A Wise Man Knows When to Yield

Aaron pursed his lips, determined not to lose face even if he lost the game.

Weihert wanted to end the fight within a minute; he was determined to win the match, or at least last a minute and a half.

He also had his dignity. He could do without the magic book, but he absolutely could not be looked down upon by this ancestor.

The Holy Dragon and the Ice Dragon roared as they charged toward each other, their two colossal shadows, one blue and one white, colliding in mid-air.

Although they are similar in size, the Ice Dragon is made of magic and is quite different from a real dragon.

The dragon claws collided, and a tiny but very noticeable crack appeared on the Ice Dragon's leg. Abei easily pinned the imposter against the wall.

With a few swipes of its claws, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the Ice Dragon's belly, and glittering ice shards flew everywhere.

While being beaten, it also tried to fight back, opening its huge mouth and biting at Abei's neck.

Click!

With a crisp crack, half of his mouthful of icy teeth shattered.

Abei felt a slight ache and itch on his neck and subconsciously looked at the Ice Dragon's broken teeth. A human-like mockery appeared on the dragon's face.

A counterfeit is still a counterfeit. You think you can challenge the quality of our scales?

"Tsk tsk tsk!" Aaron clicked his tongue. "Ancestor, your Ice Dragon statue isn't very good."

"Your dragon is too strong. Although it is very different from the dragons I remember, its potential is absolutely unique."

"Dragons? A huge gap?"

Aaron's interest was piqued when he thought of the Dragon-Slaying Magic Crystal in his hand. "Could you tell me more about it?"

"There... there will be a chance." Weihert glanced at the Ice Dragon struggling violently in the Dragon Breath. "Let's hurry! Let's end the battle before the Ice Dragon shatters."

"Damn it!"

Aaron took a deep breath and gently flicked his Wand.

On the other side, Weihert inscribed another intermediate-level fire Magic Array, seemingly intending to repeat his previous actions.

A fierce flame shot out from the center of the Magic Array, evaporating all the rainwater in its path.

"They really don't hold back!" Aaron thought to himself, then quickly raised his Wand and flicked out a ball of blue light.

The two energies collided, creating an energy ripple in the air.

"Hmm?" Weihert frowned slightly. "This is no different from before. Does that mean you're still pinning your hopes on your dragon?"

"Is that not allowed?"

"I'm sorry, you're probably going to be disappointed."

The Ice Dragon created with magic is indeed not strong, but it does have its advantages.

It feels no pain, and persists until death; it is more tenacious than any other creature until it completely loses its power.

Upon hearing this, Aaron shifted his attention to the battle on the other side and was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Abei remained composed, but his face betrayed a growing impatience.

The Ice Dragon opposite it was in a state beyond miserable condition.

A small portion of its icy blue body was burned away by Abei's Dragon Breath, reducing its size to less than three meters and its mass to at least 70%.

One of its front paws was completely shattered, and its two hind legs also had large cracks. Its wings and tail were also badly damaged, emitting a whitish steam.

Even so, it remained highly motivated, using its broken body to block Abei's advance.

"Damn! This is way too outrageous."

"This is my masterpiece," Weihert said proudly, "It just took a lot of effort."

As they spoke, the intermediate Magic Array had already completed its upgrade, and the flames in the Secret Chamber suddenly increased several times over, with the fierce flames overwhelmingly engulfing the spell.

Just as the flames were about to strike Aaron, he uttered a spell, and a translucent ripple swept across his body.

Weihert noticed the subtle change, but didn't care; a satisfied smile even appeared on his lips.

When Abei saw the flames engulf his master, his bright eyes instantly filled with rage.

He suddenly thrust out his dragon claw, brutally tearing the Ice Dragon to shreds, and roared as he pounced towards Weihert.

A brownish-yellow Magic Array appeared instantly, and more than a dozen brown chains extended from the ground, binding Abei's body.

It struggled violently, its body radiating a yellowish light that instantly shattered the chains.

"Calm down. After all, he is my descendant. I won't do anything to him."

Moreover, his physical abilities are extremely high, and his mastery of spells is quite extensive. At the last moment, he should have cast a protective spell on himself, at most suffering a minor burn that can be treated with some Potions when he gets back.

Weihert briefly reassured Abei, then looked at the thick fog and fixed his gaze on the still-burning flames.

"The outcome is decided; I have won this competition."

Don't be upset. I could have easily finished you off before your dragon arrived, but I didn't.

However, no sound came from within the fog. Weihert frowned and used a wind-attribute Magic Array to release a strong wind, blowing everything in front of him into view.

However, Aaron was nowhere to be seen.

But in the rain, a hazy figure was slowly retreating; it was obvious that it was someone's Disillusionment Charm.

Weihert slapped his forehead, looked at the retreating figures, and sighed helplessly, "A last-ditch effort!"

I strongly suspect you have masochistic tendencies; the difference in strength is quite obvious, isn't it?

"Ancestor, don't overthink it. I just want to hold on for one more minute," Aaron said calmly, his voice low and hoarse as he spoke.

Abei's ears twitched, and he suddenly unleashed a breath of Dragon Breath at Weihert.

"It's no use." Weihert shook his head and summoned an Ice Shield shield in front of him. "Give you a few more seconds to grow and you might have a chance to pose a threat to me, but there's no chance now."

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind Weihert.

Aaron wielded a silver Longsword, the third black crystal at the hilt emitting a faint glow, as he slashed down.

A frantic warning flashed through Weihert's mind, and in his haste, he could only raise his arm and use an ice blade made of solid ice to block in front of him.

A flash of silver sword light, the ice blade was split in two, and Weihert was also sent flying by the powerful force.

This was the first time he had been forced back; half of his sleeve fell to the ground, and a few drops of red blood dripped from his fingertips.

But he wasn't particularly annoyed; instead, he burst into laughter.

"Damn it, is this not going to work?" Aaron said with a frustrated smile. He had high hopes for this sneak attack, but the result was not as expected.

"I don't have an uncle. Even if I did, you'd have to call me 'ancestor'."

But speaking of which, Apparition is a high-level teleportation spell. You've been hiding it well, little guy!

"If that Butler Jeans, knew, he'd be so ashamed he wouldn't be able to lift his head," Weihert sighed, then looked at the Longsword in Aaron's hand, "And the divine weapon Yang Yu forged by Argus. If that kid knew his sword could hurt my tail, he'd be strutting around like crazy."

"Are you susceptible to injury even in your current condition?"

"No, I'm already dead."

"This is just a simple visual effect, proving that you can indeed threaten me, a novice Magus." Weihert chuckled and shook his head. "I admit I underestimated you a bit. You've made me feel a sense of danger for the first time in a long time."

In this kind of contest, in a fair one-on-one, you would die, but I might also be seriously injured.

Aaron:...

Holy crap! Is this something a human would say?

"Should I feel honored?" Aaron rolled his eyes, utterly speechless.

He had always been regarded as the hope of the Gaius family, but he fought a Warlock was one level below him, risking his life to only severely injure him. How could he bear this?

"Yes." Weihert nodded without any politeness. "If your mother knew that you could hurt me, she would probably be so happy that she would cry. To be even more extreme, she might throw a seven-day, seven-night banquet."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not kidding, when I was a beginner Magus I could defeat a beginner Archmage," Weihert said. "Whether I was alive or dead, there were no more than ten people who could injure me if our strengths were roughly equal."

"Among all your teachers, I am the pinnacle of combat power. No one can beat me in a one-on-one fight; only Flor can occasionally gain an advantage through mind magic."

Upon hearing this, Aaron's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and his expression gradually changed from astonishment to excitement.

"We unworthy descendants are indeed no match for you, but you still have to give me that magic book tomorrow."

"So confident?" Weihert asked with a meaningful smile.

"It's not that I'm confident, it's the truth."

I can Apparition, and I also have a dragon, so I have a certain degree of control.

Your Magical Energy be almost depleted. If I'm not mistaken, you should only have one-fifth left!

Even you, with your Magical Energy severely depleted and only able to use Elemental Magic arrays, probably don't have much of a chance of winning.

"Yeah?

But the truth is definitely not what you guessed.

Weihert pointed upwards, and the blue Magic Array on the ceiling instantly disappeared. His Magical Energy also stabilized. "Now the magic power is barely enough."

"So what? We still have a very good chance of winning."

"Let's settle this with one move!" Weihert said impatiently. "Besides, you really need to get rid of this bad habit of being so self-important."

"I'll consider it after I beat you."

Aaron jumped onto Abei's back, his white wings flapping as the two slowly ascended, a high-level purple Magic Array and crimson Dragon Breath poised to unleash their power.

Just as they were about to take down Sheng Yang in one fell swoop, they were shocked to find a whole array of purple Magic Array neatly arranged around them.

A cube surrounded them, with purple arcs of electricity flashing intermittently, startling the human and dragon into a panic. The magic they were about to unleash was abruptly withdrawn.

"This is my last bit of power. If you can dodge it, you win." Weihert took out a spellbook, his voice full of temptation. "Want to try and see if your Apparition faster, or my lightning?"

Just like you said, fortune favors the bold; taking a gamble isn't a bad idea.

"Hehe! A wise person knows when to yield!"

Aaron gave an awkward yet polite smile and decisively threw down his Wand and Longsword.

"Actually, there is a second half to that saying: 'Fortune and wealth are sought in danger, but also lost in danger; when you seek it, one in ten, but when you lose it, nine in ten.'"

So... I surrendered. Losing to the renowned Weihert Gaius isn't shameful.

Besides, I even made him hurt and bleed; isn't that a kind of Glory in itself?

Weihert stared at him in surprise, his face twitching uncontrollably.

To be honest, Aaron's surrender was within his expectations, but the fact that he could perform the surrender so skillfully and confidently caught him off guard.