Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle Chapter 1270: The Trump Card

Binding with pets or other mystical creatures provided by the world or the system wasn’t easy for many Survivors.

Furthermore, you can only have a single pet with you, so you have to be really careful with your selection and your plan to raise them... Or you’ll just waste a lot of time, food, and money.

Indeed, raising them was so difficult since not everyone could just eat Zombie Cores. Some of them had strict diets, and they could die if they weren’t able to eat properly.

Because of that, in the early stages of the Apocalypse, the pets were completely ignored.

Everyone was busy trying to survive themselves, so it was normal to save your time and money by focusing on your own safety and health.

Of course, there were also some survivors like Raze who had creatures tied to their System Talents, ultimately pushing them to ignore other pets and focus on raising the one given by the system.

At this time, one of the clan members who was with Rain, quietly shook his head.

"I don’t think they have to."

Rain silently looked around once more.

Back in Little Rock Shelter, possessing a powerful companion beast usually meant concealing it from everyone else. Valuable pets attracted greed, jealousy, and unnecessary trouble!

Here...

It seemed perfectly ordinary!

It was as though powerful beasts or pets had become just another part of daily life...

Rain then slowly lifted his head toward the rooftops... and only then did he notice the countless defensive turrets installed across nearly every important building.

Some slowly tracked the skies overhead while others rotated methodically across the streets below, covering every possible approach.

Combined with the watchtowers, patrols, Warden Units, and Super Soldiers...

The entire shelter had become a fortress that could respond to danger within moments.

Rain finally understood why no major faction dared challenge Shane openly.

This wasn’t simply the strongest shelter humanity had built... It was probably one of the safest place left in the world.

Unfortunately, that realization did nothing to ease Rain’s impatience.

He had not traveled for nearly three weeks merely to admire the Eclipse Domain.

His objective was somewhere inside these walls...

"Find them."

Rain turned toward the members of the Silver Crest Clan accompanying him.

"Don’t make a scene, and don’t ask too many questions at once. We don’t know how closely Merlin is connected to this place, so keep your investigation discreet."

The group immediately separated.

Rain knew better than to rely on a single source of information. A shelter this large had thousands of residents, merchants, adventurers, and visitors passing through its streets every day. If Merlin and his disciples were truly living here, someone had to know something about them.

The first few attempts produced almost nothing.

A merchant selling magical materials only recognized Merlin after Rain described his appearance.

"The old mage with the long gray beard?" the merchant asked thoughtfully. "Yes, I’ve seen him before. He comes here occasionally to buy some ingredients."

"Do you know where he lives?"

The merchant shook his head.

"No idea. He doesn’t seem interested in staying in one place for long."

Another Survivor remembered him for an entirely different reason.

"He bought a stack of healing vials from this market a few weeks ago. He paid without bargaining... He looked poor enough to haggle over every coin, but then he suddenly paid with Spirit Stones."

"Where did he go afterward?"

"Couldn’t tell you. He left through the northern district."

Rain’s expression darkened.

The next person claimed Merlin had been seen near the Command Center of the shelter... while another insisted that he had visited one of the training grounds.

A blacksmith remembered repairing a damaged staff belonging to one of Merlin’s disciples, Alex, while an herbalist swore that this man named Alex had visited her shop several times to purchase medicinal herbs.

The information was everywhere. Yet somehow, none of it led anywhere...

Rain began to realize that Merlin simply appeared whenever he needed something and disappeared before anyone thought to ask where he had gone.

Eventually, one of Rain’s men returned with a more interesting discovery.

"Young Master, I think I found someone who knows them better."

Rain immediately looked up.

"Who?"

"A tavern owner in the western district mentioned that Merlin should be returning soon... It seems that he’s rented a room there!"

Apparently, Merlin was quite famous to a certain group of survivors, so it wasn’t surprising that there would be some people who wanted to meet the old mage.

They were survivors who had found themselves to have some talent in magic, and they hoped to learn from the best...

"Interesting... Lead the way!"

"We should warn you, Young Master. There are quite a few people who seem to be waiting for Merlin."

Rain frowned.

"How many?"

"I don’t know exactly. Perhaps a dozen. Most of them appear to be Mages."

Rain’s expression became slightly colder.

"A dozen?"

"Some of them have apparently been coming there regularly. They seem to be hoping that Merlin will accept them as disciples."

Rain let out a quiet scoff.

"Disciples?"

He found the idea almost amusing.

Merlin had apparently become popular enough to attract students while hiding inside Shane’s territory.

It was almost as though the old man had deliberately chosen this place as his sanctuary.

Rain’s group soon reached the western district.

The tavern was easy enough to find. It was a relatively large establishment situated along one of the busier streets, with several floors and a constant flow of Survivors entering and leaving through its doors.

Rain immediately noticed something unusual.

A group of young Mages were gathered outside.

They were carrying staffs, spell books, and various pieces of magical equipment, and although they were clearly waiting for someone, none of them seemed particularly impatient.

Rain stopped nearby and observed them for several moments.

"They’re the ones?"

His subordinate nodded.

"Most likely."

Rain stepped forward.

The moment the young Mages noticed the Silver Crest Clan approaching, their conversation gradually faded.

They recognized the insignia on Rain’s robes.

The Silver Crest Clan might not have been one of the strongest factions in the world, but its reputation in the surrounding territories was still considerable.

Rain stopped in front of them.

"You’re waiting for Merlin."

It wasn’t a question so several of the young Mages exchanged glances.

One of them, a young man carrying a wooden staff, finally stepped forward.

"Why are you looking for him?"

"Merlin is an old acquaintance of mine."

Rain’s voice remained calm, but there was a faint edge beneath it.

"We have something to settle."

"If it’s a personal matter, then you should wait until he returns."

Rain took a deep breath as he controlled his emotions... After all, he wasn’t in the Little Rock Shelter anymore.

Soon, the polite smile he had worn disappeared from his face as soon as he left the building with his companions.

He was furious because he had realized something far more troublesome.

Merlin had more followers than he thought, as he was definitely difficult to deal with, even with all the preparations he had.

However, he just needed one chance to turn this around.

As he recalled this, he looked at the scroll in his pocket...

[ Legendary Talent Swap Scroll ]