Chapter 18: The Abandoned "Pawn"

In the dueling arena, both Papan and Aiden Grey began chanting spells, accompanied by the corresponding magical gestures. Papan's initial gesture was standard and clear, immediately recognizable as the most practical and powerful magic bullet among first-level spells. In terms of magical proficiency, Papan had laid a solid foundation, and even the most critical teacher would find no issues with his execution of this spell. A first-level mage should only be able to unleash two magic bullets, but three magical glows shone between Papan's hands! A slight commotion arose among the spectators, all surprised by Papan's magical talent. The casting time for magic bullets was the shortest, and when Papan's magic bullets were released, Aiden Grey's spell was still not ready.

Among the three bullets, one was locked onto Grey, while the other two were aimed at Grey's left and right sides, respectively. With Papan's current strength, he could only fully lock onto one of the three bullets, and adopting such a tactical setup would make it possible for the opponent to be hit simultaneously by two bullets regardless of the direction they dodged! If Grey didn't dodge, it would be tantamount to enduring a magic bullet directly.

Papan knew that one bullet wouldn't be enough to deal with Aiden Grey. He had personally experienced the boy's surprisingly robust physique during their fights, but in reality, he already had the magical power of a second-level mage and could unleash magic bullets three times in total. Three rounds of bullet bombardment would be enough to beat the boy to a pulp! Aiden Grey had just registered as a first-level mage and could only unleash two rounds of magic bullets at most. Papan estimated that he could still endure one bullet blast, although it would be extremely painful, but two would be somewhat unbearable. There was no way around it; magic duels were like this. If he were a third-level mage, there would be no suspense about winning, and then this duel would never have been approved. Dark Blue was fair, and to make Dark Blue temporarily neglect some injustices required a very powerful background and huge material investments. Papan's family was far from being able to match this level.

After unleashing the three magic bullets, Papan began preparing for the next round of magic bullets. Grey on the opposite side was still not ready with his magic, so Papan felt that the goddess of victory was already showing her thigh to him. Just thinking about the equipment, gold coins, and status promised by the person behind the scenes made Papan's heart itch uncontrollably, so much so that his pronunciation of the magic spell was somewhat inaccurate, and the 1.5-second casting time was dragged to 2 seconds. However, before his magic was ready, Papan heard a roaring sound from the audience!

"Is this cheering? Is it for my impending victory?" Papan thought, but he had at least some self-awareness. So, he lifted his head blankly, suddenly widened his eyes, and forgot all about the half-prepared magic!

Papan could hardly believe his eyes! What did he see? Was that a fireball? How could a first-level mage unleash a third-level spell? Weren't scroll-type items prohibited in magic duels? Why was there a fireball?!

That authentic fireball had already been unleashed and was flying towards Papan. The fireball spell didn't have a locking function, but its high speed and a damage range of ten meters didn't require locking. It was only when the fireball was less than five meters away that Papan, who was stunned and staring, woke up from shock. He let out a cry and scrambled to dodge to the side. However, even though Papan was running at the fastest speed he had ever achieved, he only managed to run three meters before being caught up by the rolling flames! With a muffled bang, Papan was blown up and flew into the air, drawing a short arc before crashing heavily onto the ground several meters away, unable to get up again!

The dueling arena suddenly turned from extreme noise to dead silence, and everyone subconsciously held their breath.

There were many knowledgeable high-level mages among the audience, and they could see that the power of Grey's fireball spell was much smaller than a standard third-level spell, but the impact of ten energy levels was still enough to deal a heavy blow to any mage below the third level. Although Papan wasn't killed instantly, he would need to recover from his injuries for several dozen days.

With a muffled bang, the audience's attention was drawn again. The magic bullet unleashed by Papan had just reached Grey, who guarded his chest with both arms and endured one blast, then began preparing for the second spell without any deviation in expression or gesture.

At this moment, the dueling arena was so quiet that even the sound of a feather landing was clearly audible. Although Grey's voice was very low as he recited the magic spell, it was still heard by several high-level mages with exceptional perception, and they were startled!

Although the magic spell had been significantly modified, they could still recognize it. Grey's second spell was also a fireball!

Grey's face had turned pale, and the rapid loss of magic made him feel as if his body was being drained. He had less than 4 points of magic left, and he had regained a little with the help of a magic recovery potion. The spell he prepared was a modified version of the Fireball spell that reduced magic expenditure, but it was not yet perfected. Even if it was, it would require 6 points of magic to cast a small Fireball with an energy level of 8. It was only his strong belief that supported Grey, making him willing to expend all his magic, even at the cost of overdrawing, to complete this spell!

Although the Fireball was small, it was sufficient to kill.

At this moment, the resident mage flashed to the center of the arena, waved his hand to dispel Grey's unfinished magic, and also stabilized his chaotic magic.

"That's enough. If you cast this spell, it will kill him, which is against the rules of the magic duel." Saying this, the resident mage looked back at Papan's condition and then declared, "The winner of this duel is Aiden Grey! Now, Aiden Grey, you can demand that the other party fulfill... uh, the agreed wager. The location can be chosen separately. Of course, I personally suggest you choose a... uh... similar, alternative... way of execution, which also conforms to the rules of the magic duel."

After hearing the resident mage's words, Grey walked over to Papan, who was lying motionless, roughly lifted his head, looked at his face, which was charred and swollen from the smoke and fire, and said in a voice devoid of emotion, "Someone once told me that if someone wants to kick your ass, you should double kick theirs first."

After speaking, Grey stood up, used all his strength, and kicked Papan hard in the middle of his butt! Papan let out a pig-like scream, which then turned into a moan that was neither crying nor laughing, his voice strained and breathless. Grey took two steps away, suddenly turned around, and gave Papan another kick! This kick immediately made Papan's moan increase by eight degrees.

Seeing Grey's two kicks, the resident mage's eyebrows couldn't help but raise slightly, feeling a slight discomfort in the middle of his own butt. However, in his opinion, Grey's kick was obviously more merciful than executing the agreed wager, so he acquiesced to this method of execution and declared the duel over. The people in the audience began to leave one after another, looking very excited and constantly discussing Grey's Fireball spell, while no one bothered to pay attention to Papan's butt. Obviously, this would be a hot topic for a considerable period of time in the future.

Inside the box, neither Minnie nor Landov had expected such a result. Minnie suddenly snorted and said, "Landov, you were right. It seems that Aiden Grey is indeed worth 500,000 gold coins!" After speaking, she didn't even greet Landov and walked straight out of the box.

Landov's face turned iron-grey, and his eyes seemed to be emitting fire! His gaze was fixed on Minnie's slender waist and swaying hips, and his teeth were tightly clenched together.

As she pulled open the door of the box, Minnie suddenly turned around and said with a faint smile, "You don't have to just stare at my butt. I think you need to think about the future of your own butt now. The teacher will be back six days later!"

With a bang, the door of the box was slammed shut in front of Landov with such force that it showed no regard for noble etiquette and demeanor. And then Landov roared, smashing almost everything in the box that could be smashed. He could afford to pay for it anyway.

As for Papan, at this moment, he had become an orphan abandoned by the world. Even the apprentices who had always been with him had disappeared. It was only at this moment that they remembered the terror of Liana Dawn. It was only these apprentices who had not been in the Deep Blue for long that still retained so many secular and corrupt habits.