, including the Ninth-level Wizard Seymour, instantly turned deathly pale. All at once, everyone was looking at Wizard Seymour.

At a moment like this, only Wizard Seymour could decide what to do!