Life and Death Duel! Apprentice vs. Genius

(This chapter is free)

In this group from the imperial capital, there were imposing knights and well-equipped soldiers, but the most eye-catching figure was the middle-aged man riding a black magic horse.

He was a frail-looking Servant Demon with an ordinary appearance, yet even the two Master Alchemists beside him dared not treat this man—who was merely an alchemist—with any disrespect. He was Sandru, the most outstanding alchemist genius the Fallen Angel Empire had seen in three hundred years!

The group was welcomed at the city gates by a party led personally by Princess Shea. Although the group showed considerable courtesy and respect to the Princess, who belonged to the Crown Prince's faction, many could not help but show looks of disdain as they looked at the simple, dilapidated buildings while heading toward the royal palace, their sense of superiority from the big city plain to see.

After entering the palace and the hosts and guests were seated, Shea spoke: "You have all traveled a long way and must be exhausted. Why not rest for a day before we discuss the details of the challenge?"

Sandru stood up and said: "Your Highness, I came here specifically to challenge Master Aldas. I request that the challenge begin now; please understand my eagerness to become a Master."

Master Zola and Master Kamp at his side both revealed smiles simultaneously. They had intended to launch a surprise attack; they had only given two days' notice in accordance with the rules of the Alchemist Union, otherwise, they wouldn't have given even an extra day. Why would they give the other side a chance to delay now?

"There is nothing worth resting for in such a poor place," a contemptuous voice came from the visitors. It was the young knight who had escorted the group, dressed in a full set of silver armor.

Shea recognized him as Shelter, a rising star in the military whose father was one of the three imperial generals who had been the first to defect to Heiyao. She frowned slightly but pretended not to hear. Athena, sitting opposite, could not hold back; she stood up and shouted: "Shelter, you cowardly fellow, how dare you show such disrespect to the Princess! Draw your sword and let me see if a loser like you has made any progress!"

Shelter had been defeated by Athena's sword at a youth fencing tournament years ago. Having his past exposed in public, he was instantly enraged and was about to make a move when he was stopped by Master Kamp. If they caused trouble now, they would fall right into Shea's trap; it was more important to return to the main topic.

Master Zola, who was also a Dark Elf, spoke up: "Why do we not see Master Aldas? It is a rule of the Alchemist Union that a Master must accept a challenge; there is no need for discussion. Why don't we go directly to his laboratory?"

Hearing Master Zola get straight to the point, Shea did not panic, though she said with a look of difficulty: "Actually, it is like this: three days ago, while Master Aldas was testing a powerful new potion, an accident occurred. He is now severely injured and has lost the ability to move, so he cannot come here. That is why I suggested we discuss the matter."

"Oh?" Master Zola sneered: "Why did Master Aldas have an accident just as we arrived? Could it be that he is afraid of Sandru's reputation and is faking an injury to avoid the challenge?"

Shea's expression remained unchanged as she countered: "Master Aldas had his accident three days ago, at which time we did not even know Sandru was coming to challenge him. Given your itinerary, it took at least a month to travel from the imperial capital to here. Why did we only receive the magic transmission from the Alchemist Union two days before your arrival?"

This question hit the nail on the head, both clearing Aldas of suspicion and subtly pointing out that this was a conspiracy. Master Zola was momentarily speechless, and Master Kamp of the Servant Demon race spoke up: "Your Highness Shea has misunderstood. We were originally invited by Lord Chiyou, Zhuo Qie, to visit Chiyou City. Sandru made a last-minute decision to come to the Darkmoon Territory first to challenge Master Aldas, which is why the magic transmission was so rushed. If the Princess does not believe me, you may ask Lord Zhuo Qie's eldest son, Joseph. I recall he is the treasurer of Darkmoon City, is he not?"

The Chiyou Territory bordered the Darkmoon Territory. As a confidant of Prince Heiyao, Lord Chiyou, Zhuo Qie, was the "eye" the imperial capital used to monitor Darkmoon. Because most of the resources and funding for the Darkmoon Territory came from Chiyou, Shea had no choice but to rely on Joseph, who had come to "offer his services." Joseph was ostensibly a man of Darkmoon City; if he were to testify to this, it would be even harder to refute.

Taking a step back, Sandru's challenge was procedurally correct, and arguing about the notification time was meaningless.

"No need, how could I not believe Master Kamp." Shea nodded calmly, "I have already sent Kagulon to ask the injured Master Aldas whether he himself wishes to postpone the challenge."

Kamp and Zola exchanged glances, quickly trading opinions. They could hide for a moment, but not for a lifetime. If the other side wanted a postponement, then Sandru would stay in Darkmoon City until Aldas was "recovered" enough to fight. In any case, they would not leave until they had driven Aldas away.

Not long after, the report from the palace guard captain, Kagulon, shocked the visitors from the capital, including Sandru—the severely injured Master Aldas did not want a postponement and agreed to accept Sandru's challenge publicly in the center of the Darkmoon City arena!

Sandru had originally thought the other side would use delaying tactics and did not expect them to accept immediately. However, confident in his own skills, he said arrogantly: "It is rare for Master Aldas to fight while injured. To show my respect for him, I will head to the arena now to begin the challenge."

No fluctuations could be seen on Shea's cold face as she said faintly: "Since that is the case, please wait a moment, everyone. I will immediately send someone to the arena to arrange everything."

The Darkmoon Arena was one of the largest buildings in the city and had been quite famous four hundred years ago. At that time, the Beelzebub Royal Family, which had since disappeared, appeared in Darkmoon City and took control of the territory, attempting to annex the Chiyou Territory and threaten the imperial capital. Emperor White Night heard the news and came in person, fighting that member of the Beelzebub Royal Family in this very arena, eventually severely wounding his opponent, who had vanished without a trace ever since.

In contrast to the arena's long history was its dilapidated state. With the busy work of Kagulon and other guards, the arena was quickly cleaned, a high platform was erected, and rows of seats were placed for the VIPs. As for the rest of the commoners, they naturally did not receive such good treatment, but it did not affect their enthusiasm in the slightest; the once-deserted arena was soon packed to capacity.

Although everyone had a considerable fear of Master Aldas, who often caused screams to echo from his lab, deep down, they still hoped he could defeat these outsiders and bring glory to Darkmoon.

Amidst the gaze of the masses, Sandru's attendants skillfully laid out a series of tools and materials. On the other side, Master Aldas was carried into the arena on a stretcher, followed by his new apprentice, Chen Rui, which triggered a commotion among the audience.

A human? Chen Rui's appearance made Sandru frown. After hearing Shea introduce Chen Rui's background, he showed a look of disdain, and Zola and Kamp were both contemptuous upon hearing that Aldas had actually taken a human captive as an apprentice.

It was Chen Rui's first time facing such a large scene. Looking at the countless strange-looking Devil Race faces all around, he steadied himself, bowed to the VIP seats, and said in a clear voice: "I am Chen Rui, the new apprentice of Master Aldas. Due to an accidental injury during an experiment, the Master is temporarily unable to move, so he will be directing me to accept the challenge. I wonder if Lord Sandru agrees?"

Directing an apprentice to accept a challenge? And a newly recruited one at that! This was a first in the history of Master challenges. Although Aldas had the excuse of being too severely injured to move, Sandru still clearly felt a sense of insult: could it be that Aldas knew he would lose and decided to try to humiliate his opponent before leaving?

"I agree," Sandru stared at Aldas in the distance, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes: "I demand a life-or-death duel. I wonder if Master Aldas has the guts to let that human apprentice take his place?"

A life-or-death duel! Zola and Kamp looked surprised. A life-or-death duel meant that the alchemists would use each other as the direct subjects for testing their poisons, rather than using a proxy. The first to be poisoned to death would be judged the loser. Usually, only parties with deep hatred would do this. Under these rules, even if Aldas sent an apprentice to fight, if the apprentice were poisoned to death, he himself would also have to accept the penalty of death.

Masters Zola and Kamp had absolute confidence in Sandru's strength; although they were surprised, they quickly regained their composure.

Sure enough, Aldas on the other side fell into deep thought, seemingly considering something, while the human apprentice showed a look of fear, whispering to Aldas as if he did not dare to accept the challenge. The Dark Elf looked furious, his finger trembling as he tried to point at the human, but he could only lift it slightly before it fell back down weakly; his injured state did not look faked.

The surrounding noise was too loud; even those with keen hearing could not make out their whispers.

Joseph watched this, his brow furrowing: according to intelligence from his mole, Aldas had not actually been injured three days ago; instead, he had been staying in his laboratory for the past two days. Could it be that he had been injured while trying to force the concoction of some high-difficulty potion to deal with Sandru?

In the end, Aldas made his decision to let his apprentice, Chen Rui, accept the life-or-death duel in his stead. It seemed this Dark Elf Master intended to make a desperate gamble, using death to repay the Princess's kindness.

After the guards announced the rules of the life-or-death duel to the ignorant audience, the people of Darkmoon City were in an uproar, finding it even more exciting. They might not understand alchemy, but they could certainly understand life and death!

Sandru revealed a cruel smile. He did not think there was any suspense in this duel. With the poison he had newly developed, even if Aldas had entered the arena himself, he would have ended up poisoned to death, let alone that weak human.

Princess Shea announced the start of the match, and the surrounding noise instantly died down. Everyone's eyes fell on that poor human. Some were already placing bets: how long would it take for the human to be poisoned to death? One second? Or two?

Sandru began to concoct his potion rapidly, his skillful and precise technique making even the judges, Masters Zola and Kamp, sigh in admiration. The genius alchemist was indeed worthy of his reputation.

In just two minutes, a bottle of potion was already prepared. On the other side, the apprentice Chen Rui was fumbling under Aldas's gestured directions, not even having finished sorting the raw materials.

According to the rules, if one side finished preparing their potion first, the other side had to stop and prepare the antidote within a specified time to attempt to neutralize the poison. A life-or-death duel tested not only the strength of the potions but also the skill and wisdom of the alchemists themselves. If one only sought speed, the potency might not be enough; if one were too slow, the opponent would seize the initiative.

Sandru signaled the judges to let the other side test the potion. Chen Rui appeared very nervous, first closing his eyes to pray for a moment before trembling as he took the dark green potion. No one knew that what he was praying for was: Progress! Progress!