"Never have I imagine that this brand-new dimension has such an abundance of resources. It's not surprising that countless Legendary Wizards had wandered into the Void Zone searching for unclaimed dimensions…"

Once Merlin left the Glorious Palace, his heart was filled with a myriad of wonders. At the station, not only had he seen various spells, Pandora Demon Abilities, and potions that far exceeded the Glorious Land but he also saw an assortment of potion ingredients, and alchemy materials.

If any of the Spell Casters from the Glorious Land saw these materials, they too, would be completely stunned because some of these materials were almost extinct in the Glorious Land. Here, however, they were relatively common items and were not considered precious.

Everything that Merlin saw today made him feel that the so-called Spell Casters' most glorious era which was considered stuff of legends back in the Glorious Land did not actually disappear. On the contrary, it continued perpetually in hundreds and thousands of different dimensions. Somewhere, Spell Casters were still living in their most glorious era!

"Master, where are we going now?"

"Where? Of course straight to Tagan City. The sooner we find the map and the elemental crystal stone mine, the lesser sleepless nights we'll have."

Merlin's heart was determined. He must control that huge elemental crystal stone mine. Once he had the mine, he would possess unimaginable wealth. Based on the abundance of resources and open market in this dimension, as long as he had elemental crystal stones, he would be able to buy any treasure that he wanted.

Therefore, Merlin was quite eager to rush to Tagan City. Darknight hesitated like he wanted to speak but stopped himself.

"Speak, what's bothering you?"

Merlin could see that Darknight wanted to say something. Darknight heaved a deep sigh and said in a low voice, "Master, I'd like to go to Eternal Night Mountain first and bring some of my subordinates down to help Master!"

Darknight's true intention was to get his subordinates at the top of Eternal Night Mountain to follow Merlin. After all, Merlin was a Spell Caster beyond the heavens and was highly powerful. Following after Merlin was not the least bit humiliating, and this might even benefit them greatly.

Especially if they followed Merlin right now before conquering the elemental crystal stone mine, upon conquering it successfully, Merlin would definitely reward them handsomely.

Merlin's mouth curved into a faint smile. Naturally, he saw through Darknight's plans but he did need some additional assistance. At least after they had found the mine, it was impossible to expect him to exploit the elemental crystal stones by himself. These menial tasks, of course, needed to be done by someone, and Darknight and his subordinates were the best candidates for the job.

Thinking along those lines, Merlin nodded. "That would be wise. Let's bid Lady Phillie goodbye, then we can go straight to Eternal Night Mountain."

"Yes, Master!"

Wizard Darknight was overjoyed. He rushed to return to Lady Phillie's residence along with Merlin.

…

In the great hall of Tagan City, one of the leaders of Tagan City, President Winston's face fell gloomily. He had just received news that Wizard Darknight, the Spell Caster that he had engaged recently did not kill Lady Phillie. Instead, he appeared in Boulder City.

Although Winston was the President, three members from his family were the elders of the trade alliance in Tagan City. Therefore, Winston's family effectively controlled the entire Tagan City.

"Damn it, was Darknight bribed by Lady Phillie?"

Winston's face appeared very gloomy. He considered various possibilities but in the end, none of them seemed likely. He did not understand why Wizard Darknight would let Lady Phillie go.

Until now, all the news that Winston had received was that Wizard Darknight and Lady Phillie were both in Boulder City. As for the details, he had none.

"Winston, keep your cool!"

Just as Winston felt like he did not know what to do and began to be overwhelmed with emotions, a bent old man hobbled slowly into the great hall.

"Huh? Father, why are you here?"

Winston hurried to the old man and helped steady him. This was his father, as well as one of the elders of the trade alliance in the entire Tagan City.

"Why I'm here? If I hadn't come, you would probably be whining like a lost puppy, not knowing what to do. Actually, the crux of the matter is very simple. You shouldn't have used the map of the elemental crystal stones mine as a means to engage Darknight. Let's say if Darknight doesn't trust us, and wants a larger portion, what do you think he would do?"

Winston groaned. He suddenly thought of a terrible possibility.

"Father, you don't mean that Darknight and Lady Phillie reached some sort of agreement, and he revealed the knowledge about the elemental crystal stone mine to Boulder City? Then, Eternal Night Mountain and Boulder City would join forces to obtain the entire elemental crystal stone mine!

Winston finally understood his father's meaning. According to the news that he had received, it was a distinct possibility that Wizard Darknight might do exactly that. Once Wizard Darknight and Eternal Night Mountain joined forces with Boulder City, then the entire Tagan City would truly be caught in a perilous situation.

"Father, then what should we do? Tagan City cannot just sit around and wait to be killed!"

At this time, Winston no longer had any viable solutions. His heart was tremendously anxious, and he truly regretted telling Wizard Darknight about the elemental crystal stone mine. Otherwise, it would not have attracted such a disaster for Tagan City.

If Eternal Night Mountain really joined forces with Boulder City, then it would most probably spell the end of Tagan City!

"Hmph. Winston, you're always like this. It's not surprising that you're never a worthy opponent to Lady Phillie! That woman is truly something else, to be able to impede the business of Tagan City to such an extent in just the span of a few years – from a bustling trading city into a dump!

"Nonetheless, how can Tagan City just sit and do nothing? It's a huge elemental crystal stone mine. Can you imagine how immense such wealth would be? We had been too greedy in the past, trying to monopolize it for ourselves. Even when we realized that it was impossible, we only included Darknight alone. In fact, what we should have done was adjusted our stance. Such a humongous elemental crystal stone mine is beyond our ability to conquer.

"Since this is the case, and we now have both Eternal Night Mountain and Boulder City eyeing it, why don't we surrender the elemental crystal stone mine to a powerful Wizard? Hehe, even if we follow that Great Wizard and only receive half of the exploited elemental crystal stones, it's already more than enough. We can even develop Tagan City to compete against Boulder City!"

Winston's heart lurched. Half? That was too little. Even in his collaboration with Darknight, he had only promised him two-tenths.

On the other hand, the plan right now was to only receive half of the exploited elemental crystal stones. This was quite difficult for Winston to accept.

"Father, is this your will or the will of the Elders Council?

Winston inquired cautiously.

"Hmph!"

The old man harrumphed lightly. "Winston, are you still unable to perceive the current situation clearly? Looks like you're really unfit to be the president of trade alliance in Tagan City. This matter has been decided by the Elders Council. Now all you have to do is travel to Bisque City, and present the map of the elemental crystal stone mine to Wizard Tambert. Remember, you can agree to any conditions but make sure that the mine must be exploited by Tagan City, and we must receive at least half the yield!"

However, Winston's face blanched significantly. He could not help but interject. "Father, isn't the Elders Council being too befuddled? Bisque City is such a huge presence and isn't at all on the same playing field as us. Moreover, as the most powerful person in Bisque City, Wizard Tambert is a powerful Seventh-level Wizard. Once he's involved in the mine, would there be anything left still for Tagan City? In addition, to demand only half is too great a loss. Let's think again. Perhaps there's some other way we can withstand the joint forces of Boulder City and Eternal Night Mountain without giving the mine away to Tambert!"

Winston was naturally aware of Wizard Tambert from Bisque City. He was the number one Wizard among the countless cities in this vicinity. He was a powerful Seventh-level Wizard who once killed a Seventh-level earth sprite. It was also because of the existence of Wizard Tambert that the more ferocious Wizards did not dare to stir up trouble near Bisque City.

However, Tambert was also greedy. If he found out that there was an elemental crystal stone mine or some rare resources somewhere, he would rush there at first opportunity to claim it for himself. This had happened several times before, therefore, Winston could not understand why the Elders Council would willingly surrender the mine to Tambert.

Once it was surrendered, then this elemental crystal stone mine would really be dissociated from Tagan City.

"You idiot. Winston, what's the foundation of Tagan City? It's business! If the businesses here flourish as a side effect of the elemental crystal stone mine rush, then it doesn't matter even if we don't get anything. Moreover, since we willingly surrendered it to Tambert, surely, he would leave a small portion for us at least. That way, we can set an example!

"However, if we don't surrender it to Tambert, we would have to face the joint attack from Eternal Night Mountain and Boulder City. When that happens, the entire Tagan City would disappear completely. Then what's the use of us holding on to the mine persistently?"

The old man's words made Winston's face turn sour. Indeed, the reason Tagan City had fallen to such dregs was that their businesses failed to prosper. All the businesses were snatched away by Boulder City.

If it was possible to exploit the elemental crystal stone mine, the mine would not be moved regardless of who held ownership over it. In terms of geographical location, the closest city was Tagan City, so Tagan City would be able to benefit from this advantage and rebuild a prosperous trading city.

This was the true foundation of Tagan City. While the elemental crystal stone mine was inconceivably enticing, it could never be conquered by such a small force like Tagan City. Forcibly trying to conquer it would only attract more calamity and irreconcilable losses upon themselves.

"Sigh…"

Winston released a long breath and nodded. "Father, don't worry. I'll rush now to Bisque City and invite Tambert here!"

"Very well, then bring more people with you this time. Don't let Boulder City finds out. Go now."

Thus, Winston immediately started preparations. A carriage departed Tagan City in the middle of the night and quietly rushed off toward Bisque City.