<h4>Chapter 717: Count Mand</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion <strong>Editor: </strong>EndlessFantasy Trantion


    Count Mand was not seriously injured. He stood up slowly. Seeing that Mia and Kevin had returned, he scolded, “Didn’t I send you to Ruba City? Why did youe back?”


    “Father, we left Mand City, but we encountered a hoard of beasts along the way. Fortunately, Sir Merlin saved us in time, otherwise...”


    Kevin trailed off, but Mand already knew that if it were not for this stranger, both Kevin and Mia would be dead.


    Count Mand looked at Merlin who was dressed in strange clothes. He had saved Kevin and Mia from the beasts, and that raptor could even defeat the barbarian leader.


    With Mand’s insight, he naturally realized that this was a great Sanctuary Contender!


    “Sir Merlin, thank you for your generous help. You saved Mand City.”


    Count Mand himself was very strong. Merlin could also feel a life force burning like fire from him. ording to Kevin’s introduction, Count Mand was the strongest stage-eight contender in the world.


    Stage-eight was equivalent to eighth-level Wizards among Spell Casters while stage-nine was equivalent to ninth-level Spell Casters. However, there were no ‘Great Wizards’ in this world, but there were Sanctuary Contenders instead.


    Rumor had it that Sanctuary Contenders had all sorts of magical means. Merlin would like to meet one if he had the opportunity to but now was not the time.


    “Count Mand. I think we should clear the battlefield first.” Merlin said with a smile.


    Right now, Mand City was looked devastating and cries of grief could be heard all around them. There were too many bodies that needed to be cleaned up. After a huge battle, while celebrating their luck at surviving, there were also many who were unable to hide their sadness.


    Mand ordered people to clean up the battlefield and took Merlin and the huge tyrant raptor into Mand City. Fortunately, the barbarians had not reached inside the city, so there was no damage inside.


    This was also the first time Merlin beheld a city in the Mobata world. At first nce, it did not seem particrly special. However, upon a closer look, he noticed some huge differences especially in the buildings of the city. They all had one thing inmon. Without exception, every building had very thick walls.


    Even the ramparts were no exception. The walls were much thicker than those in the Glorious Land and the Void Zone. If one thought about it carefully though, they would realize that it probably had something to do with the fact that almost everyone here cultivated training drills, had extraordinary strength, and a strong physique. If an idental fight urred and the walls were not strong enough, arge area would be destroyed in an instant.


    This was the ‘characteristic’ of this world.


    ...


    The sky darkened, and the city quieted down gradually, no longer as noisy as before. Although they had achieved a great victory today, many people did not sleep for the past few days. Therefore, it was a rare peaceful night.


    Only Count Mand’s castle was brightly lit and very lively.


    Count Mand inquired about the dangers Kevin and Mia encountered on the road. After understanding what had happened thoroughly, he felt extremely fortunate and was even more grateful to Merlin.


    “Sir Merlin, please allow me to express my most sincere gratitude on behalf of the Mand family! Not only have you saved my son and daughter, but you’ve also saved Mand City by driving away the barbarians...”


    Merlin was not overly courteous and had graciously epted the bow. He still had many questions regarding this world about the barbarians, the fierce beasts, the training drills and so on. He could not ask any of them right away though. Kevin and Mia were too young, and Count Mand, who was experienced, would not be as easy to deceive.


    Therefore, Merlin did not make any further inquiries.


    “Are there many barbarians near Mand City?”


    Merlin hesitated for a moment before asking. This question would not arouse Count Mand’s suspicion.


    Count Mand shook his head helplessly, “Originally, there weren’t many barbarians around Mand City, but these barbarians came from the north. It’s extremely cold there, and the barbarians couldn’t survive any longer, so they came to Mand City.”


    Merlin fell silent. That was not the answer he wanted. He had surveyed the battlefield earlier. The barbarians were no different from other Mobatans besides the fact that they looked more uncivilized.


    How did they be such bitter enemies with the Mobatans?


    Nevertheless, Merlin had buried these questions deep inside his heart. There would be opportunities to ask them in the future.


    “Sir Merlin, did youe from Ruba City?” Count Mand asked tentatively.


    Even a stage-eight contender like himself had never seen a great Sanctuary Contender before. Even now, he felt like he was in a dream.


    He would have doubted Merlin’s identity if it was not for the violent and fierce tyrant raptor currently in the castle. He could not feel any particrly strong life force from Merlin’s body.


    Merlin also knew this. In this world, the people’s life force was extremelyrge due to their strong physique. The stronger the person, the more intense their life force was. Count Mand’s life force was like a fire that constantly hung over the entire castle.


    After chatting for a while, Merlin inadvertently revealed a hint of ‘drowsiness’, and Count Mand finally ended the conversation and left.


    Merlin did not sleep in the quiet room. In reality, he did not know how long it had been since hest slept. High-level Spell Casters would not feel tired unless they used up too much Mind Power.


    “Merlin, this world is really wonderful. It’s apletely different system...”


    Titus emerged from the Illusory World. He could see everything going on in this world from the illusion bead. It was a brand new world, and there was also a brand new civilization.


    “They’re somewhat simr to the Giant n,” Merlin said with conviction.


    “No, no, they’repletely different from the Giant n. Giants are born powerful, and the stronger their bloodline, the greater the power. They rely on the power of their bloodline and slowly enhance their power over time. It can be said the more than 99% of the Giants’ strength is determined since birth. Only some special Giants can break the shackles and achieve a breakthrough.


    “This world ispletely different. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but newborns have the same amount of life force as the ordinary people in the Glorious Land. They’re different now because they’ve cultivated the unique training drills that gave them powerful bodies. This kind of system is really amazing. It’spletely different from the Spell Caster system and the Mind Power system. I do wonder what the limit of this system is.”


    Titus’s analysis was deeper than Merlin’s.


    “Limit?”


    Merlin shook his head. He did not encounter any higher-ups of this world. It was still unknown if there were contenders who wereparable to Honored Legends here. Therefore, although Merlin knew that there were Sanctuary Contenders in Ruba City, he did not n to go there himself.


    Otherwise, Merlin would have left for Ruba City a long time ago to speak to the Sanctuary Contenders directly in order to understand this world. There were still so many things he did not know, and that was why he had to be very cautious.


    “Merlin, you should practice more Hallucinating spells. If you don’tprehend an ultimate Maxim, you can’t be an Honored Legend nor would you be able toprehend a Wizard Heart. It’ll be even more difficult if you want to increase your strength.”


    Titus had ‘tactfully’ persuaded Merlin to devote more of his attention to Hallucinating spells. After all, once he understood the second main stage of the Illusory Heart, his strength would have gained a qualitative improvement. Not only would he be able to ‘control’ the hearts of others, but even Honored Legends would also be tricked.


    Then, Titus returned to the illusion bead, and the room quieted down again.


    Merlin looked out the window in silence. Indeed, he was facing a bottleneck right now. He did not seem to be making any progress in the Spell Caster system nor the Mind Power system.


    “I heard the sphinx guardian said before that Aruba had left some things behind in this world. Perhaps they might be helpful to me.”


    Merlin could only put his hopes on whatever the great existence who could create life had left behind. After all, whether it wasprehending a Wizard Heart or forming an ultimate Maxim, it could not be done in a short period of time.


    Perhaps, if there was no special opportunity, it would be impossible to break through even in ten thousand years.


    Ha!


    Suddenly, Merlin heard a soft cry in his ear. A shadow appeared behind the castle.


    Merlin’s Mind Power silently extended and discovered that it was Kevin. He was currently secretly practicing training drills behind the castle.


    Judging from his expression, practicing training drills could be quite painful.


    “He wanted to be a Sanctuary Contender..”


    Merlin smiled. This little boy who aspired to be a Sanctuary Contender was very hardworking. With that kind of determination, he would definitely achieve something.


    However, this training drill seemed to be capped at stage-nine. Even Count Mand did not know what was above stage-nine. If he did not encounter any extraordinary fortune, Kevin would never be a Sanctuary Contender in his entire life.


    “Kevin!”


    Another shadow stepped slowly into the night.


    “Father, I...”


    Kevin felt scared upon seeing this appearance of the figure and fell speechless.


    This figure was Count Mandels. The stern Count Mand did not rebuke Kevin this time and said calmly instead, “Kevin, Mia already told me everything. You did well. In the future, Mand City will need your protection. I’m very proud of you for returning without hesitation at the critical moment.”


    “Father, I’ll definitely be a Sanctuary Contender. I’ll protect you, sister, and the entire Mand City.” Kevin clenched his fists tightly and said resolutely.


    Count Mandughed from the bottom of his heart and said gently, “Good. You want to be a Sanctuary Contender, but secretly practicing training drills like this won’t do you much good. What’s more, your training drill posture isn’t right. Our family’s training drill should be like this...”


    In the room, Merlin could see Count Mand teaching Kevin meticulously using his Mind Power. The two began to practice the training drills in the quiet night. Merlin could not help the small smile from appearing on his lips.


    He remembered his father, Old Wilson...