Bizarre, moody, both good and evil.
Speaking of the legendary "Shame of Byzantium" and "the most terrible person in the world", this sentence is undoubtedly the most accurate.
Merlin, she may not be regarded as the strongest person in the world today, but if she is the strongest woman - I am afraid no one will object to this statement.
Her name was Merlin, but no one had ever heard her full name.
No one knows how old she is, but when she first made a sensation in the world, the current chairman of the Byzantine Magic Union, Mr. Raphael, who is in his 80s, was still a small magic apprentice at that time.
No one knows what Merlin really looks like.
According to legend, she has magical powers and has obtained eternal youth, so she has the skills to keep her face, and always retains the appearance of her 20 years old, and it is said that her appearance is so beautiful that even the goddess of the moon will be jealous of her.
There are also legends that she is simply an evil and vicious old woman, old-fashioned, wearing a black cloak, with goose skin on her face, hooked nose and teeth, holding a poisoned apple in her hand, tempting to taste everywhere.
She is not a Byzantine, but she has the qualifications of a magus recognized by the Byzantine Church Magical Guild—but in fact she is a Lantis at all, and she is also a witch recognized by the Lantis Church.
When it comes to the story of Merlin, the legendary figure, there are four that have caused the most sensation in the mainland.
The first thing, many, many years ago, Merlin was already a famous top witch in the Landis Kingdom. She is eccentric and acts out of her liking. Sometimes she even deliberately opposes the Landis royal family and government for fun. . Legend has it that the Landis royal family keeps a priceless treasure called the 'Crown of the King', which is said to be a treasure passed down by His Majesty Arthur, the founding king of Landis, as a symbol of royal power inherited by the royal family.
And many years ago, this Merlin swaggered into the Landis Palace, and asked King Landis for this crown face to face, because this crown was inlaid with a rare huge diamond. Legend is the largest one in the world today. Merlin declared that he was conducting a very important magic experiment and needed to borrow the diamond. Although King Landis was reluctant in his heart, the famous palace guards could not resist the witch at all, and the so-called court masters were as helpless as children in front of this strong man. In the end, the king had to succumb to Merlin's coercion, took out the "crown of kings" inherited from the royal family, and "lent" it to Merlin. On the spot, Merlin dug out the largest diamond in the crown and "borrowed" it, and it has never been returned.
Therefore, until today, the most luxurious and expensive crown of the Landis royal family is missing the largest gemstone. The notch is used to cover up.
As a Landisian, he bullied the royal family so much, and for a while, Merlin became notorious in the Landis Kingdom. However, this eccentric legend naturally doesn't care about the opinions of others, but she "borrowed" the diamond, and perhaps promised the royal family a condition: if something happens to the country, she can contribute to the royal family unconditionally once.
So, the second thing happened.
The second of Merlin's most storied stories takes place some six years after The Crown.
The second thing is this: the Byzantine Empire has always been the largest of the three major powers in the world today, it occupies the most fertile land on the continent, has the largest population, has the most resources, and has the most prosperous civilization. But this behemoth was stubbornly restrained by the other two countries, Odin and Rantisk.
The people of Odin lived in the northern part of the continent and were brave and good at fighting, while the Lantis people were far overseas, far away from the continental warfare, and used their unique geographical location to conduct maritime trade and to enrich and strengthen the country through maritime trade. One of the things that the Landis are most proud of is their large and powerful navy. The Landis were far ahead of the nations on both continents in shipbuilding and seafaring.
And there is a very important factor: the Byzantine Empire is located in the southern part of the mainland, and there is an inland sea in the center of the empire (the capital Osgilia is on the seashore of the inland sea), and this inland sea goes all the way west and crosses a narrow estuary. Direct access to the vast ocean.
That estuary is geographically special. It is two long and narrow peninsulas extending to the sea from the north to the south. Like a pincer, it strangled the estuary of the Byzantine Inland Sea, and the two sides of this estuary have been blocked by the Landis for many years. Occupy, the Lantis people stationed the army in the military ports established on both sides of the estuary, and firmly guarded here, which is equivalent to controlling the Byzantine sea transportation line. In times of peace, all Byzantine ships entering and leaving this port must pay taxes to the Landis, and once there is friction or discord between the two countries, the Landis only need to seal the port, then Byzantine sea trade lines would be strangled immediately.
More importantly, this inland sea has always been able to lead to the most prosperous and prosperous areas in the inner region of the Byzantine Empire, and even the capital Osgilia is on the coast of the inland sea! However, the estuary of the inland sea is controlled by the Landis. Once a war between the two countries occurs, the warships of the Landis can easily pass through the estuary and come all the way from the inland sea to attack the most prosperous and prosperous interior of the Byzantine Empire. The region can even threaten the capital Osgilia directly from the sea!
As the continent's largest power, the Byzantines have been trying to conquer the sea for many years. However, the terrain of the two peninsulas that go to the sea is special. The part of the peninsula that is close to the mainland is crossed by two mountains. If you attack from land, you will have to climb over mountains and mountains, which is not easy. Attack is effective. The navy of the Kolantis is too powerful, and the Byzantine navy is far inferior in shipbuilding technology and navigational combat technology. The competition of the navy has never been an opponent. However, the attack on land alone, the opponent's role as a military port, and the warships at sea to support it, could not attack at all. Therefore, the Byzantine Empire has used a variety of methods for many years to achieve what it wants.
Finally another year, the Byzantine Empire seized an opportunity. The intelligence department of the empire did not know how to instigate the commander of the fleet stationed by Landis at the estuary of the sea. The commander of the Landis navy led a fleet to defect to Byzantium, and Byzantium seized this opportunity, and the land also Two regiments were dispatched to attack the two peninsulas at the sea mouth.
Lost the fleet at sea, and the sea exit was in crisis. At this time, even if Landis wanted to temporarily dispatch a fleet from the country to support him, it would take time for the naval fleet to gather, and it was too late.
At a critical moment, the Landis royal family thought that the witch had promised to serve the royal family once, and sent someone to see Merlin. Although this Merlin was eccentric by nature, he was a trustworthy person, so he obliged.
Immediately, three days later, when the Byzantine naval fleet and the land army attacked the port of Landis, the Merlin witch appeared at sea!
At that time, the general who led the Byzantine army received a letter from the witch. The tone of the letter was still very peaceful, but he just asked the Byzantine general to withdraw his troops immediately, and Landis also let it go.
At that time, the long-cherished wish for many years was about to be fulfilled, and it was when the eyes were eager and anxious, how could the Byzantine side be willing to retreat? As a result, the general shredded the letter and ordered an attack.
The attack on the sea, this witch appeared on the sea at the estuary, and blocked more than 40 Byzantine warships alone! Legend has it that this witch used the magic of the gods to gather seawater directly on the sea and set off a water wall that was several miles long and more than ten meters high! It was so horizontal on the sea, blocking the direction of the Byzantine Navy! At this time, the witch directly used magic to send her voice to withdraw from the sea. This time, she still just coldly asked Byzantium to retreat immediately.
"Just spare once, or kill if you don't leave!"
The Byzantine generals still refused to retreat, and instead invited several Byzantine magicians who accompanied the army to fight.
The result... Naturally, there is no need to elaborate.
Several magicians were defeated in an instant in front of the witch and fled in a hurry. Merlin, who was irritated, caused a tsunami. The wall of sea water that was several miles long and more than ten meters high collapsed directly. , the Byzantine fleet was immediately beaten to pieces, 90% of the warships sank in the sea, half of the soldiers were buried in the belly of the fish, and in the end only four ships escaped, one of which was the flagship. One person died in the flagship!
It was the former Fleet Commander of Landis who was rebelled by Byzantium, who died strangely without a trace of scars on his body.
The name of the witch Merlin was originally only prominent in Landis. After the battle, with one person destroying the fleet of a country, the name of Merlin spread all over the continent and became a recognized top powerhouse! !
And the third thing is the greatest shame of the Byzantine Empire Magic Union!
Just three years after the naval battle incident, this witch actually came to the Byzantine Empire alone, entered Osgilia, and went directly to the Imperial Magical Union! !
The arrival of this witch this time immediately caused a shock in the imperial capital. For such a top powerhouse in the continent, everyone recognized that her strength had reached the holy level, and she came from a hostile country. All the emperors of the empire left the imperial capital in the name of "hunting", so as not to cause this guy to become mad and make trouble in the imperial capital, he would endanger his own safety.
However, this witch just quietly visited the Imperial Magical Guild, and proposed that she wanted to share her experience in magic with the Byzantine magicians. At the same time, she hopes to learn the magical culture of Byzantium, and even made a strange request: she hopes to obtain the title of Byzantine magister.
This requirement makes the magic union very difficult, and it has always been recognized that a magus is equivalent to a saint. But the level that the magic union can assess is only up to the ninth level, and it cannot be assessed over the ninth level. The request of this witch Merlin made the magic union directly reject Merlin's request.
This Merlin was arrogant enough, so he proposed a competition with the magic union. If she wins, she must be allowed to stay in the magic union to learn the Byzantine magical civilization, and if she loses, she is willing to be accepted by the magic union. Three years in prison!
At that time, the whole empire was devastated by this witch for the naval battle three years ago. Now the opportunity came to the door, and the other party was alone again. In addition, the Byzantine Magic Union was also quite proud, thinking that there were many masters here, and they really competed. Get up, are there so many top magicians who can't compare to the other person? Even if she is a Saint-level powerhouse... She is not the only Saint-level person in the world!
The Magic Guild was gearing up and made Merlin wait for three days. This Merlin was too bold. He was in an enemy country. He knew that the other party wanted to eat flesh and blood on him, but he actually sat on the ground in the square in the Magic Guild, sitting there with his eyes closed. Meditate, sit for three days and three nights.
For three days, the magic union showed all the connections and skills, and finally invited three magisters from the Byzantine Empire to help out.
The three magicians practiced in different fields of magic, and they came to compete with Merlin. At that time, the idea of the Byzantine Magic Union was: No matter how strong you are, Merlin can enter the holy level, but you are usually only exceptionally strong in a certain field. Where can I be proficient? Three mages with different fields of expertise can definitely stun this witch.
In the first game, the Byzantine magister who competed with Merlin was the best at magic circles, and Merlin just sneered: "Then me and you will each make a magic circle and walk into each other's circles. Whoever comes out first will win. ."
The Byzantines were in their old lair, and they immediately moved out tons of high-quality magic crystals, various magic gems, and mithril. They set up the magic circle for the magician regardless of the cost. It took three days and three days. At night, an airtight dark room was built, and the magic circle was in it.
As for Merlin, he took out some of the magic materials he carried with him from the storage ring he carried on the spot. Naturally, it was far less abundant than the Magic Union's reserves. And she didn't hide it. On the square, in front of everyone's eyes, she set up a formation. It was just the sorcery she used. There were many archmages in the Byzantine Magic Union who were watching, but none of them could see it. Understand.
Three days later, the formation was completed, and the two walked into each other's formation. Merlin walked into the small dark room and immediately fell into the formation. The Byzantine Magical Union hated her deeply. The magic formation was extremely dangerous. No one knew what kind of dangerous spell it was, but after Merlin entered, However, after a meal, he walked out of the dark room intact, and there was not even a single fold on his clothes! Suddenly, all the Byzantine magicians were in an uproar!
Merlin looked around and said with a sneer, "So you guys wanted to kill me."
And the Byzantine Magister who entered the open-air magic circle set up by Merlin in the square disappeared in front of everyone's eyes after he entered the circle in front of everyone's eyes!
After Merlin came out of the opponent's formation, the Byzantine magister disappeared for a long time! When it was dark, the Byzantines saw that their mage was still invisible, and immediately became anxious.
For any country, a magister is a priceless treasure, and it is absolutely impossible to lose!
In the end, the Byzantine side had to admit defeat. It was the result of the first match, and Merlin clapped his hands and walked to his magic circle to solve it. The Byzantine magister immediately appeared in front of everyone, but it was said that the magistrate had a clean beard and light clothes when he went in, but when he came out, his hair was disheveled, his beard was already long, his face was full of greasy dirt, his face was yellow and his skin was thin. . When everyone asked, he knew that as soon as he entered the magic circle, he immediately fell into a huge maze, and there were no dangerous traps in the maze, just endless forks.
Even though it was only half a day, the magister claimed that he had been trapped in that labyrinth formation for ten days! ! If he were to be rescued later... Although the magister did not encounter any danger, he almost starved to death.
At that time, the people of the Magic Union were shocked!
Because in the formation created by the magician, there are a total of 64 kinds of powerful magic traps, and they also take into account the three different magics of the water, fire, and darkness! But it didn't hurt Merlin by half!
And the magic circle arranged by Merlin was a pure maze, disrupting the time movement in the magic circle space. Apart from that, there was no danger, but it almost starved a powerful magician to death!
"You Byzantines, you always like to make simple things so complicated. A magic circle is also so fancy, so many different magics, although there are many, but all of them are sparse!"
Merlin's words made the magus so embarrassed that he almost committed suicide on the spot. Later, he walked away on the spot, and never bothered about the empire again.
The second test was about the ability to sense magic. This time, the one who competed with Merlin was a magician with deep magic power. He used two different types of high-level magic. First, he used the magic of the fire element, and turned it into a huge fire dragon with fire. Let the flame dragon fly over the Magic Union Square, and then he turned into a water dragon with water elements. ! Two giant dragons, one fire and one water, danced and staggered back and forth above the square. Obviously, water and fire were incompatible, but under this magister's exquisite control ability, the water and fire two dragons soared into the sky side by side, but they would not cancel each other out in the slightest! For a time, such a spectacle caused cheers in the Magic Union!
And when it was Merlin's turn to take action, Merlin sat down in the eyes of everyone's expectations and closed his eyes! Immediately, her magic power opened up, and after a while, Merlin opened his eyes and said lightly: "In Osgilia City, today, just now, a total of fifteen people died today, nine of them were sick, four committed suicide, and one was The criminal was hanged, and another was trampled to death by a frightened galloping horse on the road! Nine more babies were born today, seven in the south of the city and two in the west."
It turned out that in this moment, Merlin's powerful magic power had already enveloped the huge city of Osgilia, and the magic sense power spread all over the city. ! ! !
As soon as these words came out, all the magicians present were sluggish, and some people didn't believe it, so they summoned the city guards in the imperial capital to conduct a city-wide search! Six thousand city guards were dispatched, ran all over the city, and finally checked it down, which was exactly what Merlin said! ! This result immediately made the people of the Magic Union speechless! !
The people in the original magic union still wanted to deny it. After all, the magic they used was different, and it was difficult to compare who was higher and who was lower.
Merlin sneered on the spot: "I knew you would say that!"
After finishing speaking, Merlin demonstrated a magic on the spot. She first transformed a flame into the shape of a fish, and then made a piece of water suspended in the air with water magic. The fish swam in the water for a while without dying.
The difficulty of controlling such magic power is no worse than the water and fire two dragons flying at the same time just now!
"What your people can do, I can do it too. But what I did just now, you can't do it!"
Merlin said this sentence, the Byzantine magicians finally had no excuses, the magician who competed with her took the initiative to admit defeat, and then left helplessly.
She had already lost two of the three matches. It stands to reason that Merlin had already won. When the third magician competed with her, the Byzantine side no longer dared to despise the Lantis witch, the third magician He is also frank: "I am good at fire magic, and I have mastered a forbidden spell, but today is a competition, not a battle of life and death, so I can't release the forbidden spells to compete."
Merlin nodded: "If it's a competition to release the forbidden spell, then just one of the two magisters just now, the strength of the battle is no longer under me. It's just that we compare?"
The third magister smiled: "In addition to fire magic, I am also good at potions, which can be considered quite a bit of achievement. Let's try our skills in pharmacy."
It turns out that this third magister is not only powerful in fire magic and has top-notch combat strength, but also is very good at magic pharmacy. It can be said to be the best among mages of the Byzantine Empire at that time!
As a result, the way the two sides compete was quite simple. Anyway, the raw materials for any magic potion can be found in the warehouse of the Magic Union, so everyone went into the warehouse and brewed an exclusive magic potion. magic potion!
"Drink the opponent's potion, win if you have nothing, lose if you can't stand it - if you drink to death, you deserve it!"
After Merlin heard it, he was neither happy nor angry, and replied coldly: "Okay, let's do it like this!"