Chapter 121: The Dark Blood Bats (Part 2)

In the dense forest, Merlin and the others followed closely behind Mage Damber.

The journey had been calm so far, with no signs of the Dark Blood Bats. This peace brought a sense of relief to the group. Merlin and Lorinka walked at the rear, and after glancing at Holmes and the others up ahead, Lorinka subtly slowed her pace to walk alongside Merlin.

"Did you borrow those five contribution points just to exchange for the Dark Mist spell?" Lorinka asked softly, lowering her voice.

Merlin didn't answer directly, but a faint smile appeared on his face.

Seeing his expression, Lorinka sighed in disappointment and frowned. "You've already constructed three spell models outside the realm, and they're still unstable. Yet, you've added Dark Mist on top of that. While four-element casters are powerful, advancing to a Level One caster becomes even harder. Do you not want to become a formal member of the Dark Spirit Realm?"

Merlin was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected Lorinka to react so strongly.

Realizing her outburst, Lorinka shook her head with resignation and fell silent. Merlin sensed a hint of disappointment in her tone, though he doubted it stemmed from genuine concern. In the Dark Spirit Realm, most casters had their own agendas, as the organization was loosely structured.

Lorinka's reaction puzzled him, but he shrugged it off and continued walking calmly at the back of the group.

"Something's off up ahead," Holmes suddenly raised his head, alert.

A faint element fluctuation appeared before them, dark in nature and not characteristic of a caster casting a spell.

"Could it be Dark Blood Bats?" Merlin tensed, knowing this mission might involve a large number of the bats. He remained vigilant.

"You all stay here. I'll go check it out," Holmes instructed cautiously, stepping forward as the leader of the group.

Activating the runes on his robe, he proceeded carefully toward the source of the disturbance.

Moments later, a muffled boom echoed through the forest, followed by intense elemental fluctuations—the clear sign of a spell being cast.

Mage Relis felt the fluctuation and paled slightly. "Let's go! Holmes must be in danger," she said urgently.

The group hurried forward and soon found Holmes casting "Binding Wind," trapping a dozen red-glowing, screeching bats within the swirling wind.

"Dark Blood Bats?" The group quickly recognized these grotesque creatures as the target of their mission—a troublesome breed of dark elemental monster.

Merlin spotted two figures slumped against a tree nearby—two young people he recognized as Capes and Kathleen, whom he had previously encountered after leaving Pugias. Capes was supporting Kathleen with one arm, his other hand gripping a sword tightly as he stared at the bats, his face pale.

Suddenly, one of the bats broke free from Holmes's binding spell and darted toward Capes and Kathleen with terrifying speed.

Capes and Kathleen froze in terror. The bat's ferocity and speed left Capes with no time even to lift his sword.

With a loud *bang*, a fiery ball struck the bat, exploding into a blaze that engulfed it.

A figure appeared in front of Capes and Kathleen.

"Capes, Kathleen. We meet again," Merlin said, a hint of amusement in his expression.

Both looked at him in stunned disbelief until Kathleen's face lit up with joy. "It's you! Mr. Merlin! No, Mage Merlin. You saved us again!"

Ignoring their relief, Merlin asked calmly, "What are you two doing here?"

Capes stepped forward to explain, "We were secretly following Mage Palio and my father's team. After they found the Dark Blood Bats, they encountered danger. We tried to return to Eastlin to seek help, but the bats spotted us, so we ended up fleeing here. Thankfully, we ran into you…"

Merlin's attention shifted as he noticed the bat he had struck with Fireball was still alive and unscathed, now screeching as it charged at him again.

"These bats are tough. Only ice spells can restrain them," Holmes called out. The bats he had initially bound were also breaking free, unaffected by other elemental attacks.

Merlin recalled that Dark Blood Bats were indeed vulnerable to ice-based spells, with even cold swordsmen capable of handling them.

With this in mind, Merlin pointed at the incoming bat and cast Freeze.

*Crack.*

In an instant, the bat was encased in thick ice and fell to the ground, shattering on impact.

"It works!" Seeing the effect of Freeze, Merlin quickly used it on the remaining bats. With Holmes, Relis, and Lorinka also possessing ice-based spells, they combined their efforts to kill the dozen Dark Blood Bats, restoring silence to the forest once more.