Chapter 216

"Clang, clang—"

"Bang!"

The wind arrow was blocked by a silver shield. The impact was so powerful that Ludwig was sent flying backward along with the shield. He crashed heavily to the ground, his features contorting in pain as a groan escaped his lips.

Shu Li lowered his magic staff, inwardly regretting the missed opportunity.

Fritton really did dote on his junior. He had even equipped him with a high-ranking shield. Ludwig, to his credit, knew how to use it, pulling it out at the critical moment to save his life.

The arena erupted in an uproar.

"Damn it! He dodged that!" Dixio clenched his fist.

"If he didn't have those magic scrolls and that shield, he would've lost ages ago." Budno glared contemptuously at Ludwig as he climbed back to his feet.

"It's fine. It wouldn't be satisfying if it ended too quickly." Angel's lips curled upward. Only fifteen minutes had passed since the match began. That wasn't even enough time for a proper warm-up.

"How many more treasures does he have?" Amanda asked with a frown.

"This isn't fair!" Nasha frowned. "Everything he's using is far beyond what a Mage Apprentice should have access to. Amo has nothing. It's basically the same as fighting a full-fledged mage."

"Exactly! That Saint Mage Fritton is way too underhanded!" Siet declared with disgust.

"Using defensive equipment in a match is a legitimate tactic," Ace analyzed calmly. "Competition between mages is fundamentally a contest of wealth. Whoever has more ways to preserve their life is the one who survives to the end."

"Then... will Sperien lose?" Hector asked worriedly.

Judging by the battle so far, Sperien was very strong. But no matter how strong he was, could he really compete with Ludwig, who had a Saint Mage backing him?

"Of course he won't lose," Kumandi said.

"But..." Hector hesitated. "Sperien doesn't have any high-ranking magical items."

All he had was his academy uniform, a magic robe with reasonably good defensive properties, and a low-ranking magic staff. How was he supposed to compete with Ludwig?

Ace tapped his temple with a long, slender finger, his green eyes deep and unreadable.

"With intelligence."

"Intelligence?" Hector looked baffled. "How?"

Angel understood and chuckled. "Use tactics to force Ludwig to reveal every last trump card he has, then destroy them one by one."

Kumandi continued, "As his means of protecting himself dwindle, Ludwig's fear will keep growing."

Ace lowered his eyes and murmured, "And once that fear reaches its peak, crush him in one blow."

"Boom!" Angel supplied the sound of an explosion. "Shatter him mentally."

Hector swallowed. "Isn't that... a little too ruthless?"

Siet shot him a sideways glance. "Being merciful to your enemy is being cruel to yourself."

An enemy would never spare you simply because you had shown them mercy.

Ace said calmly, "If the lesson isn't painful enough, he'll never admit he was wrong."

Nasha thought for several seconds before saying, "We're helping him."

Once, she had been just like Ludwig. Relying on her status as a princess, she had believed herself far above everyone else, that commoners weren't even qualified to appear before her.

Then the cavalry of the Kingdom of Cecilia had stormed into Pedam Kingdom, and she had fled with the Great Swordsman Senluo. Her dignity as a princess had been trampled on mercilessly again and again, nearly breaking her completely.

Fortunately, she had endured.

And she had come to understand something very clearly: stripped of her status as a princess, she was no different from any commoner.

She might even be worse off than one.

Without Senluo's protection, she would have fallen from the clouds straight into the mud long ago.

That was why she wanted to master real skills and seize control of her own fate.

Ludwig was nothing more than a spoiled young nobleman. He regarded commoners as ants beneath his feet and possessed no compassion whatsoever. Someone like that was destined never to go far on the path of magic.

Rather than let him grow into a menace someday, it was better to teach him a lesson now.

If he came to his senses, he might have a better future.

Otherwise, this was as far as he deserved to go!

While the spectators continued discussing the match, the two Mage Apprentices in the arena had not been idle.

Shu Li wasn't discouraged when his wind arrow was blocked by Ludwig's shield.

He had expected as much.

With a Saint Mage's reputation at stake, there was no way Fritton would allow Ludwig to lose the match so easily.

Shu Li gentlemanly waited for Ludwig to stand, studying the silver shield clutched in his left hand.

It wasn't large, resembling a round disk, and its surface was engraved with magical inscriptions. It appeared to be a useful item that automatically activated its defenses when attacked.

Moreover, the area it protected was larger than the shield itself.

It was a magical shield.

"Looks like a pretty high-ranking defensive item." Shu Li's words dripped with implication. "Must be nice having a Saint Mage for an elder. Deep pockets mean you can squander as much as you want."

"Jealous?" Ludwig snorted. "That oh-so-impressive 'Saint Mage brother' of yours won't even buy you a high-ranking magic staff. What a poor, stingy bastard."

"A low-ranking magic staff is more than enough to deal with you."

Shu Li raised his staff and rapidly began chanting the spell for Wind Blade.

Ludwig jerked his left arm up and assumed a defensive stance.

The moment Shu Li finished his incantation, countless wind blades condensed in the air and attacked Ludwig from every direction.

So what if he had a shield?

Could it block attacks coming from eight directions at once?

"Clang, clang, clang—"

Ludwig frantically wielded the shield against the wind blades, blocking the front, then the back, the left, then the right, above, then below.

Shu Li gave him no chance to catch his breath. He continuously cast wind magic, immediately replacing every wave of wind blades that was dispersed with another.

Sweat poured from Ludwig's forehead as he spun around like a top. Despite having a shield in hand, he had been forced completely onto the defensive. He was so overwhelmed that he couldn't spare even a moment to chant a spell.

Mage Apprentices had the limitations of Mage Apprentices. They couldn't shorten their incantations without drastically reducing the spell's power, rendering it practically useless.

Damn his great-uncle for not giving him an attack scroll that could be activated instantly! Now he could only struggle to defend himself without any chance to retaliate.

Ten minutes later, Ludwig had expended enormous amounts of stamina. His reactions slowed, and his movements grew sluggish.

Suddenly, he failed to cover one direction.

Just as a wind blade was about to slash into his arm, inspiration struck. He pulled out a speed-enhancement magic scroll and tore it open. His body instantly became light.

He kicked off hard.

His feet left the ground, and his entire body floated into the air, escaping the wind blades' attack range.

"Flight."

Shu Li raised an eyebrow.

Well, well. First a defensive formation, then a shield, and now support magic.

An ordinary Mage Apprentice really wouldn't have been able to do anything against him.

Shu Li pulled several seeds from his storage pouch and tossed them onto the ground. Pointing his magic staff at them, he chanted a wood-element growth spell.

The seeds abruptly sprouted. In the blink of an eye, they grew into wildly thrashing vines that independently hunted Ludwig through the air.

"You think these ordinary vines can catch me?"

Ludwig flew higher, widening the distance between himself and the vines. He pointed his magic staff downward and opened his mouth to chant a Fireball spell.

"Great God of Fire—"

He had barely begun when something suddenly tightened around his ankle.

He looked down.

A vine had wrapped itself around him.

"Ah!"

He panicked and instantly lost his balance. More vines twisted around him, pulling hard as they dragged him toward the ground.

The Saint Mages in the VIP section were full of praise.

"That child handles water, wind, and wood magic with complete ease. Truly remarkable."

"Indeed. It seems humanity may soon have an exceptional Seven-Element Mage."

"A Seven-Element Mage? That's difficult to say. The dark element has many forbidden spells, after all."

"A commoner mage must pay a far greater price if he wants to rise above the rest."

"Fritton has been rather unsporting, hasn't he?"

"Giving his junior so many ways to save his life... If he still loses... heh..."

"Look! Ludwig cut through the vines with a sword."

In the arena, the moment Ludwig saw himself being entangled by the vines, he made a decisive choice. He replaced the shield in his left hand with a sharp sword and hacked through the vines, freeing himself.

Shu Li made no attempt to stop him.

He had already finished chanting the wind-element Flight spell, and a pair of pale green phantom wings appeared behind him.

The vines had merely been a way to buy himself enough time to chant.

Mage Apprentice incantations were long. He had to seize every possible opportunity to cast them.

And aerial combat was a Little Fairy's specialty!

Ludwig had only just broken free when he turned around and discovered, to his astonishment, that Shu Li could fly too.

Not only could he fly, but an enormous pair of phantom wings stretched from his back, allowing him to fly more steadily, more quickly, and with far greater agility.

"Hehe, here I come!"

Shu Li gave chase, chanting the Fireball spell as he flew.

Ludwig hurriedly tried to widen the distance between them. He had no time to chant before fireballs began hurtling toward him one after another.

He could only pull out the silver shield again and use it to block the incoming fireballs.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The fireballs slammed into the shield, exploding into showers of sparks. Ludwig struggled desperately to withstand the barrage. He had no opportunity whatsoever to counterattack. Defense and flight were his only options.

Shu Li showed no mercy, relentlessly pursuing him while casting spell after spell.

When he decided the fireballs were too slow for a proper chase, he switched to Light Ball.

Light was faster than Ludwig's wind-element Flight. The glowing spheres raced ahead to block his path.

Ludwig was horrified. He nearly crashed straight into one and hastily changed direction, only for another wave of light balls to rush toward him.

There was nowhere left to dodge.

"Ah!"

The light balls struck his body.

Although his magical defensive equipment absorbed forty percent of the damage, his skin was still scorched. He screamed in pain.

He could no longer maintain control of his Flight spell. His body tilted, and he plummeted from the air.

Shu Li beat his phantom wings and shot above Ludwig.

Then, without the slightest mercy, he kicked him squarely in the chest, helping him reach the ground that much faster.

"Bang!"

Struck by the additional force, Ludwig slammed violently into the ground.

Fortunately, the arena floor was made of sturdy material and didn't cave into a giant crater beneath him.

Unfortunately for Ludwig, that also meant his landing was exceptionally brutal.

It felt as though his organs had shifted out of place and every bone in his body was screaming in pain.

In all twenty years of his pampered existence, he had never suffered an injury this severe.

He curled up on the ground, groaning as tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. Pain twisted his features into a grimace.

Shu Li remained expressionless.

His phantom wings folded away, and he landed lightly on the ground. Raising his magic staff, he began chanting loudly.

"Great God of Fire, Afama Chips, I am Sperien. I ask you to command the fire elements to gather around me and bring me the infernal flames that will burn all things to ash—"

The fire elements in the air churned wildly, surging toward Shu Li.

A brilliant crimson flame appeared at the tip of his raised magic staff. It swelled larger and larger, on the verge of transforming into a colossal dragon.

Ludwig had yet to recover when he heard his opponent chanting the spell for "infernal flames."

His face went deathly pale.

Overcome with terror, he struggled desperately to climb to his feet and escape.

But the more frightened he became, the more frantic his movements grew. He tried several times, only to collapse back onto the ground each time. His body felt as though it had fallen apart and no longer obeyed him.

No, no, no!

He had to find some way to stop his opponent's infernal flames.

Otherwise, those raging flames would burn him to death.

Even a fire mage feared another person's fire magic.

Fritton abruptly rose from his seat, his expression dark as he looked toward Danlov in the judges' section.

Why wasn't the Mage Sovereign doing anything?

If that mountain boy successfully cast his infernal flames, Ludwig would undoubtedly die!

As the fire dragon began to take shape, Fritton could no longer restrain himself. He pulled a magic staff from his storage ring.

The Saint Mage beside him reacted instantly, reaching out and holding down his staff.

"Fritton, are you planning to violate the rules of the match?"

The Saint Mage stared sharply into his eyes.

"The fact that the Mage Sovereign hasn't intervened means Ludwig's life isn't in danger," another Saint Mage said unhurriedly.

Fritton flew into a rage. "Can't you see what's happening? That Mage Apprentice called Sperien is trying to kill someone! He's trying to kill him—"

Danlov raised one hand and waved it toward Fritton.

An immense pressure descended upon him, forcing him back into his seat.

Fritton's face turned ashen.

In the arena, Shu Li mercilessly swung his magic staff.

The enormous fire dragon surged toward Ludwig with terrifying force.

Despair flooded Ludwig's face, and he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Aaaaaah—no—!"

The spectator stands fell eerily silent.

His screams echoed throughout the entire arena.

An unknown amount of time passed.

The horrific sensation of being burned alive never came.

The temperature around him dropped.

Ludwig slowly came back to his senses, stunned to discover that the enormous fire dragon had vanished without a trace.

Shu Li stood above him, his magic staff cradled in his arms.

Then he flashed Ludwig a brilliant smile.

"Do you surrender?"

Ludwig's head spun.

His ears rang.