Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 438 Nidhogg

Isn't this Merlin a bit too weak?

Although most wizards would be knocked down by a lightning strike without knowing Murphy's abilities, he is, after all, the legendary god of wizards. Murphy didn't actually intend to defeat him in one move; that lightning strike was just a test.

Is this guy really Merlin?

As Murphy pondered this, he stepped forward and cast a petrification spell on Merlin on the ground before entering the cave behind the door. He would need the old man later; as a magic master from Camelot, this man must know many secrets that ordinary people couldn't access.

Behind the door was a huge hollow underground cave. Spiral staircases extended down the inner wall of the cave, all the way to an area that was difficult to illuminate by lamplight. Many caves were dug out around the cave and fenced off, making it look like a series of prison cells.

As Murphy descended, most of the cells were empty, and some of the prisoners inside had even turned into skeletons.

Suddenly Murphy heard a loud roar, as if an airplane was taking off from underground.

Immediately, a hot and putrid odor rose from the cave, its stench making one want to vomit.

But at that moment, Murphy heard a voice.

"The Great Serpent..."

"The Dragon of Death..."

"I offer you the flesh and blood of the blasphemers, the oath-breakers, and the faithless..."

"No, no, please..."

Then, Murphy heard a distant scream. Suddenly, two balls of fire blazed up in the darkness below, like red-hot irons or underground magma, instantly illuminating a small part of the depths of the cave.

In the light, Murphy saw a figure screaming in terror, flailing its limbs as it fell.

But at that moment, the two balls of fire suddenly shook violently, and then a huge rift opened up from the abyss, stirring up the thick darkness. Light from above was finally able to break into the bottomless abyss, and Murphy was able to see what the thing looked like.

It was an enormous dragon, trapped at the bottom of a giant well-like cave. Its entire body was pitch black, the same color as the night, and its pair of fiery eyes coldly watched everything above. Then, it opened its enormous, earth-shattering mouth and swallowed the pitiful figure whole.

At the same time, he also saw a wizard dressed in black robes on a raised stone platform below, holding a huge magic wand, directing soldiers to drive more than a dozen ragged figures to the edge of the platform.

The soldiers, each wielding a long spear, relentlessly forced the people on the cliff edge to retreat. However, the space at the edge of the stone platform was not large to begin with, and soon two more people screamed as they fell, only to be swallowed by the giant dragon below.

After five or six more people were pushed off the cliff, Murphy suddenly heard a roar, "Enough!"

On the other side of the platform, several soldiers were holding a woman with long silver hair. The moment Murphy heard her voice, he suddenly felt relieved.

Sophia, no, this one should be Miriam.

"Salazar! You're supposed to be a wizard, do you find it fun to slaughter these ordinary people who can't use magic?!" Miriam demanded loudly.

"Don't rush, Miriam," the wizard on the platform turned around, revealing a thin, long face, "Your turn will come soon. The flesh and blood of a prophet will surely please it."

"To grovel before a god, even resorting to the blood and flesh of your own people to please him—you and your teacher are both utterly despicable and repulsive!"

"How strange," the wizard called Salazar scoffed. "What on earth has possessed you? Merlin was your teacher too. Weren't you always the most obedient to your teacher?"

"That's because I thought he was the one! I thought his actions were to help us defeat those gods. But he's just a clown, a lackey! He's not Merlin; he's just a jester in place of that great name!"

"Ah, yet another guy pretending to care about the lives of Muggles. You're just as foolish as Gryffindor!" Salazar sneered disdainfully.

"We are wizards, children of gods, and we are not like those mortals!"

"Morality, the fate of humanity—they're all lies. Only by enhancing one's own magical power, only by mastering immense strength, can one find the true path!"

"So what if we submit to the gods? They are far more powerful than us! Resistance only leads to death! Appeasing them will actually grant us power! Only fools would dare to fight them! We're just mortals anyway, trading our lives for power to prolong our lives—what's wrong with that?!"

"It seems you're quite happy being someone's slave," Miriam sneered.

Salazar seemed enraged, grabbing Miriam by the throat. "You think you're so noble? Believing in some savior? How are you any different from those foolish mortals who worship these gods?!"

"Hmph!" Salazar scoffed. "What kind of savior nonsense is this? How is it any different from the rubbish of those Christians? In this world, power—only your own power—is the only thing you can rely on! When I become…"

Before he could finish speaking, there was a sudden loud rumble, and the ground shook.

"Cut...click...thump!"

The dragon below suddenly let out a deafening, deep roar.

Its body struggled, seemingly trying to stand upright, but at that moment, two golden lights shone from the abyss. They were two cross-shaped spears, and the dragon's wings were pinned to the wing bones by the two spears, firmly fixed to the bottom of the abyss, leaving it only able to lie prone.

Salazar knew this was the dragon urging him to continue the sacrifice. He released Miriam and turned around, shouting angrily, "What are you doing?! Why did you stop?!"

But the soldiers seemed to be frozen in place, completely still. Just as he was wondering what was going on, several crows landed on the shoulders of the commoners. Then, with a flash of lightning, the people and the crows all disappeared.

"Who?!" Salazar roared in shock and anger.

But then the lightning flashed again behind him, and when he turned around, even Miriam was gone.

He was taken aback when suddenly a young man dressed in a black robe appeared in front of him.

"You are..." Salazar hadn't finished speaking when the other party raised a hand, and with a "bang," a huge impact suddenly threw him and the soldiers into the air, and then they fell into the abyss below.

Salazar was horrified, but he reacted quickly, waving his staff and casting a slow fall spell.

However, below, the dragon had already opened its massive jaws, its magma-like eyes coldly staring at him, waiting to swallow him whole.

"Teacher, save me!" Salazar suddenly shouted.

Suddenly, an arm above him swiftly crossed a distance of tens of feet, wrapping around his body several times like a rope, and then pulled him out of the cave.

Merlin withdrew his python-like arm. His body was scorched, his face was black, and he even had his eyes rolled back, but he stared at the young wizard in front of him.

Murphy had just taken Miriam away and was preparing to come back to interrogate the unconscious Merlin when the latter suddenly came back to life, his arms growing longer as if he had eaten a rubber fruit. Not only did he save Salazar, but his aura also became strange, leaving Murphy momentarily at a loss.

After a moment's thought, Murphy vanished again in a flash of lightning.

Since his purpose was to see Miriam anyway, he should first find out what was going on from her.

After Murphy left, Salazar, still shaken, went to Merlin's side. "Teacher, who was that just now?"

Merlin ignored her. His body convulsed for a while, and after a while, his rolled-back eyes suddenly returned to normal. He went to the side of the cave, glanced at the abyss below, and frowned.

"The plan is being moved up," he said. "Prepare for the ceremony and release Nidhogg."

(End of this chapter)