Battle of Wits
On the other side of the basin, the battle was equally fierce.
The Fern squad and the Wirbel squad clashed, and a battle was imminent. The two sides tacitly distanced themselves, dividing the battlefield into three areas: Wirbel vs. Ubel, Ehre against Fern, and Lanto against Scharf.
Scharf struck first, slamming his staff on the ground and shouting, "Flower Field Magic!"
In an instant, countless flowers sprouted from the soil in the open space around him, growing and Bloom rapidly, transforming the area into a field of blooming flowers in the blink of an eye, with a rich fragrance filling the air.
"Petal Steelification Magic!" Scharf cast the spell again, waving his staff. Countless soft petals instantly gleamed with a cold metallic light, their edges becoming sharp as blades. As if controlled by an invisible hand, they transformed into a torrent of steel, sweeping towards Lanto from all directions!
Lanto adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses calm. He swiftly unleashed Ordinary Attack Magic, several beams of light shooting out and precisely shattering some of the steel petals, but against such a dense barrage, it seemed like a drop in the ocean. He immediately switched to defense, and a honeycomb-shaped Defensive Magic circle instantly deployed.
However, Scharf's control was extremely precise. The steel petals seemed to have a life of their own, deftly bypassing the front of the Defensive Magic and drilling into the gaps in the defense from all sorts of tricky angles!
"Sizzle!"
Despite Lanto's best efforts to dodge, a sharp steel petal still tore through his mage robes, leaving a long, narrow wound on his chest that stretched from his right shoulder to his left ribs, and blood quickly soaked through his clothes.
Seeing this, Scharf pointed his staff, his tone brimming with confidence, and struck a pose. "The battle is over. Surrender. Judging by your badge, you're a student at the Royal Capital Magic Academy, aren't you? We're all in the same boat, so I don't want to go too far."
Lanto glanced at the gruesome wound on his chest, seemingly oblivious to the pain. He simply adjusted his glasses again and calmly analyzed the situation:
"Incredible magic. To be able to manipulate countless petals so precisely, finding and slipping into the gaps in the defense. However," he changed the subject, "When fighting someone I don't know well, I'm used to observing my opponent's patterns first. I've already seen through your weakness. I'll most likely win this battle."
Scharf scoffed, "What a boast! Your dominant hand is useless; you only have one hand left. How can you possibly beat me? I need to support my teammates. Exams are ruthless. Surrender now, or I'll cripple both your hands with the next blow, and then you can crawl to the church for treatment!"
Lanto's tone remained calm. "So, this is my conclusion based on observation. You... don't seem to be very good at precise magical perception and detection, do you?"
Scharf was taken aback. "What do you mean...?"
Before he could finish speaking, a cold hand silently reached out from behind him and precisely gripped his neck!
And the severely wounded Lanto in front of him began to slowly dissipate.
Scharf's pupils constricted sharply. "Phantom Magic...?!"
Lanto's voice came from behind him, correcting him, "No, it has a physical form too. To be precise, it's my clone."
Scharf exclaimed in disbelief, "When...!"
As it spoke, crackling electricity crackled from the clone's hand gripping Scharf's neck. Scharf's body stiffened, his eyes lost their light, and he slumped forward.
"Initially," Lanto explained, "When the first round of exams was just announced, I had already prepared a clone and hidden it. After all, in this environment, I can't completely trust my temporary teammates, or any strangers."
However, just when he thought victory was assured, a sudden change occurred!
The body of "Scharf" on the ground, which had been restrained by the clone, rapidly dissipated and turned into petals like a withering flower!
Lanto was taken aback. "Hmm...?"
Immediately afterwards, he felt something hard pressed against his back. Behind him, he heard Scharf's voice, tinged with smugness:
"Don't underestimate the students of the Continental Magic Academy! Hmph! Those were just bait I created with 'Flower Substitute Magic' to lure you into a false sense of security! This is my true form! A mage... will never easily expose their back to the enemy! You've got some skills, but the situation has reversed! Kid, surrender!"
Despite being held against the staff, Lanto showed no sign of panic. Instead, he adjusted his glasses again, his tone confirming, "Is that so... So, this is indeed the real thing, right?"
Scharf was taken aback. "What do you mean...?"
But before he could finish speaking, he was horrified to find that a cold hand was once again gripping his neck tightly from behind! That familiar touch...
Lanto's voice came from behind him again. "So, in your words, the situation has reversed once more. Sleep soundly."
"Bilibili--"
A powerful electric current surged through Scharf's body in an instant. His body convulsed violently, his eyes filled with disbelief, before he finally collapsed to the ground, completely losing consciousness.
Lanto II watched as Scharf collapsed to the ground, slowly dissipating. Lanto III let out a soft sigh, adjusted his glasses, and muttered to himself, "Flower Substitute Magic... the simulation was incredibly realistic. I was fooled. The Continental Magic Academy... do guys like this really have this level of skill? It seems we really can't be careless at all."
He quickly treated his wounds and turned his gaze to the battle between Fern and Ubel.
Far away.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu, I don't know if it's a clone or a substitute, a weakened version of the Lightning Cutter standard, sneaking up on the old man from behind... Tsk, Lanto is quite meticulous, hiding a clone from the start, he has the potential to be a cunning old fox, I like it. But who taught him that habit of constantly pushing up his glasses even when injured? Are his glasses his real body? This habit... is it Yakushi Kabuto?"
He swung his legs leisurely, then turned his gaze back to Fern.