The Martial Magic Tournament (II)

"Match 27: Donald Wien, third-year student of the Magic Academy, versus Aubrey, fourth-year student of the Magic Academy!"

Richard saw his brother walk onto the field, but he still couldn't believe it. Only when he heard the referee loudly announce his name did he accept that his brother had entered the tournament too. But he'd only been at the academy for a little over a month. How could he compete against a Magic Apprentice who'd studied normally for four years?

Richard wasn't the only one wondering. Most of the students and teachers from the Magic Academy looked astonished, and on the Knight Academy's side, Roger, Fiona, and Bertram were just as surprised.

Regardless of what they thought of Donald under normal circumstances, at that moment most people had only one thought: Donald had lost control in a fit of impulse. No matter how determined he seemed, the absolute difference in their abilities meant there was no suspense about how this match would end. Even Professor Victor, who had always had faith in Donald, thought the same.

Unlike the astonishment, confusion, or pity displayed by the others, the gnome sisters were jumping up and down with excitement.

"At last, the great Demon King Donald is here!"

"The Demon King's about to make his move!"

Kelly was still sitting beside the dwarf. Her severed arm had been reattached and secured with a splint.

"Why do you call him the Demon King? Can Donald use magic?" she asked, puzzled.

"Mom said he's a really powerful Mage!"

"Yeah, yeah! Kelly, have you never seen Donald use magic?"

"Have you?" Kelly asked, even more puzzled.

Kelly had never seen Donald cast a spell. Of course, neither had the gnome sisters, and the same went for Adarua.

By that count, not one of the tens of thousands of people present had ever seen Donald cast magic. Wesley hadn't either. The sole exception, Lucia, wasn't there.

Whatever the audience thought, the match began all the same.

Donald and Aubrey stood at opposite ends of the field, a little over twenty meters apart—the standard distance for a duel between Magic Apprentices.

"Are you close with Carl?" Donald didn't make a move. He wanted to figure out his opponent's attitude. If Carl could rig Kelly's matchup, he had probably arranged one for Donald too.

"You shouldn't have crossed him. You can't afford to." Aubrey kept his voice low enough for Donald to hear, but not loud enough to carry to the stands.

"Good. Let's find out." After saying that, Donald fell silent, his expression gradually turning cold.

Aubrey slowly approached Donald. As he came forward, Donald stepped back, shifting slightly to avoid being cornered at the edge of the field. Aubrey stopped, and Donald stopped too. The distance between them remained the same as it had been at the start: a little over twenty meters.

The audience began to boo.

The contempt on Aubrey's face grew more obvious. "Are you planning to run away the whole time? If you don't dare face me, why come out here?"

"I think this distance is just right."

As he spoke, Donald stretched out his arms and opened them naturally to either side. Two small Wind Blades shot from his palms one after the other, crossing paths as they sped toward Aubrey.

Aubrey was startled when he saw Donald's Wind Blades, then his contempt became even more pronounced. He hadn't expected Donald to have learned magic in such a short time. But these were clearly only the lowest-level Triple Wind Blades. They couldn't possibly travel that far, let alone hurt him.

Just as Aubrey was about to mock him, the two Wind Blades sliced across his body, carving two bloody gashes into his left leg and right arm. They continued flying and only vanished far off in the distance.

The boos abruptly stopped. An uproar of exclamations rose from the Magic Academy stands. No one could believe that such small Wind Blades could be so powerful—or fly so far. Compared with that miracle, the fact that Donald had mastered magic seemed unimportant.

"Still not running?" Donald stared coldly at Aubrey, whose two wounds were bleeding profusely.

Humiliated, Aubrey charged forward like a madman. As he chanted a spell, a huge fireball began to form in his hands.

Donald pushed his outstretched arms forward. In an instant, dozens of identical Wind Blades shrieked through the air, joining together into a dense wall of wind. They slammed into Aubrey and the unfinished fireball in front of him, exploding together and blasting him to the ground.

The crowd erupted. The sound of tens of thousands of people cheering at once made the blood race.

Tears of excitement welled in Richard and Kelly's eyes as they looked at Donald. Wesley clenched his fist and shouted, "Yes!"

Carl sat in the Lord's Box, his expression dark.

"Victor, was this boy the one you brought to the academy?" The dean's eyes were finally no longer heavy with sleep.

"Yes. Before I brought him to the Magic Academy last October, he'd never even met a Mage." Victor was stunned by Donald's performance too.

"The reputation of Tris Magic Academy may well rest on his shoulders," Dean Devis said slowly. He wasn't speaking to Victor alone.

"Dean, he's only mastered three-element magic. Though that Triple Wind Blade of his is a little unusual," Professor Judy said reluctantly.

Dean Devis glanced at Judy, shook his head, and said softly, "Am I the only one who noticed that he didn't chant a spell at all?"

The professors froze. Their habitual assumptions had kept every one of them from noticing.

Magic Apprentices had to chant spells to cast magic. It was an established truth, written in their textbooks. No one had ever heard of anyone breaking that rule. The dean's observation pointed to two possibilities: either Donald had advanced to Formal Magician in half a year, or he was the first Magic Apprentice in the world who could cast spells without chanting. Either answer would be enough to make Tris Magic Academy famous.

Judy was stunned, and then suddenly remembered how Donald and Lucia had escaped.

On the field, when the referee helped Aubrey up, he was covered in blood. Fortunately, his injuries were only superficial. With proper treatment, he would be fine.

Kelly's injury hadn't been caused directly by Aubrey, so Donald had deliberately held back. If he'd opened with a full-power Six Yuan Fireball, it would have done far more damage.

"Winner of Match 27: Donald Wien, third-year student of the Magic Academy!"

After leaving the field, Donald made sure to stop in front of Richard and remind him to watch out for accidents in the matches ahead. If he faced an opponent who was too strong, he should give up as early as possible.

The tournament continued.

Match 32: Carl won.

Match 45: Roger won.

Match 61: Richard faced Aldrich, a sixth-year student of the Knight Academy.

After the referee announced the start of the match, Richard did indeed choose a cautious strategy.

He'd displayed extraordinary strength in the lower-year competition. Now he showed good footwork and mobility too, constantly circling Aldrich and avoiding attacks.

Aldrich wasn't in a hurry. As one of the top students in his sixth year at the Knight Academy, he had plenty of fighting experience. He never underestimated an opponent, even one who seemed weak.

As they maneuvered around the field, their swords clashed several times. Thanks to his natural strength, Richard didn't lose much ground, and he gradually let down his guard.

Aldrich seemed wary of Richard's strength and stopped trying to meet his attacks head-on. Instead, he held his sword out in front of him, keeping its point aimed at Richard. Even after Richard knocked his sword aside several times, Aldrich stubbornly kept pointing it at him.

Annoyed at being repeatedly pointed at, Richard pressed his sword against his opponent's and pointed it back at him.

From the stands, Roger thought, This is bad.

Sure enough, Aldrich suddenly stepped in close. He swiftly twisted and wound his sword around Richard's, and a powerful torque struck. Richard's grip loosened, and his sword was knocked away.

Aldrich closed in at once. While Richard was distracted by losing his sword, Aldrich grabbed his shoulder with his left hand and yanked him in. The next moment, his knee slammed into Richard's lower abdomen.

Only then did Richard realize that his opponent had been hiding his strength all along. But it was too late.

The knee to his abdomen made Richard double over. Aldrich followed up by raising his sword arm and smashing an elbow into Richard's neck.

After those two heavy blows, Richard crumpled to the ground.

Donald had known something was wrong the moment Aldrich twisted Richard's sword away. But even as he watched Aldrich land two vicious blows, he could do nothing.

It had all happened too quickly. Afterward, Aldrich even glanced toward the Lord's Box, as if he planned to keep attacking. Donald panicked and shouted toward the VIP area, "Adarua!"

A stocky figure shot into the air from the VIP area. Almost without a pause, he landed in the middle of the field with a crash, shaking the entire tournament arena.

When the crowd came to their senses, Aldrich's foot was coming down. Between it and Richard's helmet was a furry palm.

"Is this a duel or an attempted murder?" Adarua gave Aldrich a sidelong look.

An elderly voice came from the Lord's Box. "Master Adarua, you seem to have overstepped your bounds."

"I believe I merely stopped an accident. Are you going to tell me what just happened was a political struggle?"

"...You're right. It was just an accident."

Adarua snorted and shoved Aldrich aside, though he didn't use much force.

By the time Donald rushed onto the field, Adarua had taken a small bottle of orange Potion from his clothes and given it to Richard. He was carefully examining Richard's injuries.

"If it weren't for the past half month of warrior training, he'd have been crippled by that."

Donald felt his whole body trembling. He could hardly speak.

"It's all right. Leave him to me." Adarua picked Richard up, gave Aldrich a cold look, then turned to Donald. "I can't get involved. You take care of him for me."

"Damn it, I finally got a few disciples, and two of them get hurt in one go." The dwarf grumbled as he left.

Kelly, her arm still wrapped in a bandage, had been held firmly in place by the gnome sisters the whole time. The twins were much stronger than they looked.

Donald clenched his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug blood from his palms, yet he felt no pain. If he hadn't gotten the sudden urge to have Richard train with the dwarf half a month ago... If Adarua hadn't intervened in time just now... He couldn't bear to think any further.

Unable to suppress his rage, Donald spun around and sent a Six Yuan Fireball flying toward Aldrich. The referee, a Formal Knight, had been on guard for a sudden attack from Donald. He stepped in front of Aldrich, Battle Qi flashing around him as he blocked the fireball.

"What do you think you're doing? This is the Martial Magic Tournament! You can't just act recklessly!" Though he'd stopped Donald's fireball, the referee was still shaken. It had been far more powerful than it looked. Even with Battle Qi and armor, his chest still felt scalding hot.

"It's all right. I believe he's challenging me to a duel. I accept." Seeing that Adarua wouldn't dare do anything to him, Aldrich suddenly found his courage.

The referee looked at Donald.

"Yes. I challenge him to a duel. Right now." Donald's black eyes remained fixed on Aldrich.