A Duel? A Beating! (Part 2)

"Teacher, you still have the appetite to eat?"

"Why am I not in the mood to eat? I won't lose the duel tomorrow!"

Looking at the carefree and voracious Sordil before her, Anna couldn't help but worry for her future teacher's wife. Having such a character in the house would probably drive her to her death sooner or later, or make her laugh herself to death, becoming a happy ghost on her journey to the afterlife. However, considering their teacher-student relationship, Anna couldn't bear to collect his corpse tonight, so she leaned close to Sordil's ear and whispered:

"Teacher, I'm not worried that you can't defeat Langu, but that you can't escape the calamity tonight."

Looking into Anna's earnest eyes and carefully considering her words, Sordil was suddenly startled, remembering the events of the night before he departed from the Kingdom of Donagunov. Yes, that she-devil had said she'd settle accounts with him after everything was resolved; now, wasn't everything resolved? Glancing at Diphiya on the platform, Sordil suddenly realized he'd become somewhat arrogant lately, having forgotten something so important. Sordil quickly swallowed his food, placed his plate back on the table, and wiped his hands clean with a napkin.

After doing all this, Sordil grabbed Anna's hands and gazed deeply into her eyes. Just as Sordil was about to speak, Anna interrupted his performance.

"Teacher, just tell us your escape plan! Why are you making up all this useless stuff?"

Sordil stared at Anna in utter bewilderment. Was his acting really that bad, or had Anna suddenly grown up and become smarter while he wasn't paying attention? Otherwise, how could Anna have seen through his plans before he even opened his mouth?

"Teacher, are you going to tell me or not? If you don't, I'm going to go wash my hands!"

Seeing Anna pull her hands away from his grasp with a look of disgust and start wiping herself with a napkin, Sordil's heart broke. Was this still the same obedient, adorable girl who always listened to him? Looking at the disoriented Sordil, Anna shook her head and prepared to leave. At that moment, Sordil finally snapped out of it and quickly stopped Anna, telling her about the refuge plan he had prepared.

"Does the teacher mean that you should hide in the Spirit World first, and then I will summon the Celestial Spirit to notify you when the time for the competition is approaching?"

"That's right, if I don't do this, I'm dead tonight!"

"Sigh! This is the only way to do it for now. You'd better hurry up, or Sister Diphiya will catch you."

"Don't worry about that! When it comes to escaping, no one in this world can compare to your teacher, and of course, no one can catch me. Alright! I won't say any more, I'm off!"

After explaining his life-saving plan, Thordir hurriedly left the hall, and then Anna felt that there was a familiar wave of magic power not far away. People who also felt the fluctuation were Defia and Goodell who were standing on the high platform. Looking at Anna standing alone at the dining table, and thinking about the fluctuation just now, Defia knew that her plan to beat up Sodir tonight was aborted. Goodell didn't know about the 'love and hate' between Sodir and Defia. He just felt that Sodir's behavior was a bit weird. But he couldn't get away now, and even if he could leave, he didn't dare to care about Sodir's affairs, so he could only pretend that he didn't know anything and let it go.

"Buzz"

A golden light flashed, and then Capri appeared beside Anna.

"Mr. Capri, please go back and tell my teacher that the time has come!"

"Yes, Miss Anna! I'll go and tell Lord Sordil right away!"

Capri appeared and disappeared quickly. After Anna finished giving her instructions, he immediately closed the Capricorn Gate and returned to the Spirit World. A moment later, a spatial rift opened, and a silver-haired man wearing a blue bodysuit with white paper strips pasted all over his face walked out. Because the man's face was completely obscured by the paper strips, Anna didn't recognize him at first. It wasn't until a few minutes later, when the man spoke, that Anna realized this 'masked man' was her teacher.

"Anna, I was having a great time with Aquarius and Aries, why did you call me out?"

Hearing Sordil's words, Anna really wanted to crack open his head and see how big the whale inside had grown! Suppressing her anger, Anna took several deep breaths, then grabbed his ear and shouted, "Teacher, do you even know why you hid in the Spirit World? Do you remember what you were supposed to do today?"

Reminded by Anna, young master Sordil finally broke free from his "forgetful state" and reactivated his memory save. Frantically peeling off the "progress bar" from his face, Sordil hurriedly asked Anna, "Anna, the competition hasn't started yet, has it? I didn't miss something so important, did I?"

Looking at the 'artificial idiot' in front of her, Anna was speechless. However, having been entrusted with a task, Anna still truthfully told Sordil what she knew.

"Duke Gould just sent word that the martial arts competition will take place in the Royal Palace training ground in an hour."

After saying that, Anna quickly shook her head and walked away. She just wanted to stay far away from Sordil to avoid being infected by this 'human husky's' unique temperament. Although Sordil really wanted to find Anna and give her a good talking-to, considering his limited time, Sordil could only let her off the hook for now and settle the score with her after the competition.

Although Zhuge Anna had anticipated her teacher's unreliability, she underestimated Sordil's enthusiasm for the competition. Therefore, when she arrived at the arena on time with the rest of the group, Sordil had already been sitting there for over an hour, counting the ants on the ground three times over. Naturally, she received Sordil's 'deathly smile,' and it seemed her fate would be even worse than Langu's after things were settled!

"General Oddek is here so early!"

"Prime Minister, I had no choice! I was so eager to compete with Langu that I rushed here immediately after receiving His Majesty's decree."

"General Oddek, don't rush, I will request His Majesty's permission to begin the competition!"

After exchanging greetings, the Prime Minister left Sordil's side and went to consult with Belmod, who was seated on the high platform. A moment later, everyone except Langu and Sordil moved to the surrounding viewing platforms. Just then, the order to begin the duel was announced from the platform.

"Generals, His Majesty has decreed that the martial arts contest shall now begin!"

Upon hearing the order, Langu didn't hesitate and immediately charged towards Sordil, greatsword in hand. He seemed intent on engaging Sordil in close combat to prevent Sordil from using his powerful magic. On the stands, many generals nodded in approval of Langu's actions, but only the Prime Minister and Belmod shook their heads and sighed in disapproval.

"Sand-Shaped Style: Rock Fist"

"Bang"

A gigantic rock fist rose from beneath Langu's feet, slamming his body into the sky, the greatsword in his hand flying out of his grasp. However, Sordil showed no sign of letting him off the hook; a new wave of magical attacks was already underway.

"Sand-shaped Iron Cannon"

"Sand-Shaped Design: Rock Teeth"

Four or five earthen-yellow cannon emplacements rose from the ground, bombarding Langu with watermelon-sized projectiles. Simultaneously, wolf-tooth-shaped stone pillars filled the entire training ground; if Langu were to fall, he would be skewered into a pulp. Seeing this, sounds of swallowing saliva rose from the high platform; even Belmod and the Prime Minister were stunned by Sordil's ruthless methods.