End of the Magic Era

Such a dangerous person had come to visit the Carter Family in person. Goddamn it. If he dared to beat up the leader of the Lodney Family, he certainly wouldn’t be afraid of the Carter Family.

This brutal man had destroyed two huge bandit groups ever since the Gilded Rose started its business. Nothing good ever happened wherever he went. Was he here to deliver the ultimatum to them?

The five elders of the Carter Family were quite uneasy. Their confidence was gone the moment they saw Lin Yun, who gave them such a dangerous feeling that their souls were trembling. More importantly, they couldn’t detect any vibe from him. When they closed their eyes, they weren’t even sure whether or not he was there…

It meant that the man could kill them easily if he wanted to. He probably could beat all of them together using only one hand.

The chief elder gritted his teeth, and said, “Sir Mafa Merlin, the Carter Family is honored by your presence. I wonder if there’s anything we can do for you. We will gladly do whatever we can for you.”

In fact, everybody knew very well why Lin Yun was here…

Lin Yun casually glanced at the chief elder of the Carter Family, who instantly turned pale, and had dripping cold sweat. Even his back had become wet from sweat too.

Lin Yun’s eyes made him feel that he had died once. The man’s cold, emotionless eyes had seen through his body into his soul. His soul seemed stiffened. He could not make use of any of his soul power, and his body turned rigid.

“I received a report today on recent events in League City. Apparently, some bold people have been robbing the Gilded Rose’s customers. I’m not happy about that.

“But that’s alright. My man is already on it. Today, more Universal Cores are available in the Gilded Rose. I believe that the bold guys will definitely take action again.

“My man does not have a good temper. I told him to catch the robbers alive, but I don’t think he can stop himself from breaking their heads. It doesn’t matter. When they dared to go against the Gilded Rose, they were certainly prepared to go to hell…”

Lin Yun spoke casually, yet all the five elders were uneasy as if they were seated on nails. They were all pale, and their cold sweat was dripping.

The elders looked at each other, and all had a strong headache. Not just a headache. They were frightened from the bottom of their hearts…

The chief elder sweated so hard that he almost wanted to leave immediately. Unfortunately, none of the five elders could leave…

Damn it. They were completely screwed. Wolkrie had to be robbing again. Now that Mafa Merlin had personally arrived, any of the men he came with could easily kill Wolkrie.

If they found that Wolkrie was from the Carter Family, then they would be doomed. He would give the Gilded Rose the most perfect excuse. Considering how domineering Mafa Merlin was, he certainly wouldn’t let them go so easily. It was possible that he would raze the Carter Family to the ground like how he dealt with the bandits…

“Huh, elders, are you uncomfortable?”

Lin Yun looked at the Carter Family’s elders, who were all sweating and pale as if they were gravely sick.

The chief elder of the Carter Family managed a smile.

“Sir Merlin, no need to worry. We only encountered a problem during our magic study. We’ll be fine in a couple of days…

“Sir Merlin, have you come to League City just for that audacious robber?”

Lin Yun shook his head and heaved a sigh.

“Of course not. I wouldn’t waste my time on the trip if it were just for such trivia.

“It’s just that I’m concerned about the safety problems in League City, and I need someone to help look after the Gilded Rose. The Carter Family is one of the two families qualified for the job in League City.

“I thought that the Carter Family was more suitable, so I came here first.”

Hearing that, the elders’ eyes widened and mouths opened, yet they couldn’t utter a word. They’d thought of many possibilities, but this wasn’t one of them.

They’d thought that the Gilded Rose might attack them, or demand compensation. However, they didn’t expect that Lin Yun would try to get a vassal family…

Thinking about that, the elders seemed quite reluctant. The Carter Family’s miseries were also partly due to the fact that it didn’t have powerful supporters. As a pure mage family, it didn’t want to attach itself to anyone else, but preferred to grow independently. That was why its life had always been hard.

The second elder seemed infuriated, and was about to say anything, but the chief elder was quick enough to stop him.

“Sir Mafa Merlin, this whole thing is too big for us. Can you let us discuss it for a moment…”

Lin Yun nodded.

“Alright, discuss it. Don’t bother me.”

After that, Lin Yun walked out of the meeting room. As a result, the elders were unable to leave the room. They all blushed, and had to stay in the meeting room, however unwilling they were.

“What do we do? He wants to swallow the Carter Family. Also, we cannot inform Wolkrie anymore…”

All the three elders were worried. They were completely at a loss about what to do.

The second elder snorted coldly.

“He wants the Carter Family to become the Gilded Rose’s vassal family? Not a chance. The Carter Family has never been anyone’s vassal family ever since it was founded!”

“The Gilded Rose must know that Wolkrie is behind the robberies in League City, and that we support him. If we don’t surrender to the Gilded Rose, I’m afraid that our family will be destroyed…”

The second elder was still sullen and grim.

“The Carter Family has existed in the Odin Kingdom for years anyway. However powerful and wealthy the Gilded Rose is, it’s just an outsider. It’s fine if the Gilded Rose destroys bandits, but if it dares to destroy the Carter Family, the other forces of the Odin Kingdom won’t let go of the opportunity to deal with the Gilded Rose. It’s a perfect excuse!”

The great elder heaved a sigh.

“Stop fighting. You’re not thinking thoroughly enough. We only have two options. Firstly, we become the Gilded Rose’s vassal family, and Wolkrie will be dead for sure. Whether he is killed or he luckily escapes, we must deny our support for him, and we might even have to banish him from the family.

“If we continue supporting Wolkrie, it will be a perfect excuse for the Gilded Rose to destroy us.

“Also, the Carter Family isn’t unique in League City. The other family who’s as powerful as us has no conflicts with the Gilded Rose. As long as the Gilded Rose pays them well, they’ll be happy to deal with us for the Gilded Rose.

“With the Gilded Rose’s support, the Carter Family will soon fall even if the former doesn’t do anything openly.

“We have to become the Gilded Rose’s vassal family…”

After the chief elder said that, everybody fell silent. After a few minutes, the third elder finally managed a smile.

“In fact, it isn’t a terrible thing to become the Gilded Rose’s vassal family. At least, we’ll have sufficient resources when we train the young descendants. We’ll get a lot of resources for ourselves too. Our family will be more wealthy and powerful.

“Also, considering the Gilded Rose’s trend of development, it will surely grow into a huge enterprise in a few years. It’s lucky enough that the Gilded Rose didn’t attack us directly. We’re in no position to decline its offer…”

All the elders heaved a sigh. They all knew what they should choose.

Lin Yun came in again. Then, the chief elder of the Carter Family bowed at Lin Yun.

“Sir Merlin, on behalf of the Carter Family, I pledge loyalty to you. The Carter Family is now the Gilded Rose’s vassal family.”

Lin Yun stared at them casually in silence. It was not until they were all sweating that he finally took out a contract, which was made of the best materials and constructed by Lord Shawn himself. Such contracts were generally not sold in the Gilded Rose at all.

Only the closest partners could pay a fortune for one or two of them.

Lin Yun drew a rune, and landed it on the contract. A lot of terms and conditions surfaced. Then, Lin Yun left a magic signature at the end of the contract.

Reading the contract, the chief elder put on a bitter smile, and the other elders felt bitter too.

The contents of the contract weren’t too crazy, but they were still the best terms that the Carter family had ever seen. They were much better than the best conditions that the people who came to hire the family offered earlier.

However, the cost of betrayal was terrifying too. As long as any member of the Carter Family betrayed the Gilded Rose or Lin Yun, their magic foundation, including their mana whirlpool and their runes, would all collapse.

The stronger the traitor was, the more badly they would be punished. The Heaven Rank experts would lose all their foundation. Even their souls would be torn apart into pieces.

Apart from the cost of betrayal, the rest of the terms were actually quite friendly. It was impossible to look back now. All the five elders left their magic signatures on the contract.

The contract was established, and the beast hide it was written upon rolled, and turned into light that disappeared into Lin Yun’s body and the five elders’.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Merlin.”

The five elders greeted him obediently.

After taking care of the Carter Family, Lin Yun didn’t bother anything else. He simply asked the Carter Family to send their talented descendants to the Gilded Rose to receive teaching. It was one of the benefits in the contract. The Gilded Rose would help teach the Carter Family’s talented juniors.

However, the five elders of the Carter Family didn’t feel happy at all. If the talented descendants that were destined to master the power of their family one day grew up in the Gilded Rose, no brainwashing would be needed. After two generations, the Carter Family would be the Gilded Rose’s loyal vassal family even without the contract…

Leaving a bunch of resources, Lin Yun said goodbye to the Carter Family. When he saw Xiuban again, Xiuban was quite angry.

“Sir Merlin, I waited for two hours until that obnoxious guy showed up. However, he turned out to be as slippery as a cunning maggot. I chased him for an hour, but he escaped in the end. I don’t know where he is right now…”

Lin Yun shook his head unconcernedly.

“Don’t bother him. Let’s just head back.”

On the other hand, Wolkrie crawled out of the toilet in a brothel in League City. His face was pale, and his arm had been twisted into a weird shape. His staff had fallen apart. In this smelly place, Wolkrie didn’t dare to use any of his mana. He simply held his breath, and endured the smell.

He quietly left the brothel through the back door, and observed the surroundings with fear for minutes. Finally, he gritted his teeth and cast a detection spell. Then, he was finally relieved.

Damn it, that stupid beastman who had no brains but only brawn must be from the Gilded Rose. Although he was stupid, he was terribly strong. He broke Wolkrie’s fusion shield with one knock. If Wolkrie hadn’t reacted fast enough, he would’ve been reduced to a pulp of meat…

That terrifying man was not just strong but also fearless in battle. He was not restrained at all even though he was fighting in League City.

Wolkrie ran to the neighborhood of ordinary people, but that man followed and attacked him without caring about collateral damage. If Wolkrie hadn’t hidden himself in this filthy toilet in the brothel, he would’ve been killed…

That stupid beastman who had nothing but brawn in his head couldn’t possibly know that he was hiding here…

Just wait for it! He would definitely get back at them after he returned!

The old men of his family got so much money from him. It was time they played their part. The Gilded Rose’s branch in League City had to be shut. Or rather, none of the Gilded Rose’s branches should be let open any longer!

Wolkrie returned to the Carter Family, heavily wounded. However, what the five elders said the moment they met dumbfounded him…

“The Carter Family has announced it became the Gilded Rose’s vassal family.”

Wolkrie was astounded. The five elders were casual. Having controlled the Carter Family long enough, they were sophisticated and decisive. They didn’t feel sorry or embarrassed to face Wolkrie at all.

“Wolkrie, it’s been so many years. You’ve caused countless troubles to the Carter Family since you were born. However, none of the troubles you caused is as bad as this one.”

“We have to obey the Gilded Rose to avoid the family crisis. Just go. Leave the Carter Family.”

“You are a Carter, after all. We didn’t rat you out, but we won’t offer you any protection or help. This is the last thing we can do for you.”

With fury glittering in his eyes, Wolkrie pointed at the elders, his lungs almost bursting because of anger.

“You old bastards, I gave half of the purple gold I earned to you, yet you’re doing this now that I’m in trouble—”

Before Wolkrie could finish, the second elder sneered, and interrupted him, “Wolkrie, you’ve only given us no more than 10,000,000 purple gold in total. You think that’s enough for the entire Carter Family to die with you?”

“We never told anyone where you were, which was already a great risk. We could’ve been destroyed because of you, yet you want us to die with you?”

“Idiot, it’s quite lucky for you to return in one piece. The person who hunted you was only Mafa Merlin’s weakest Heaven Rank subordinate. If you continue this, you probably won’t be lucky enough to survive the next hunt.”

“From now on, the Carter Family is no longer related to you. You have 10 minutes to leave League City because in 10 minutes, we will have to enforce the contract and ensure the safety in League City.”

Wolkrie blushed in fury. He had been a cunning and shameless mobster ever since he became a mage apprentice. However, he didn’t know what to do in this situation at all.

Absolute power could crush any scheme. As long as he dared to show up in public, he would immediately be hunted. Without the Carter Family’s support, he didn’t have a position in League City anymore. Furthermore, as soon as the Carter Family released the news, a lot of people would come for trouble…

If he stayed here, by the time the news spread out, it would be hard to tell whether or not he could see the sun the next day.

Wolkrie kicked open the meeting room’s door, and stormed off. However, after he left the house, he instinctively became prudent. He had grown up from a little mobster to a Heaven Rank expert without being beaten to death mainly not because of the Carter Family’s protection, but due to his shameless cleverness.

Who could’ve thought that a Heaven Rank expert was hiding in the toilet of a common brothel?

Leaving League City quietly, Wolkrie was at a loss. He looked back at League City in regret. He simply hid himself not far away from League City, and waited for the next turn of events.

However, only three days later, someone discovered Wolkrie, whose notoriety was well known in League City. Even half of the ordinary people who lived in the city could recognize him.

Then, the news was sent to the Carter Family’s rival family. Two Heaven Rank experts personally came to hunt Wolkrie down. Wolkrie, who had been heavily wounded in the first place, was badly wounded again. He didn’t dare to concoct any more schemes, and had to keep his distance from League City.

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