End of the Magic Era

The Thorny Crown didn't say anything, and yet they had done so many things. Lin Yun shook his head, not knowing what to do. He didn't want to get involved with those lunatics, but it seemed that Myers and the other members of the Thorny Crown had made a decision.

However, remembering what the lunatics would do in the future, Lin Yun was still reluctant to accept the Thorny Crown. If they were taught more about bloodline transplantation, they could do even crazier things.

"Just leave the matter aside. They're not malicious."

Faleau left, just as confused as before. Lin Yun was not in the mood for looking for information in the Starry Sky College anymore. There were too many books here, and it wasn't easy to find those he needed.

He only found some uncertain information. The conclusion of the information was that the 73rd God was indeed reborn in the Odin Kingdom, but the specific location was unknown. The only thing that could be confirmed was that he was most likely reborn in the center of the Odin Kingdom.

The Odin Kingdom was generally divided into two parts, the south and the north. The Odin Kingdom was founded on the relics of the Third Dynasty. The royal family and some of the grand nobles were located in the south of the Odin Kingdom, whereas most mages and other nobles lived in the north.

The mages and small nobles weren't as powerful as the forces in the south, but they were numerous and not really that weak. As time went by, the gap between the south and the north shrank. Some mage forces declined, and some rose. At this moment, the south and the north were similar, but the south was more powerful in general.

The center, as the boundary, was home to many weak forces as a buffer. At this moment, everybody had acknowledged that the narrow, long central part of the Odin Kingdom was its weakest part. It was very likely that the 73rd God had been reborn there because it was the safest place, and there would be enough time for him to grow up.

Unfortunately, the central part was only 1,000 kilometers wide, but stretched through the entire Odin Kingdom. It would take hundreds of years to find someone there without knowing their rough location.

Lin Yun heaved a sigh and rubbed his brows. Most of the data and information he read in the past two months was useless. It was extremely difficult to tell whether or not a piece of information was useful.

Although he didn't find the rough location of the 73rd God, he found other information that was useful.

The requirements to build the Shelter Tower were extremely rigorous. Not only were a lot of precious materials needed, but some parts couldn't even be created by human beings. Even the Saint Alchemists could only build replacements of such parts.

However, Lin Yun already knew the ending of an incomplete and imperfect Shelter Tower. The Shelter Tower he was going to make had to be complete and flawless.

Some of the parts had to be made by other races. He had already found the Firerock Dwarves, who weren't easily found in historical records. According to history, the last tribe of the Firerock Dwarves wouldn't be found in Noscent until 10,000 years later. Nobody knew who found the Firerock Dwarves or how they did it.

While the Firerock Dwarves had been found, there were no updates on other races yet. Lin Yun was able to find notes on Cave Gnomes and Red-Skinned Spirit Suckers in an Archmage's journal in the Starry Sky College's library.

The journal was written only 100 years before this day. A century earlier, some people found a channel to the underground world in the center-western part of the Odin Kingdom. The journal's author was one of the finders. They discovered a lot of unique races in the underground world, including the Cave Gnomes and the Red-Skinned Spirit Suckers.

The two races had been living in Noscent since the Nesser Dynasty. At that time, the Cave Gnomes were slaves to the Chromatic Dragons. All of the Chromatic Dragons' nests were built by the Cave Gnomes. At that time, the Cave Gnomes were considered as one of the most inferior races.

They weren't very strong on average, and didn't have any top experts, so they were doomed to be the lowliest slaves. The Red-Skinned Spirit Suckers, on the other hand, were even more miserable. They were just the Chromatic Dragons' food. Young Destruction Black Dragons loved eating the Red-Skinned Spirit Suckers as snacks…

The Cave Gnomes and the Red-Skinned Spirit Suckers were destroyed along with the Nesser Dynasty. Some of them lingered in the Third Dynasty, but they hadn't been spotted in Noscent ever since the middle phase of the Third Dynasty.

The journal's author didn't know the Cave Gnomes or the Red-Skinned Spirit Suckers, and only wrote down their characteristics, not names. Based on the descriptions, Lin Yun easily recognized that they were the Cave Gnomes and the Red-Skinned Spirit Suckers he was looking for.

When the journal was passed to others, nobody was attracted to the descriptions. Or rather, none of the readers knew the Cave Gnomes and the Red-Skinned Spirit Suckers. Even the underground channel was destroyed a couple of years later. Some forces hoped to dig out the channel with a lot of men and resources. Unfortunately, they found nothing but an underground river after digging 1,000 meters deep.

Although Lin Yun had no leads, he knew the rough location of the channel. As long as he found a way to enter the underground world, there would be a good chance that he might find the Cave Gnomes and the Red-Skinned Spirit Suckers.

Unable to retrieve any more useful information, Lin Yun left the Starry Sky College for the hill where Agalon lived, only to find that Agalon hadn't returned to Noscent yet. It had been more than a year since he left. Lin Yun couldn't help but feel worried for him.

Agalon had been in the space battlefield for more than a year, and still hadn't come back yet. He had to be in serious trouble. He should know that Lin Yun was able to return to Noscent even if Lin Yun was lost, but he had lingered for too long on the battlefield. He either was in big trouble, or had something important to do.

The two matters were equally dangerous. Who was the enemy in the space battlefield? It seemed that they had been fighting the enemy for a long time. Unfortunately, Lin Yun didn't find any leads on his last trip. The space behemoth disrupted everything.

Lin Yun shook his head, and left Agalon's hill. Because Agalon wasn't back yet, Lin Yun didn't intend to go to the space battlefield again. He somehow had a feeling of crisis, which wasn't about the Starry Sky College, but about something bigger.

Therefore, it was time to start building the Shelter Tower. It would be best to complete half of the Shelter Tower in 10 years. Most of the materials had been gathered. The others weren't available in Noscent, but he knew where to find them. The races that were needed for the construction were the main problem at this moment.

After Lin Yun returned to the Gilded Rose, Faleau met him with a strange expression.

"Sir Merlin, someone asked me if we want to establish the Gilded Rose's branch in the south of the Odin Kingdom, and said that he could help if we do. However, he can only help us start a branch in Nero City, which is on the southern border of the Odin Kingdom. We can receive Viscount Nero's help there…"

They had hoped to start a branch in the south for a long time, but Faleau didn't seem delighted at all. He seemed uneasy and worried.

"Sir Merlin, who is it that has been helping us? Everybody can tell that someone has been helping the Gilded Rose in secret. Many people think that we have unknown supporters, which has deterred a lot of unfriendly forces.

"A couple of days ago, even the Lodney Family came to me, and hoped to cooperate with us. The terms they offered seemed to indicate that they were sincere.

"Who is it that's helping the Gilded Rose? Sir Merlin, is there anything you can tell me?"

Lin Yun nodded.

"If my guess is correct, this should be the Thorny Crown's doing. Myers, their chief elder, is hoping to work for me along with the Thorny Crown, but I don't want to accept them.

"Those guys are lunatics who study foreign bloodline transplantation. A lot of them are willing to sacrifice everything for greater power. Also, they've been doing similar things as necromancers for their studies. They'll cause great trouble sooner or later.

"More importantly, it is a wrong decision to transplant foreign bloodlines. Under normal circumstances, level 5 of the Heaven Rank is already their limit. They don't have a lot of potential, and there are a lot of side effects, many of which affect their personalities…"

Faleau opened his mouth with a weird expression.

Level 5 of the Heaven Rank means no potential? Sir Merlin is really getting more and more picky. Many mages have spent their entire life trying to become extraordinary lives. Yet, level 5 of the Heaven Rank means no potential in Sir Merlin's eyes…

I'm still a level-9 Archmage right now. Does Sir Merlin think I don't have potential, either?

There are only a few Heaven Rank experts in the entire Gilded Rose. Wait, why do Sir Merlin's words sound so weird? I'm completely baffled.

Faleau was already baffled about what happened in the past months. He was even more baffled at this moment. However, he thought of something at the mention of the Thorny Crown.

"Oh, right, Sir Merlin, when you mentioned Thorny Crown, I thought it sounded familiar. I finally remember that the mage who asked us if we want to start a branch in the south of the Odin Kingdom mentioned it.

"It's getting huge in the south of the Odin Kingdom. This Thorny Crown seems to be eliminating traitors. It's said that some of its members are becoming similar to necromancers…"

Before Faleau finished, Lin Yun realized something. Necromancers were probably the only unwelcome human mages in Noscent. The creatures that were summoned by the undead mages were all summoned from the undead plane. Even the contracted creatures were from the undead plane too. All of them were from the undead plane.

While necromancers made use of the power of death too, the undead creatures they summoned weren't from the undead plane. Rather, they dug out bones of the strong experts, and transformed bodies into undead creatures. Such undead creatures were usually strong.

If an Archmage was lucky enough to find an appropriate body, and transform it into an undead creature, they might get a level-43 or level-44 skeleton mage or lich.

A Heaven Rank necromancer would have an army of Heaven Rank undead creatures if they had enough bodies of strong experts. They didn't have to be as hardworking as the undead mages, who had to contract a promising undead creature and raise it, at all.

Therefore, necromancers were publicly despised in Noscent. The only people that could compare to them were the lunatics inside the Thorny Crown who sold their souls for greater power.

Myers was eliminating the internal lunatics? He had made such a decision, and convinced the other four elders of the Thorny Crown?

Lin Yun was truly surprised. The news had spread in the south of the Odin Kingdom, which meant that the purge had to have been fierce. The Thorny Crown had to have suffered a heavy loss.

This was not like treating wounds, but more like cutting off the hand that had gone wrong. Lin Yun was shocked by Myers' resolve. This incident suggested that history had changed…

The Thorny Crown was at an intersection, and they might not walk onwards on the path of self-destruction anymore.

The Thorny Crown was already on the path of self-destruction. They had to pay an enormous price in order to turn around.

While Lin Yun was considering the question, Myers had come to the Gilded Rose quietly. He seemed exhausted since they met last time. His only eye, which seemed no different from a real eye before, had become crystal. It was a sign of the instability of his transplanted bloodline.

"Sir Merlin, I know what you're worried about. I also discovered that some members of the Thorny Crown had forgotten their vow. After I went back and investigated, I found that the matter was more serious than I thought.

"The Thorny Crown was already on the wrong path. I had to convince the other elders of my decision. The second elder has perished. All the evil beings inside the Thorny Crown have been eliminated.

"We're already ready to follow you, Sir Merlin. We hope that you could reconsider…"

Although Myers was trying to hide, the unusual aura he leaked now and then suggested that he was losing control of his body and his power. His bloodline was very unsteady, and had surely conflicted in the past three days.

After saying that, Myers planned to leave. During the few minutes of his stay here, he was already leaking the aura at a higher and higher frequency.

"Sir Myers, don't worry. Even if you unleash all of your aura in this place, it cannot possibly spread out. Your bloodline is already very unsteady. If you suppress it, it will only become more unsteady."

Myers opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. He also tried to suppress his aura just like before.

Lin Yun shook his head, and took out a bottle of potion that looked like blood. The color of the potion was constantly changing, turning between bloody and transparent. There was also a hint of a golden color that could only be seen when the potion was transparent.

"This is for you. Try not to die. If you die, it will be difficult if I want you to do anything for me."

Myers was thrilled. He accepted the potion, and poured it into his mouth immediately, not caring what it was. Instantly, crystals surfaced on Myers' body, and he was sealed inside the crystals in a few seconds.

The colors on the surface of the crystals were constantly changing. Then, the crystals gradually melted like ice into Myers' body.

A few minutes later, Myers' body was revealed again. His aura became stable, and his crystal-like eye turned as lifelike as a real person's, albeit with a unique pupil color. In his empty right eye socket, crystals gathered into an eyeball, and as if a master sculptor was working on it, the eyeball became round and smooth in only a couple of seconds. Even the bloody streaks in the eyes were real too. Nobody could tell it was fake.

Examining his body, Myers gazed at his hands, so stunned as if he had seen something most unbelievable.

Are they… my hands? My body has completely changed. My transplanted bloodline changed too. The crystal monster's bloodline and mine seem to be melting.

How is it possible that the crystal monster's bloodline can melt into mine? After I took only one bottle of potion, 5% of the crystal monster's bloodline completely melted into mine.

From today on, my bloodline counterattack will be significantly weakened. I will be able to fight with all my strength for at least an hour. This is all because of one bottle of potion!

I knew it. I knew Sir Merlin's understanding of bloodline transplantation is much better than mine or that of anyone else in the Thorny Crown, but it seems that I still underestimated him.