Chapter 30: Duel

What Old Merlin had was merely a Strong Energy Crystal, which could only be used once. But what the Guild of Magic had was a potion master who could gift away an Awakening Potion, and he had just gifted two at once.

If the previous Awakening Potion had brought Old Merlin disappointment, then this bottle had no doubt left him in despair.

A fully recovered Gerian was enough trouble; now that he had another Awakening Potion in his hands, how could Old Merlin fight him?

Looking at the young mage who was all smiles, Old Merlin was filled with regret.

All along he had been guessing, who exactly was that mysterious pharmacist in the Jarrosus Guild of Magic?

He had once thought it might be Gerian himself, or Kevin who was near his thirties. He had even thought it might be the mages outside the Emerald Tower, those who were well stricken in years but average in their performance. But he had never expected it would be a young mage not even over the age of 20!

To be honest, it would be hard to fault Old Merlin for it. Everyone knew that years of accumulation were required in pharmaceutics. There were no shortcuts in this field, and even more so there were no so-called geniuses. Regardless of how intelligent one was, it was necessary to accumulate experience through the failures in the long quest to seek a way to reach the top.

If he had known that he was the pharmacist, he would have killed him earlier on. He’d not have cared if Gerian had stepped in to help. As long as he killed the pharmacist, the Merlin Family would not have any more rivals in Jarrosus City. Who would care if he hurt himself along with Gerian in that battle? Surely the Merlin Family of today could defeat the Guild of Magic after it lost Gerian.

But now, it was too late to say anything.

Gerian had completely recovered. With his protection, he had no chance to lay his hands on that pharmacist.

For the first time, a dejected expression came across Old Merlin’s face.

He knew that he had lost, and he had lost utterly at that.

From the beginning where he had sent Cromwell to convey their good intentions, until when he finally relied on the Strong Energy Crystal to challenge Gerian.

He had counted every step beforehand, but it just happened that all the steps had gone wrong.

Cromwell being swept out of the Emerald Tower by a Waterfall Strike, Gerian being able to stand again with a bottle of Awakening Potion… All these were because of the young mage named Felic. Unwittingly, this young man had become the most fearful enemy of the Merlin Family, even more so than the most powerful mage of Jarrosus, Gerian.

In order to let the Merlin Family cruise through future crises, they had to first get rid of this terrifying young mage.

Old Merlin took a look at Cromwell, who was standing by his side, and then at Lin Li, who was smiling away. Finally, he clenched his teeth and came to a painful decision.

“I lost.” Old Merlin’s voice was dry, but everyone had heard it clearly.

“Hahahaha…” Gerian laughed with no manners at all, and even the people on the streets could hear his arrogant voice. “Need you say? Go and look in the mirror, you’re beaten all swollen by me…!”

Old Merlin had been mentally prepared before he opened his mouth, but now that he heard what Gerian said, he had the urge to cough up blood. Did this old fatty know what was shame?

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Old Merlin told himself desperately that he had to bear with it!

“Did I lose to you?” Old Merlin shot Gerian a glare, and shifted his focus onto Lin Li. “The one I have lost to is this young pharmacist!”

“What’s the difference?” Gerian laughter was unbelievably pompous. “You have restored your mana anyway. If you’re indignant, you can still fight me and see who is the most powerful mage in Jarrosus City!”

“…” Old Merlin’s face turned purple with rage, and he paid greetings to all 18 generations of Gerian’s family in his heart. A rematch? That son of a watermelon. He had the Awakening potion in his hands now, only a lunatic would fight him once more…

“Forget it, Gerian. I’ll admit that you are the most powerful mage in Jarrosus City.” In order to swallow the fury, Old Merlin had almost chewed his teeth till they bled. He said with tears for every word, “But what’s the point? Even if you are the most powerful mage in Jarrosus City, does this mean you can shield and connive? Everyone has clearly saw Mr Pharmacist here humiliating the heir of the Merlin Family. If the Guild of Magic is unable to give an explanation for this, I will make sure there’s a battle between the two most powerful influences in Jarrosus City!”

“It will not do you any good!” Though Gerian’s tone was tough, his facial expression had changed.

After having the potion master, the Guild of Magic already had the opportunity to rise. So long as they auctioned off the 30 bottles of Arcane Magic Potion, the Guild of Magic would be able to grow to a considerable degree in a short time. By that time, the 11 mage families and six underground forces would all have to adjust their behavior toward the guild.

At this critical point, Gerian would definitely hate to battle it out with the Merlin Family.

Although Gerian was not afraid of the Merlin Family—more so, he had the confidence that he could destroy them with the help in pharmaceutics Lin Li provided—it was not in line with the Guild of Magic’s interests. The conflict between the two most powerful forces would just end up in a Pyrrhic victory, and this would leave room for other powers.

It was for this reason that Gerian had not acted rashly. He had gained a definite upper hand, and if he was willing, he could always rely on one bottle of Awakening Potion to kill Old Merlin and his son outside the Emerald Tower. But what for? The Merlin Family was not the Guild of Magic, their strength came from wealth and authority. Losing Old Merlin, an archmage, would not be fatal to them, yet the revenge that’d come later on would plunge Jarrosus City into chaos.

“For the dignity of the Merlin’s Family, I’d sometimes take on thankless tasks.” Old Merlin had gained the upper hand for the first time in the conversation.

“Dignity?”

“That’s right!” Old Merlin’s expression was serious as he pointed his staff towards the crowd where Lin Li stood. “Since this pharmacist had the guts to humiliate the heir of Merlin Family, then I guess he’d have the guts to take on the humiliated’s challenge!”

Upon hearing these words, Gerian shot Cromwell a peculiar glance and burst out laughing. “This is your so-called dignity? Is it possible you’re still half awake, thinking that the little rascal from your family would have the chance to defeat Mage Felic?”

“All I want is a chance for a fair match. Only the two of them, and no one can interfere!”

“After so long, just for this?” Gerian’s mood lit up immediately. Only then did he understand that the old fellow had threatened him just to let his good-for-nothing son fight it out with Lin Li.

Considering the disparity in strength between the two sides, he had agreed almost readily when he suddenly recalled that Lin Li was not an ordinary member of the Guild of Magic. He did not express his stance immediately, but instead turned to ask Lin Li, “What do you think?”

“We’ll just battle…” Lin Li was somewhat indifferent. Although he wasn’t so optimistic like Gerian, he knew very well Cromwell’s strength. So long as Old Merlin did not interfere, all would be well. No matter what schemes he came up with, it would be hard for Cromwell to pose a threat to him.

After the battle today, he’d had a deeper understanding of magic. Absolute power was definitely more important than skills. Even if one did not have an extraordinary gift, he could rely on brutal power to make a clean sweep off everything, like what Old Merlin had done to him at the beginning.

“A month later, I will invite the leaders of all forces in Jarrosus, they’ll be the witnesses of this duel. Do you think it’s fair enough, Gerian?”

“Doesn’t matter. Your son is a piece of cake anyway…”

“Hmph!” Old Merlin could not keep it in at last. With a flick of his sleeves, he left with Cromwell in the midst of Gerian’s arrogant laughter.